Is That a Cookie on Your Salad?

When I got my first CSA haul a few weeks ago, it included some beets.  I've actually never cooked with beets before, so I was unsure of what to do with them.

Luckily, I had already bookmarked a few recipes that call for beets, including the Fitnessista's carrot beet and bean burgers.   And as luck would have it, the CSA share also came with carrots, and I had some cannellini beans in the cupboard.  It's pretty much magical when I already have all of the ingredients for a recipe on hand.  Is this what it feels like to be Martha Stewart?!

I followed the recipe pretty closely, but I used ground oats instead of chickpea flour, and I omitted the mustard powder because I didn't have any.  Okay, so I guess I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand.  There go my illusions of being like Martha Stewart.

But that's okay, they turned out really, really well.  I was actually surprised by how much I liked them.  I wasn't sure if I'd be a huge fan of the beet flavor, but they were delicious.  However, I cannot recommend trying to dehydrate beets.  I thought I could make some veggie "chips" with some of the leftover beets - BAD idea.  Ick, I still shudder to think of that raw beet taste.  Blech.

I actually ate one of the beet burgers on top of a bed of acorn squash.

Pretty darn tasty.  And colorful!  Just think of all the antioxidants.

I also put one of the beet burgers on top of my salad and took it to school one day.  When I got my lunch out, one of my friends asked if I had a cookie on my salad, haha.  Not quite... :)

Are you guys getting ready for Halloween?  I didn't dress up the past two years (tragic, I know) but this year I've got two costumes planned out - a southern belle and "bad" Sandy from Grease.  I've actually worn both of these costumes before, but I think it was 8th grade when I was the southern belle, so that barely counts, right?

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Song of the day:

"If I Didn't Know Better" by Sam Palladio & Clare Bowen.  This song if from the new show Nashville - has anyone been watching it?  I'm a big fan of Connie Britton (from Friday Night Lights - pretty much the best show ever), and so far I'm liking Nashville a lot.  I pretty much can't resist a show that incorporates a lot of great music!  This song is so pretty, and how about that crazy chemistry between the actors??  Sigh.