Beet Greens!

I was a skeptic. Worse than that, a non-believer. I had read that beet greens were edible. I may have even read that they were good, but I didn't believe it. I was like my 4 year old who refuses to believe that anything I make for dinner will be remotely edible, let alone palatable. But I finally tried them. I don't remember what sparked it. A conversation with a friend perhaps. Or the fleeting thought as I chopped off a huge bundle of greens from a bunch of beets that I was being wasteful...I really don't know. But now I am a believer. They were so good I went out and bought some more. If you like sauteed spinach I can guarantee you will like beet greens. Same texture, similar taste but without that strange astringent aftertaste you sometimes get with spinach. Furthermore, at least in season, beet represent the greatest value in veggies and the 2 dishes you can get from this one plant are so different, it's hard not to start loving the beet. And all this from a person who last year not only merely tolerated the beet, but tossed the greens with a sneer at the thought of eating them. My apologies to those wasted greens.

Sauteed Beet Greens

Trim greens from one bunch of beets. Submerge in a sink of water to wash. Trim thick, woody ends and ribs. Roughly chop leaves.

In a pan, heat extra-virgin olive oil and add at least 2 cloves chopped garlic. Just as it begins to turn golden, throw in the greens, scant 1t kosher salt and stir. Cook until wilted. Eat. Buy more. Repeat. Become a believer.

VEW

Pick a Leaf Pesto

Tonight should have been a pizza night: My husband is out of town for the second night in a row, I have 3 small children that never seem to tire, today was the first day we had to all be out the door and 25 minutes south of home in the early (for us) morning...I am tired. But I couldn't bring myself to feed me or my kids a bit of dough with a bit of processed tomato and some poor quality cheese. The scene in the fridge wasn't promising. I had a bunch of singlet veggies and not much else. Upon realizing they would all go to waste since we are headed out of town for the weekend I brainstormed the following tasty dish which I will now add to my repertoire of speedy, good meals.

I had some arugula and decided a pesto topped with my random veggies would be good. I didn't really have enough of any one ingredient for a true arugula pesto so I used what I had and it worked well. I always make pesto to taste rather than by measurements, so I will just try to approximate them here.

2 big handfuls of greens: I used a lot of arugula and added about 10 big leaves of basil, 10 leaves of sage and a bit of parsley.
3 cloves of garlic
6T total of nuts: I used pine nuts and walnuts
Process in a food processor then add:
1/3 C extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 C total Pecorino and/or Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt to taste

To this add pasta water to make the consistency to your liking.

To the cooked pasta and pesto I added one whole zucchini, peeled into ribbons with a veggie peeler--my new favorite thing to do since a friend gave me the tip that I think she learned from Jamie Oliver.

This alone was great, but grilled chicken would be good with it for something more hearty, or you can do what I did and saute whatever veggies you have on hand and top the pasta with them. I used some grape tomatoes, red bell pepper and red onion. It was so much better all around than pizza and just as quick.
VEW