So I started trying to come up with ways to improve that percentage… I can continue my practice of Conscious Shopping (my eBook will be available soon!) and set a goal of increasing my local spending as I go. I also like the idea of pledging to eat only food from local sources one day a week or even make that one meal each day. OR, I thought (sometimes I think in all caps), I can dare myself. In fact, I can skip straight to the almighty Triple Dog Dare. As in, “Maia, I Triple Dog Dare you to go 30-days without eating anything that is not locally grown or produced!”

Hmm… points to ponder…

In my last post, I mentioned what a logical, rational person I am. Which is absolutely true. But it’s not the only kind of person I am. Sometimes I need a challenge. I need to shake things up—and things haven’t gotten shaken—or even stirred, for that matter—around here in a long time.

But I digress.

I came across this William James (psychologist, philosopher, author and brother of Henry—I know. I looked it up) quote a while back and it’s been glued to me ever since…

“To change one’s life: do it flambouyantly; do it immediately; no exceptions.”

Don’t get me wrong. I do believe that slow and steady wins the race and that a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step and all that sensible stuff. But. Sometimes don’t you just want to take a side trip and dance like a dervish? Don’t you want to kick down the walls of that box you’re supposed be thinking outside of and live like there is no box?

Here is where I am: TODAY I WANT TO DANCE LIKE A DERVISH AND LIVE LIKE THERE IS NO BOX!

And so it goes…I am taking that Triple Dog Dare. 
 

As far as cooking goes, beets are really wonderful because you can use both the greens and the roots to make completely different dishes. This week I started toying with that idea and ended up with a combination of oven-roasted beets (and other tasty root vegetables) and sautéed greens. These dishes are lovely on their own, but also delicious (my favorite) when served together.

I love this dish and wanted to share it, so I’ve decided to do is to post a few recipes in this blog in hopes of sharing and getting some feedback. I’d love to hear what you think!

Oven-Roasted Beets with Sautéed Greens

Ingredients:
A bunch of beets, including the greens
3 or 4 (or more, if you like) baby turnips, peeled and cut in chunks
6-8 fingerling potatoes
Olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tsp butter (optional)
Kale
Mushrooms, sliced
Garlic, sliced
Balsamic vinegar

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Wash the beets and trim the greens (leaving an inch or so of the stalks attached to the beets) and set aside. You want to keep the beetroot intact, so that lovely color doesn’t run and turn the other vegetables pink.  Put the beets, turnips and potatoes in an oven-safe baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes to one hour, until vegetables are soft (a knife will slide in and out easily).

Meanwhile, wash the beet greens and kale (discarding the kale stems) and tear or roughly chop into bite-sized pieces. Wash and slice mushrooms. Slice the garlic.

When the root vegetables are nearly done, heat butter and olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When the butter stops sizzling, add the mushrooms and sauté until soft. (Note: if you don’t want to use butter, you can just use olive oil instead. I just happen to like the flavor combination of mushrooms and butter). Add the sliced garlic and sauté until it begins to turn golden. Add the greens and sauté until they turn bright green and begin to wilt. Remove from stove; add a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar and toss.

Arrange the greens on a plate and place oven-roasted vegetables on top. At this point, I like to rub the beets to remove the skin and then slice the beets before placing them on the greens.

Go Beets!

All I wanted was a crispy bit of whole grain toast. Too much to ask? I don’t think so. And the only decision I wanted to make was: sweet potato spread or freshly made homemade butter? That’s right, freshly homemade organic butter. Yum. The butter might have won out, I think, but I opened the breadbox and was surprised—and frankly, a little irritated—to find it curiously devoid of bread. Unless you count the three packages of carefully saved ends tucked neatly in one corner. Good for something, but not—in my opinion—toast.

The Search for Inspiration

I’m not a wasteful person and I simply can’t bring myself to throw it away–which is how there came to be three practically empty packages to begin with. What to do? Make breadcrumbs? Nope, did that with the last batch. Make toast anyway? Definitely not. I try to limit my bread intake (even if it is a nice hearty whole grain) and so I want to fully enjoy it when I do have it. Bread ends don’t cut it.
     What, I asked myself—out loud, alone in my kitchen and sounding more aggravated than I should have—what do people do with these things?! I wasn’t actually expecting an answer, but one came to me, calmly and rationally, anyway: they make bread pudding.
     Of course they do. I’ve done it myself. Once. With splendid results, even. Suddenly, the clear, crisp late summer day seemed like the perfect day to make bread pudding, particularly as my brain started inventorying potential ingredients…the buttermilk from my fresh butter-making project, the fresh peaches liberated from an upstate-NY farm stand over the weekend (not to worry—I paid for their freedom)… Ah, the exciting possibilities!

All’s Well that Ends Well

Well, those pesky bread ends ended up well; warm bread pudding with fresh peaches on a cool evening is a far cry from the brink of disposal, to be sure. This week, I have more fresh peaches and an idea or two for improving this already tasty dish. When it’s ready, I’ll be sure and post the recipe, I promise. This is going to be a fun week in the kitchen!

I never did make that toast.