An interesting evening and very satisfying dinner! We started strong with beets from the
Cheverly Community Market. The main course was a blending of two recipes involving lentils and pork products. Dessert included fresh strawberries, also from the Market, paired with a delicious scone and fresh whipped cream~~yippee~~Strawberry Shortcake!!!
This weekend, we bought a single bunch of fresh beets. Neither of us like beets. So we bought them on a hunch...why not...give beets a chance. So I peeled and quartered them. They received a little salt and were wrapped in foil and put in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes, until they were fork tender. Since we still weren't sure what to do to them, we settled on some butter.
And they were delicious. Think of the freshest, sweetest sweet corn you can imagine. It's weird to think of sweet corn, but they were really good! We both would have had more, but alas, the small, single bunch only included 4 little beets.
The main course of the evening was a blending of two different lentil recipes.
Lentils with Sausage & Bacon and
Warm French Lentil Salad. Bacon, sausage, simple dressing, and lentils. Very filling and super tasty. Easy. Cook the lentils, the bacon, stir and enjoy!
The lentils are good for you in all sorts of ways. They are only made better for you with the addition of the bacon and sausage! Right. RIGHT!!!! Good. And they are filling.
Melting butter. That's all. Delicious, golden, melting butter!
The scones. They came from a mix that we received at Christmas and are just getting around to making them. The mix was simple. I enhanced the flavor with some cinnamon, cardamom and freshly grated nutmeg. I gave the scones a brush with some egg wash and sprinkled some grainy sugar on top! They are good just like that. But let's gild the lily shall we...
Fresh strawberries from the Market. Sliced up and mixed with a wee touch of sugar and a vanilla bean. Simmer over medium-low heat until the sugar is melted and mixing with the juice. Allow to sit for awhile until they come almost to room temperature. Split the scone in half, spoon strawberries over the bottom half, add some fresh whipped cream, add the top half of the scone...spoon some extra strawberry juice over the top for more fun! The scones hold up really well, maintaining their structure while soaking up the juice. They were also a great foil to the sweet berries. Woo hoo!
This weekend, we bought a single bunch of fresh beets. Neither of us like beets. So we bought them on a hunch...why not...give beets a chance. So I peeled and quartered them. They received a little salt and were wrapped in foil and put in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes, until they were fork tender. Since we still weren't sure what to do to them, we settled on some butter. 
And they were delicious. Think of the freshest, sweetest sweet corn you can imagine. It's weird to think of sweet corn, but they were really good! We both would have had more, but alas, the small, single bunch only included 4 little beets.
The main course of the evening was a blending of two different lentil recipes. Lentils with Sausage & Bacon and Warm French Lentil Salad. Bacon, sausage, simple dressing, and lentils. Very filling and super tasty. Easy. Cook the lentils, the bacon, stir and enjoy!
The lentils are good for you in all sorts of ways. They are only made better for you with the addition of the bacon and sausage! Right. RIGHT!!!! Good. And they are filling.
Melting butter. That's all. Delicious, golden, melting butter!
The scones. They came from a mix that we received at Christmas and are just getting around to making them. The mix was simple. I enhanced the flavor with some cinnamon, cardamom and freshly grated nutmeg. I gave the scones a brush with some egg wash and sprinkled some grainy sugar on top! They are good just like that. But let's gild the lily shall we...
Fresh strawberries from the Market. Sliced up and mixed with a wee touch of sugar and a vanilla bean. Simmer over medium-low heat until the sugar is melted and mixing with the juice. Allow to sit for awhile until they come almost to room temperature. Split the scone in half, spoon strawberries over the bottom half, add some fresh whipped cream, add the top half of the scone...spoon some extra strawberry juice over the top for more fun! The scones hold up really well, maintaining their structure while soaking up the juice. They were also a great foil to the sweet berries. Woo hoo!
5 comments:
What a great mid-week feast!
The beets were indeed a surprised, considering we were both nervous. Sweet corn is the only way to describe the flavor - they were just delightful.
The lentils were so smoky, warm and delicious. I do love that zing of the mustard-vinegar dressing.
And what a great way to use up some of our market strawberries! My mind leaped to the idea of strawberry shortcake, and that's pretty much what we had (but better).
That entire meal looks delicious! I LOOOOVE beets! My favorite salad is greens with beets and goat cheese (and maybe some walnuts and orange slices). Mmmm
Faye
hmmm, just salt, and top with butter? We just might try that! We get lots of beets from our csa share. We usually make desserts out of 'em because we haven't found a recipe we like.
You don't need to peel the beets. If you roast them in a roasting pan unpeeled covered with foil and a half an inch of water, they'll steam nicely and the peel just rubs right off.
That all looks so delicious... and I'm so glad you've found out about the wonderful world of beets!
In case you decide to try them again, beets go really, really well with blue or goat's cheese and walnuts, like in a salad. I once had a beet "millefeuille" in a restaurant that was made of thinly sliced rounds of beet stacked with whipped blue cheese between them. Oh. My. God.
Now the world is your oyster. Or your beet, I suppose, as the case may be :)
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