Purple Velvet Torte aka Chocolate Beet Cake

Now here’s a way to get your kids to eat their beets!

Purple Velvet Torte aka Chocolate Beet Cake  

2 ½ cups grated beets
1 cup agave
4 eggs
½ cup grapeseed oil or olive oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ cup cacao powder
½ teaspoon salt

In a medium saucepan, heat the beets and agave to a boil, then cover.  Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, until beets are soft.  Transfer beet-agave mixture to a Cuisinart or Vitamix and puree on highest speed until smooth.  Blend in eggs, oil, vanilla, almond extract, cacao and salt until thoroughly incorporated.  Pour batter into a well greased 9 inch cake pan.  Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool and serve.

Suggestion:  I also simmered a pint of strawberries on the stovetop to scoop on top of each slice!

Farmer John's Beet and Carrot Burgers

This has been a great year for us for carrots and beets!  Here's another great way to use a lot of them up.  This recipe is adapted from Farmer John's Cookbook by John Peterson (Gibbs Smith, 2006).   I worked at Farmer John's 1200-member CSA farm in Illinois in 2005 before coming out to Chelan in 2006.

We just got a new shipment of Farmer John's Cookbook in the market, so pick one up if you don't have one already.  It's along the same lines as the A to Z cookbook, but with a little more sophistication and lots of fun photos and anecdotes about life on the farm.

This recipe takes veggie burgers to a whole new level. Sweet beets and carrots give luscious flavor to the patties—together with pungent onion, snappy cheddar cheese and lots of toasty nuts and seeds. If you dislike frying, you will appreciate this recipe, which calls for baking the patties in the oven.

Farmer John's Beet and Carrot Burgers

1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
2 cups peeled grated beets (1-2 medium beets)
2 cups grated carrots (about 4 carrots)
1/2 cup minced onion (about 1 medium onion)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
3 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Butter or oil for greasing the baking sheet.

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease a baking sheet.

2. Place a small, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and stir them on the dry skillet just until lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes, watching closely to avoid burning them. Immediately remove from heat and transfer the toasted seeds to a dish to cool.

3. Return the skillet to the heat. Add the sunflower seeds and stir them on the dry skillet just until lightly browned and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes, watching closely to avoid burning them. Immediately transfer them to the dish with the sesame seeds.

4. Combine the beets, carrots, and onion in a large bowl. Stir in the toasted sunflower and sesame seeds, eggs, rice, cheddar cheese, oil, flour, parsley, soy sauce or tamari, and garlic. Add cayenne and mix until thoroughly combined.

5. Using your hands, shape the mixture into 12 patties and arrange them in rows on the baking sheet.

6. Bake the patties until brown around the edges, about 20 minutes. Unless they are very large and thick, it should not be necessary to flip them.

Makes 12 patties.



Beet-Quinoa-Feta Salad

Here's a fun summer dish that will get you eating both your beets and your beet greens.  Try it with feta cheese from Sunny Pine farm up in Twisp.

Beet-Quinoa-Feta-Salad
*adapated from www.danispies.com

4 beets with the greens attached
3 cloves of garlic or garlic scapes, minced
2 tsp olive oi
l½ red onion, diced
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup of cooked quinoa
2 tbsp fresh chopped dill
1.5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
Salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 375. Peel beets and cut them into small bite-sized pieces.  Toss beets with one teaspoon of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper.

Place beets on a rimmed baking sheet and pop in the oven for thirty minutes or until the beets are fork tender.

While the beats are cooking, heat remaining olive oil in a nonstick sauté pan over a medium high heat.  Reserve 2 tbsp of onion and set aside.  Toss the remainder of the onion into the oil and cook for about five minutes or until the onions are tender.

Stir in beet greens and apple cider vinegar.  Allow to cook until the greens are just wilted – this will only take a minute or so.

Allow everything to cool a bit before assembling the salad.

In a large bowl combine the two tablespoons of raw onion that you reserved earlier with dill, beet greens, roasted beets, and quinoa.  Season with salt and pepper.

Gently toss in the feta cheese and serve. 



Molly Cooks: Beet and Arugula Salad with Chevre

Molly writes:  "I learned how to make this salad from Carol Kast.  It's super simple, can be partially prepared ahead of time, and is bound win over even the most picky of eaters.  The smaller the beet, the sweeter it is and roasting concentrates the sugars even more, resulting in an almost candied flavor, but with no added sugars.  This is a balanced contrast to the arugula, which is a tangier, spicy green (but more mild when young).  Arugula and beets alike are rich in potassium and calcium, and chevre has a third less fat than cream cheese. You can indulge in this mouth watering salad and know you're putting great things in your body."

• 1 lb beets, the smaller the getter
• 2 generous handfuls of arugula, approximately 2 ounces
• 3 ounces chevre (garlic, or herbed works just as well as plain)
• Olive oil to taste
• Balsamic vinegar to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wash beets well in cold running water, gently scrubbing with a vegetable brush to work off any residual soil. (If you don't have a vegetable scrub, use a fresh dishcloth and gently massage beets.)  Quarter the beets, then slice each wedge in half lengthwise, resulting in 8 pieces per beet.  Cut each piece in half again for larger beets.  Spread the cut beets onto a baking sheet and toss with a bit of olive oil (no more than a tablespoon).  Roast for 30 minutes, tossing once halfway through.  The beets should have blistered, wilted a bit, and have blackened edges.  Set aside to cool.*

Put beets in a large bowl and add arugula.  Crumble chevre over the top of the greens, then add a drizzle of olive oil (start with about a tablespoon) and balsamic vinegar (about a teaspoon). Gently toss together with both hands, and add more olive oil and vinegar to taste. 

*Can be done the night before and refrigerated.