How to Eat Beet Greens:
Beet Greens are delicious.
When warmed and wilted they taste similar to spinach.
And I love spinach.
Here’s how I prepare my beet greens:
Top your beets…as in chop off the beautiful green leaves and stems growing on the top of your beets.
Now, I love beets even more than beet greens. I love them roasted, steamed, or pickled. But, today we are talking about the greens so for now set the beets aside and let’s focus on the task at hand.
Alright.
So you’ve topped the beets now it’s time to chop the greens.
That’s right chop ’em up…not too small…think salad sized bites.
*NOTE: I cut off the bulk of the stems. They aren’t “bad” but I prefer the leaf over the stem.
After chopping it’s time for washing.
Throw all your beets in a strainer and wash them good.
Meanwhile heat a little olive oil in a skillet on the stove.
Add the washed greens to your oil.
Toss and Heat.
Salt and Pepper. (I use course salt and fresh cracked pepper.)
When the greens begin to wilt add some minced garlic…and a little bit of butter (everything tastes better with a little bit of butter).
Toss and cook until wilted.
Then….ENJOY!!!
Or don’t.
While I love beet greens…picking them…cooking them…eating them…they aren’t everyone’s jam.
And that’s ok.
I could try to convince you how good they are for you…how much joy their coloring gives me…how tasty they are with a squeeze of fresh lemon (so tasty)…but if they aren’t your jam, they aren’t your jam.
And maybe they would be your jam but the thoughts of planting the beets and growing the beets and watering the beets and harvesting the beets and topping the beets and washing the beets and chopping the beets and sautéing the beets sounds exhausting.
If so, I feel you.
Over the past few months…possibly (and probably) longer I have started to feel…umm…restless, uncomfortable, itchy,…like I don’t know myself???
The words I am looking for are hard to find but it boils down to this:
I am becoming increasingly aware of what I like…actually like…and what I don’t like…and what I really don’t like even if it is something that everyone else loves.
I have become aware that as my life progresses through different times and seasons so do “my jams”.
For example in college 7-11 Nachos, loud concerts, and booty shorts with flannel shirts were my jam.
And then as a young couple with small children a $5 “Hot and Ready” Pizza from our local pizza place on a Friday night seemed like a savory treat.
Years ago I wouldn’t have the time, desire, or space to prepare beet greens let alone grow the beets….and now you couldn’t drag me to a mosh pit or make me eat a slice of that pizza!
(And those are only two small examples.)
Life ebbs and flows and while some transitions happen suddenly some happen over time and you can find yourself doing something out of habit that really isn’t “your jam”…or worse…you find yourself doing it because everyone else likes it.
Like….yoga.
Everyone says they like yoga. It is good for you they say. It will bring you inner peace they say. It will make you more flexible they say.
So for years I kept trying yoga.
Yoga tapes, yoga classes, yoga YouTube channels, chocolate frozen yogurt…wait, that is something entirely different….delicious but different.
Anyway, I should like yoga. My siblings like yoga. I think I might have even used to like yoga.
But guess what…I don’t like yoga now. At all.
I just don’t.
It’s not my jam.
It makes me both anxious and annoyed.
And that is ok.
Over the past few weeks, after I noticed my…discontent…I started to pay attention.
Maybe I’m getting older. Maybe I am heading into a new time and season of life. Maybe things feel different as we navigate towards a new post Covid normal.
Whatever the reason I have been paying attention to these nagging feelings and making some lists.
Lists of what I truly like: pickled red onions, tomatillo salsa, painting with my girls…and yes quietly growing, preparing, and eating beet greens.
And paired with that I have started lists of what I really don’t like: hamburgers, girls nights out, and my phone when it isn’t on silent.
And the restlessness is starting to fade and I feel like I’m being reintroduced to myself all over again…and I like what I am discovering. The list making has helped. My spirits are starting to lift.
I am feeling like myself again and that my friends is a great feeling.
Why am I telling you all of this?
Well….because….maybe you might be wondering what to do with your beet greens, maybe because August is a Soul Mending Society Month, or maybe because I suspect I’m not the only one going through a restless time of transition and that list making may help someone get more comfortable with themselves again too.
Make Yourselves Some Lists and Enjoy your Jams.
Sending you all of my love as I stand here in my kitchen chopping greens…
-liZ
