beets

oh what can i write about the beet? i remember eating this somewhere as a child. Perhaps some american person's thanksgiving dinner. it was canned beet. this sliced cylinder slipped onto my plate and i was told i had to eat it. or was that canned cranberry sauce? well whenever it happened, i must have blocked it out. for me, it was important to do so. i didn't like them. in fact, i have never liked them. i only started eating them last week. i have one more beet to cook up (pictured) and i'm not sure what i should do to it.

so why the altar? the ode that you will eventually scroll down and get to read later? did i find some amazing recipe to captivate my thirsty taste buds? well, the honest, straightforward truth is no. i recently went on a veggie/fruit/brown rice cleanse. to add variety to my meals i decided to give the old beet another shot at my affection.

scientific name: beta vulgaris
common name: beet
family: chenopodiaceae

i also steamed this heart shaped root. It is the only way i know how to eat it (besides canned), although i have fantasies of stir frying this with a bunch of soy sauce. perhaps next time.

Fact: Beetroot is great for circulation, blood and liver ailments
Fact: The greens of a beetroot contain abundant oxalic acid, and if eaten excessively, inhibit calcium metabolism.

*information above gathered from the book Healing With Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

Fact: Beets is a name of a city in the Netherlands
Fact: Beet is a manga/anime character from the story, Beet the Vandel Buster

*information above gathered from wikipedia. i do not garauntee information from wikipedia.

there is also an article on BBC online which links beetroot as being an aphrodisiac .

it is perhaps that i was on this cleanse, that i learned to appreciate the healthy benefits of beets. i'm not sure i'll be eating that many of them, but i can certainly make the effort. like pureeing it into soup, perhaps.

another peace finding fact about beets that can be found in Paul Pitchford's book, beets sedate the spirit.

my spirit is already sedated this evening, as my eyes droop. this may be it for tonight...

ode:

oh heart of beet, never shall you have feet
because you are rooted...
by roots!
you are never to be defeated.
no matter how you are heated,
your lovely shade of red
reminds me,
you shall never make me weak
in the knees
but i will always be grateful
how strong you make me
of heart and soul.


give me your best beet comment.