Earth Salad

I'm back! August proved to be outrageously overwhelming but now I'm thrilled to share more of what's going on in my kitchen. As summer nears its end, the food growing in Minnesota and Wisconsin continues to be oh so beautiful. This is one of my newest fave ways to eat the plentiful root vegetables given to us from Driftless Organics. Overall cooking time is long due to roasting the beets, but you barely lift a finger to make this. Hands-on time is very minimal and easy to do while the rest of dinner bakes or grills.

We enjoy this with grilled corn, portobellos, veggies burgers and zucchini (grilled zukes are the BEST!). Get those grills going while you still can. Vegans and vegetarians can rock the grill, too!

INGREDIENTS:

4-5 beets, rinsed and ends trimmed
4 yellow potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-size pieces
4-5 carrots, scrubbed and cut into bite-size pieces

Preheat oven to 350. Individually wrap beets in foil and place on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 90 minutes. Let them cool while you prepare the potatoes and carrots. Place potatoes in a medium-sized pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil. Cook for about 8 minutes (don't overcook the pots...don't want them mushy) then add the carrots and cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes (until the carrots are barely tender). Drain in colander when finished. Unwrap beets and remove the skin - it will easily fall off with barely a touch. Cut into bite-size pieces. Add all the veggies together in a serving bowl. Cover with below dressing. Serve immediately or chilled. Delicious either way.

DRESSING INGREDIENTS:

3 tablespoons of sunflower or olive oil
2 tablespoons of vinegar (balsamic, apple cider or red wine)
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together with a fork and pour over veggies. I prefer to eyeball my measuring of dressing ingredients. I think it always turns out tastier and obviously unique each and every time.

OPTIONS:

Add a few handfuls of arugula or spinach, OR throw in some rinsed and roughly chopped beet greens to the end of the potatoes and carrots cooking time. Just barely blanche them in the hot water.