Potatoes and Beets

sides for one of the September dinners

 

I am still head-over-heels about my vegetable deliveries.  I practically DANCE down the walk each week when my box is delivered.  

kitchen help ;-)

 

It is a weekly treasure chest of delicious surprise: 

the first pumpkin arrived in early October.....

 

But, out of everything coming to me in that wonderful wooden crate, I'm especially fond of the potatoes: 

 

 

Look at how the potatoes come to me -- in a cotton net bag to hold a staple food of  time and tradition.   All cleaned up and gorgeous for me -- ready to use and enjoy.  I've been roasting them mostly....wedges, halves, cubes.....and the oven turns them into nuggets of gold. 


I also *really* love the beets. 

 

Sometimes they are mixed colors (orange, pink & white) and some other weeks they are deep ruby red.   My favorite way to prepare these is from a recipe out of Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. 

Look: 

Curiously, these beets have not been the "big seller" at dinner parties I've expected them to be.  I myself find the earthiness and tang make *such* a nice contrast to a savory meat, after all.   Out of five menus, only one dinner group ate the beets down to one, solitary ramekin.

 

But, at the end of the day, I really don't mind too much that beets *usually* end up as leftovers.  It leaves more for me, after all......

YUM....rye bread with horseradish cream and roasted beets. 

I would have never imagined that I could enjoy vegetable deliveries as much as I enjoyed going to the market every week in Germany....but, it is glorious, simply GLORIOUS, to have a box of wonderful delivered to the door!!!   In fact, the box has started to be a springboard for my menus.  After all, it can hardly get any more local or fresh than what comes each week in the crate.  I looked up this week's delivery on line and see that Jerusalem Artichokes are on the way.......thinking, thinking about that for next week's dinner party. 

:-)