That’s what The All-Star said the other night during dinner.  Until recently, I didn’t know much how to prepare beets.  My only experience was cold, chopped or pickled beets at the salad bar or from the jar. I never ate them growing up. I did once juice them with apples.  It was good, but I never tried it again.

Then one day these dirty purple brown things arrived in my Farm Fresh box.  As always when a food I don’t know how to cook enters my kitchen, I pulled out my trusty How to Cook Everything cookbook in search of a delicious beet recipe.  This book is so helpful because it doesn’t just give fancy recipes for culinary delights, it explains how to wash, chop, prepare, store almost any food you can think of.  I usually start with the basics and work my way up from there.  The simplest recipe for beets I could find has turned out to be one of my favorites. It requires nothing more than a bit of tin foil and an oven.  What you end up with is warm, delicious, and slightly dirt-like flavored goodness!

Simply wash the beets, cut off the stem, and wrap each beet individually and place on a pan. Cook in the at 425°F for 30-60 minutes, depending on the size.

Your beets are done when you can easily piece them with a knife. Take out the beets, and let them cool for a bit, unwrap and gently peel of the skin.

Slice them to your desired thickness. You can drizzle olive, butter, vinegar, or whatever you prefer. We eat them plain. They have enough flavor on their own.

Enjoy!