January 6, 2020

Beet Poke

dani@slyrooster.com Sides, Vegetarian Asian, beets 3 Comments

Happy New Year! 2020. I seriously can’t believe it.

I think that we all have years that at some point in our lives felt (or feel) so far in the future that when they actually arrive it seems unreal. For me, this year has always been 2020. You see, 2020 was the year that our first born, baby Kyle, a.k.a. K-Man, was going to graduate high school and head off to college. Class of 2020. Class of 2020, how cute was that? How far away…we are talking distant future. But then, here we are. I’m not going to go all “Grown and Flown” on you here (great blog when you are at my parenting stage and feel like crying your eyes out), not yet at least, but I will echo the familiar refrain that every parent hears at the supermarket checkout line, in doctor’s office waiting rooms, at the beach and everywhere in between, “It goes by so fast.” And I suppose that’s true with everything, not just parenting, nothing lasts forever so enjoy it while it lasts or suffer through while you must but this too shall pass. Anyway, I’m sorry, I got caught up in the impact of 2020 and am using you all as my captive audience. Captive audience of three, I’m guessing, because with “beets” in the title I’ve likely already lost the majority of my readers.

Beets. As you may already know, I am in the “love them” camp but wasn’t always. As a little girl, I faked liking beets to please my big, loud-laughing, twinkling green-eyed/blue-eyed grandfather. At least, this how I remember my introduction to beets–and my grandfather, for that matter.

I mostly remember my Grandpa Julie from pictures in photo albums and stories told again and again. He passed away before my sister (Julie) was born but after my brother Mark arrived, so I must have been about 5 or 6 years old. The image that I have is of a larger-than-life man (in the imagination of a little girl who thought he was the best thing ever, he was 7 feet tall), wearing a white undershirt and a great big smile. I remember him laying on the floor like a fallen tree with me climbing all over him, while my Grandma Betty admonished, “Stop that Julie, someone is going to get hurt!” Over the years, I was told stories about his presence (he must have been very loud) and his generosity (there wasn’t a kid that he didn’t treat as his own) and his respect (a lady always gets on the bus before you and every male around) and his kindness (“Bobby (my dad at 15 years old), if DeeDee (my mom at 13) is going to sit here with you at your newspaper stand, then you are to walk her home at the end of the day.”) He taught my father the importance of hard work and would undoubtably be both shocked and delighted to see what my dad has achieved and where he is today.

My unique memory of Grandpa Julie was sitting next to him in a diner booth. I was lucky to have that coveted spot and I would do anything to maintain my position. Julie was going on and on (or maybe he just mentioned once?) about his love for beets. Now mind you, we were in a diner and this was the early 1970’s. No one was doing anything fancy with beets, they were straight from a can. But of course, if Grandpa Julie loved beets, then I would love them too. So, I declared my allegiance and took a forkful. The beets were horrible! Possibly the worst thing I had ever tasted but I remember the proud look on my grandpa’s face and the pleasure he took in our unique bond as we proceeded to share the entire little bowl (or did I get away with having just that one forkful?). I’ll never know exactly how the story went. There’s no one to ask because it was such an insignificant moment but it’s a memory that I will forever cherish, whether or not it’s been embellished with time.

It took a couple of decades for me to retry beets after that initial encounter and it was a slow courtship but I can say that now, I truly love them. I like beets roasted and tossed with some olive oil and crumbled goat cheese. I love them in a bowl of Borscht (link to my absolute favorite version). I like this recipe for Balsamic Glazed Beets and Greens especially because it uses the often neglected beet greens. And this Beet and Goat Cheese Dip is divine.

But I really like this new recipe for a Beet Poke that has the Asian slant that I so love. It’s different from the more typical beet flavor combinations and can be served as a side dish, salad or topping over rice or noodles. Personally, I like eating them by the forkful and think that Grandpa Julie would approve. Enjoy!