Pacify the General

Some people think beets taste like dirt. I do admit they have an earthy quality, but I love that taste. I can’t get enough. I am already sad that I didn’t plant more beets this season.  I think I have a new excuse to overplant them next season.

I see an acupuncturist in Mars Hill. She is great! Go see Julia at Oak and Willow Acupuncture http://www.oakandwillowacupuncture.com/

One of the things that keeps coming up for me is an angry Liver chi. I also have some sort of battle going on between the spleen and liver chi. I get the funniest visualizations with this. Julia refers to the liver as the General. So I picture a liver dressed up as Cap’n Crunch and the spleen as Mighty Mouse. They are duking it out and meanwhile my blood is depleted and I’m low energy, can’t sleep right, anxious, not pleasant…etc.

This is where the beets come back into the picture. Julia talked with me about blood nourishing foods like BEETS, collards, and kale. I was happy to have another reason to lust beets.  Beets detoxify the liver, but they also help nourish blood, strengthen the heart, and calm the spirit.

Here are a few ways we like to cook them on the farm…

Simply boiled. Yup. Boil till tender. Run under cold water to peel off skin. Done. Slice and eat as they are or add to salad.

Roasted. Cut off the tops (save for sautéed greens). Toss beets in olive oil. Put them in tin foil or covered oven safe dish and put them in an oven at 375. Start checking for fork tenderness after 25 minutes. The time varies based on the size of the beets so keep checking. If you like sweet potatoes too, then try roasting them together. We call it Sweets and Beets.

Now… sometimes I like to boil/roast the beets then toss them into a pan with the greens and some garlic. The beet green tops are meant to be eaten too and they taste really yummy sautéed together.

I will recommend my friend Delia’s fabulous idea of boiled/roasted and chilled beets tossed in olive oil with fresh mint! Oh my, that is good stuff. When she brought these over to our house, I knew she was a flavor genius.

A little tip from my chi to yours:

Nourish your blood and pacify the General…eat your beets.