Pickled Beets Recipe INGREDIENTS 1 bunch (4 or 5) beets 1/4 cup cider vinegar 1 Tbsp sugar 1 Tbsp olive oil 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard Salt and pepper METHOD 1 Remove greens from beets, save for future use (see beet greens recipe). Cut beets to uniform sizes so they will cook evenly. Steam or boil around 30 minutes or until done. (Alternatively, you can roast them by wrapping them whole in foil and cooking them in a 350°F oven for about an hour.) A fork easily inserted into the beet will tell you if the beets are done or not. 2 Drain the beets, rinsing them in cold water. Use your fingers to slip the peels off of the beets. The peels should come off easily. Discard the peels. Slice the beets. 3 Make the vinaigrette by combining the cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and dry mustard. Whisk ingredients together with a fork. The dry mustard will help to emulsify the vinaigrette. Adjust to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Combine beets and vinaigrette in a bowl and allow to marinate for a half hour at room temperature. Serves four.

Frozen Vegetables

I had a eureka moment on the weekend. I always buy frozen peas, even in the summer, since fresh peas are so expensive. I went shopping on Sunday and intended buying fresh broccoli. Suddenly I realized that we were in the middle of the winter. What was I doing buying fresh broccoli? It will have come from overseas, it certainly is expensive and I don't need unfrozen broccoli since I don't eat it raw. I bought a huge package of it frozen and it will go much further and for far less money. This is what I used to do years ago. How did I fall out of the habit? I won't make this mistake again.

Here is a link to an article from the BBC website suggesting that out of season, frozen vegetables are the healthier options. Interesting!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2902223.stm