Beets

As many of you know, I am a bit of a stickler about knowing where my food comes from. Whenever possible, I prefer to be able to meet the men and women that planted, grew and harvested the food I serve in my home. Over the past three years, as I have educated myself on the global food markets, I have changed the way I buy food (even growing some of my own) for the benefit of not just my own family, but for the cause of justice in the world (seriously, ask me sometime how buying locally-grown lettuce changes the dynamics of global markets and tips the balances for world justice). One of the big changes I have made is buying all of my produce from local farmers, most of it coming in a weekly box from a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) in Madera. The last couple weeks we have been receiving lots of root vegetables like celeriac, rutabaga, potatoes, fennel and beets. A friend of mine last week confessed that she wouldn't know what most of those even look like. She asked me to blog about it. So here... is a beet, a plain, red one (a Detroit red, actually). They grow in the ground with beautiful greens attached. They come in our veggie box with the greens attached, but I had already chopped them off and mixed them with some romaine lettuce for our dinner salad the night before (I've even served guests a salad with beet greens mixed in and they didn't notice the difference...they have a very mild, slightly sweet green flavor). I have made borscht with beets (a German soup with cabbage, beef, potatoes, carrots and beets). I love roasting them in the oven and eating them topped on a salad with local goat cheese (from Sonoma, at Trader Joe's). I also love making cake with beets. Yep, cake! Chocolate cake! So first you peel and chop the beets and boil them in water for 20 minutes (caution...beet juice will stain, wear an apron). This is the boiled beets (about 2 cups) in the food processor with 1/2 cup of applesauce. After blending them to a puree, you add 1/2 cup baking cocoa and 1 tsp. vanilla and beat another 90 seconds.

Side note...did you know that you should look for fair-trade cocoa just like you look for fair-trade coffee? Many people, as well as young children, are employed for long hours, being paid unfair wages so that we (Americans) can buy "cheap" coffee or chocolate. Look for this symbol when buying coffee, chocolate, or tea, since these are items you can't buy local and the symbol tells you the workers are paid their fair share.

Getting back to the cake. Mix together 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 oil, 1/2 cup plain yogurt and 3 eggs. Beat 2 minutes. Add in the beet-cocoa mixture. In another bowl sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon. Mix it into the batter with a spoon, stirring only until blended. I added 1 cup of chocolate chips as well. The batter had a red hue to it, not unlike a red velvet cake. But once it is cooked, 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes in a 9X13 pan, it looks like any other chocolate cake! I like to eat mine with some whipped cream on top, and a cup of hot fair-trade coffee with it! The beets make the cake nice and moist, and add to the sweetness and complexity of the chocolate flavor. Try it sometime! Recipe courtesy of the MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) cookbook, Simply in Season.

Happy cooking!