A lovely woman I once worked with was quoted on her television show last night saying, "I try my best not to raise a**holes," referring to her teenage daughters growing up in the spotlight of Los Angeles. Please note, I use the word "lovely" very, very loosely as this woman was somewhat of a challenge to work with, and not terribly classy (I think her quote pretty much says it all). On that note, however, it got me thinking about a family member of mine who once said something similar, and they weren't entirely wrong. The nonsense I put my mother through at the dinner table on a nightly basis would be enough to send most parents over the edge, or at least diving into a bottle of something. If I wasn't inquiring about sex (our table was the safe place to ask anything we wanted, and usually provoked by my siblings, I was the one to ask away), I was sneaking food I didn't like to our dogs under the table or wrapping it up in a napkin. Like the loud-mouthed, big-lipped, uncensored actress I once worked with, I held nothing back when it came to my despise of certain foods. You couldn't beat me hard enough to enjoy beets (and, no, my parents weren't abusive at all, the polar opposite, thankfully). Any vegetable, actually, was about as foreign to me as Mikhail Gorbachev (and as repulsive). Today it's quite a different story, and after a long winter (and cruddy produce at the grocery stores) I was craving veggies last night, so prepared one of my favorites...roasted beets and asparagus.
IF YOU CAN'T BEET THEM, ENJOY THEM!
If someone offered me beets two years ago I would gag, spit, twirl and make a face anyone would want to slap, and today I can't get enough of them! Not only are they incredibly healthy, they're easy to prepare. Here's what we love to do...
1.) Pre-heat oven to 350
2.) Wash beets and cut off stems but do NOT peel
3.) Place beets and asparagus on a cookie tray and sprinkle with olive oil. With your hands, roll veggies in oil to give them a good soaking then top with salt and pepper and pop in the oven for 45 minutes. They'll come out shrunk, slightly crispy and looking as ugly as Gorbachev, but BOY are they good!
4.) To add a yummy twist to the beets, we'll place them in a bowl with fresh grated blue cheese and mix it all up, the heat from the beets melts the cheese and is just divine!!
