Beets, it’s what’s for dinner.
There aren't many, if any, vegetables that can compare to the taste, texture, nutrient density, and ease of cooking, as a beet. It's whats for dinner!
My girlfriend has been maintaining an abundant garden. We’re growing tomatoes, basil (purple and green), arugula, kale, mixed lettuces, carrots, squash, and I’m sure there is something I’m missing. But the thing I’ve been waiting all summer for is the beets. Yesterday we began harvesting some, and today I got to cook them in the slower cooker.
I started out with 4 beets, and cut the tops and bottoms off, and then peeled the skin. The scraps from this step got put in a gallon freezer bag, where all our veggie cooking scraps go. Once the bags is full, I like to make a nice vegetable broth. If I have a chicken carcass on hand, I’ll add it to the broth for a bone veggie broth. God it’s good.
Once peeled, I cut each one into quarters and then added them to the crock pot, with 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1/2 tsp of kosher sea salt, 3 tbsp of apple cider vinegar, and a few chopped sprigs of parsley (another thing we’re growing that I forgot about).
I tossed it all with a spoon, and then covered and sealed it. 3 hours on low, and I ended up with some of the most tender and tasty beets around.
Give it a try.
One thing I forgot to mention. A few years ago, when my grandfather was alive, he caught me throwing out some beet leaves. This was around 2019, before I had ever considered food waste, agriculture, or even food insecurity.
He stopped me and said, “that’s where all the power is.” From that moment on, whenever I have beet leaves, they go right into my smoothie. They are such a delicious and nutritious addition.
Man vs Nature, So many lessons from the garden
My garden keeps showing me things that I never considered
It’s been amazing to see how fast our garden can get decimated. It just happens so quick.
I go to bed and everything is fine. I wake up and half the broccoli flower is gone. Or I’m missing 6 out of the 8 apples on my tree. Or how this bull horn worm completely infested our tomato plant and ate half the plant in what seems like a few hours.
As my girlfriend put it, “where do they come from?!”
The bites in the tomatoes were so big and deep that I actually thought the squirrels were eating them. Since they were the ones who got my apples (I saw them do it).
Only to find out that there’s about 10 worms on my plant eating through it. 50 percent of our tomato plants gone in the blink of an eye.
Nature happens so fast and we’re constantly battling it. What feels like hours of work for us in the garden, happens effortlessly in nature. She’s always a step ahead.
The thing is that in nature, everything operates in scarcity mode. Always having just enough to survive. Or not. So when nature sees abundance, like in my garden, she’s always planning an attack to get what she needs. And by the time we notice it, nature has taken over.
But I had this crazy thought when thinking about this Nature vs Man idea. What if, like the people on Alone, I started capturing the squirrels that are eating my apples and ate them?
They’re encroaching on my food source so, like the people on Alone, I think I have every right to take them out. My girlfriend and I have been watching Alone for the last couple of weeks and these are the things we think about now.
She was at a dirt bike event last week, and she camped the night before with a big group of volunteers and riders. At one point I asked her how she was doing. She responded “I’m survive on reindeer moss and building a cabin for the winter. I feel good.”
Which completely caught me off guard and made me laugh.
But this is the battle. Humans versus nature, and humans have too much abundance. The battle rages on.