BSI: Beets (Beets with Sour Cream)

This week's Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) was beets, one of my favorites! Ok, I don't really have a fruit or a vegetable (besides raw tomatoes and all fungus) that isn't my favorite, but I digress...

Then I realized that I don't really have a recipe for beets. I just eat them. I searched and searched online and wasn't really finding anything except a lot of people that hate beets.

I came to the conclusion that beets, for whatever reason, are kind of an outdated food of yesteryear. Something that used to be eaten a lot more often than they are now.

Which, lucky for me, kind of worked out since I have an odd obsession with old cookbooks. You know, those weird ones from the 1950s with jello molds or church recipe collections with bindings hand sewn with yarn - they are my weakness in thrift stores. I struck gold in this little baby that is older than my boyfriend (and he's old!)

It has a section for each vegetable and tells a little about how to select, prepare, cook, and serve them. Then a few pages follow with recipes devoted to that veggie. I made my selection and went to town!

1 can whole beets
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp sliced green onion (I subbed normal onion)
1 Tbsp vinegar (I used white)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
dash cayenne, optional

In a small saucepan combine sour cream, milk, onion, vinegar, sugar, salt, and cayenne if using. Heat through over low heat, but do not boil.

Halve rinsed beets and add to the mixture. (*Note: You could easily use fresh beets that you would prepare by boiling and skinning. However, fresh beets were $5.29 for a bunch of 3 or 4 so I went the canned route.)

Stir until incorporated and let cook a few minutes until the beets are warmed through.


Serve immediately. (Johnny said it looked like we were having beets with Pepto Bismal and I had to agree.)

It was also cool with each forkful you took, the beet would "bleed" its true red more.

Overall I think this was a nice side dish to dinner. You could still very clearly taste the earthy beets, and the sauce acted like a dressing. It was a tad tangy and creamy which was a nice compliment to the beets. I'll still love them plain, but it's cool to have another way to eat them in the future!