Beets, Under Oath

Beets are my newest crush. In April, I planted a number of seed-based root vegetables. Parsnips (which seem to be impossible to get out of the ground, spectacular "purple haze carrots" which are purple on the outside, orange on the inside and which look spectacular when cut, and beets. They were EFFORTLESS to grow.

When I pulled the beets, and carrots out of the ground a few weeks ago, I was moved by the fact that I was literally holding borscht in my hands. Ukrainian folks revere this gorgeous red soup, with veg stock (or meat stock for special occasions). It smelled like MY roots and I felt connected with history.

Last year I had a similar moment when my eggplant, peppers and tomatoes were all ripe at the same time. I was holding eggplant parmesan, or ratatouille. You can sense the evolution of a classic dish when you grow a garden. Who knew?

I've been roasting beets in the oven, whole, at 400 degrees for about 2 hours. They become beautifully sweet, almost like candy. Sprinkled with goat cheese or feta, they are divine. They are a beautiful lipstick stain red of a colour. In cutting them up, there is something revealing - almost immodest - about this kind of intensity. I felt a bit like Lady Macbeth who can't escape her history..."Out damned spot" or Catherine Zeta Jones in Chicago, after a particularly bad evening. My red hands gave me away - there is no "beeting" this kind of intensity. They are resplendent items and nothing short of bold.

Red. Rich. Intense. Effortless. And they stain everything they touch!

That is my kind of vegetable!

Yesterday I decided to go for it and make a sweet beet cupcake. The batter is gorgeous - I just used a carrot cake recipie and substituted beets. No extra spices, except for some vanilla. Two years ago, I added shredded beet to chocolate cupcakes which totally rocked. It made the cupcakes incredibly moist, loaded with vegetables full of antioxidants. But last night, I put the beets out there for all to see.

They were delicious. Red and sweet. I think they can maybe be made better with some shredded apple, but they were good. What I liked about this version is that you could still taste the beet. I wasn't trying to hide it.

In law practice, you can respect another lawyer for telling it to you like it is. None of the snivelly hiding behind some poseur "position", or masking one's devilishness with a technicality. There were technically beets in the chocolate cupcakes, but not straight up.

Harrison ate the whole thing, but when he asked "what's this?" I said "raspberry". Technically, there was raspberry in the yogurt cream cheese sauce I served with it. But misleading him was very un-beet-like of me. At the time, he had just refused to eat the butternut squash for dinner, I really felt that all was fair in love and food.

Beets would have told the truth, whether or not they were under oath.

I know a lot of parents who lie to their kids about food. I know lawyers sometimes who rely on technicalities to lie to the other side, er... who bluff... um, I mean, who "tirelessly advance their client's position"...

But sometimes you just have to go right out there with the truth, and hope both kids and other lawyers can handle it.

I know! I have the perfect way out of this! I'll ask Harrison if he wants the truth about the dessert he ate. When he answers , I'll shout "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!"

I know the two lawyers in the house will laugh. The kid may never forgive me. Either that, or he'll go in for another bite...