Simple side dish: Sautéed beets with fennel and lemon

With just five ingredients and one-skillet prep, this is a truly simple recipe that’s perfect for a lazy summer day. I could keep going on about uncomplicated this recipe is, and how the combination of two sweet vegetables with the sour bite of lemon appeals to our most basic, primordial tastes — but that verbal frippery would be totally incongruous with … Read more

Recipe: Simple black raspberry salad

I’ve been eating black raspberries at every meal now that they’re in season. They were in my oatmeal at breakfast, my yogurt at lunch, and in my salad at dinner. I love how they look next to the beets. The colors would make a lovely combination for a duotone quilt. If only I had made the salad before the sun set, the picture would have … Read more

Recipe: Vegan chocolate-spice muffins … They’ll never guess the secret ingredient is beets!

I wasn’t sure what kind of muffins to make today, so I looked in my fridge for inspiration. The jar of sour beets caught my attention. I texted my sister and told her I was thinking about making beet muffins. She texted back, “That sounds kind of gross. But good luck anyway!” She’s right. It does sound kind of gross. But it’s … Read more

Recipe: Slow cooker vegetarian borscht (beet soup)

Many modern recipes rely on tomatoes or lemon juice to give borscht its refreshing, acidic flavor. This recipe gets its tang the old-fashioned way: by using lacto-fermented beets. Served hot, borsht makes a hearty winter meal. But it’s also great in the summer, when I prefer to eat it cold with a little plan yogurt mixed in. This soup is even better … Read more

Fermentation Friday: An illustrated tutorial for making lacto-fermented beets

People seem to fall into two categories: they either love beets, or they hate them. Ever since I was a kid, I have fallen squarely into the “love them” category. I didn’t think it was possible to improve on them. But then I discovered lacto-fermented beets and found that it was. Beets are  back in season here, so it’s time … Read more