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Beets brighten early spring meals

Recipe: Roasted beet and citrus salad is healthy comfort food

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED APR 12, 2020

Cara Cara oranges and roasted beets combine in a colorful, healthy spring salad. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Beets are good for what ails you.

I got that advice often from my grandmother, who swore by beets as a universal tonic. (Borscht, anyone?)

Beets are packed with vitamins and antioxidants, making them a healthy comfort food. This early spring salad makes the most of their naturally sweet flavor, brought out by roasting.

Wedges of roasted beet are lightly tossed with citrus supremes (sections trimmed of any membrane) and a citrus vinaigrette. For this version, I used Cara Cara oranges, which have a pink hue to their sweet flesh. Red grapefruit or navel oranges work well, too.

The beets and citrus top a bed of baby spinach; baby arugula, lettuce or other greens may be substituted, also.

A word of warning: Beets turn everything pink. That includes your hands, clothes and cutting surfaces. Wear gloves and an apron while handling these vegetables.

After roasting, the beets should be cooled and peeled.

Easy roasted beets: Wash beets well, scrubbing off any dirt. Trim off tops, leaving about a half inch attached to the beet. (Save the greens; they’re great slow-cooked.) Trim off tap root.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wrap beets in foil individually or, if small, in pairs. Place wrapped beets on a rimmed cookie sheet and put in oven. Roast for 45 to 60 minutes, or until beets are easily pierced with a skewer or thin blade.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Peel beets; the skins will slip right off.

Another tip: To avoid getting pink beet stains everywhere, hold the beet with a paper towel and rub the skin off with a corner of the paper towel.

Beets are two vegetables in one: Save the

tops for another recipe.

Roasted beets and citrus salad
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 pound beets (about 4)
2 Cara Cara oranges or 1 red grapefruit, cut into sections or supremes
4 cups baby spinach or salad greens

Vinaigrette:
¼ cup orange or grapefruit juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 dash Tabasco
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Roast beets, as directed above. (This can be done the night before.) After beets are peeled, chill until ready to assemble salad.

Cut beets into wedges. Place beets in bowl with citrus sections or supremes.

Make vinaigrette. In a jar, put all ingredients. Cover jar and shake until blended.

Add vinaigrette to beets and citrus; lightly toss.

Put spinach or greens on salad plates. Top with beet-citrus mixture.

Serve immediately.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

recipes spring vegetables citrus gardening Sacramento farmers markets greens backyard produce produce management beets salad

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Garden Checklist for week of May 5

Survey your garden after the May 4 rainstorm. Heavy rain and gusty winds can break the neck of large flowers such as roses. Also:

* Keep an eye on new transplants or seedlings; they could take a pounding from the rain.

* Watch out for powdery mildew. Warmth following moist conditions can cause this fungal disease to “bloom,” too. If you see a leaf that looks like it’s dusted with powdered sugar, snip it off.

* After the storm, start setting out tomato transplants, but wait on the peppers and eggplants (they want warmer nights). Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.

* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.

* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash.

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias. Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Don’t wait; plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

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