Shredded Beet and Jicama Salad

Beets – I love them. I love them roasted, juiced, and in salads, especially shredded. The other day felt balmy compared to the winter we’ve had and I’m already craving crunchy, refreshing salads. Not so surprising since I lived on warm bowls of something for the last few months.

So over the weekend, out of nowhere, I decided to combine shredded beets and jicama, a wonderfully, mild, slightly sweet, and crunchy root vegetable. The texture almost reminds me of a crisp pear. The combination was begging for something citrusy, so I added the last of my champagne-citrus vinegar, some freshly-squeezed orange juice, and sea salt. That was it (almost).

The result was so delicious that I already know what I’ll be eating a lot of this Spring and Summer. Not to mention that I’ll be getting a good arm workout from shredding the vegetables : ) Kidding aside, you can shred them in the food processor if you’d like, but in the time it takes to take it out, set it up, shred, empty, and wash, you could have done it by hand.

I still love my food processor, though. In fact, I used it to make dinner tonight which was a gluten-free pizza with a mustard greens and kale sauce that I love.

But here’s the recipe for the salad:

Shredded Beet and Jicama Salad

1 medium beet, shredded

1 medium jicama, shredded

1 T citrus vinegar

2-3 T freshly-squeezed orange juice

1 T olive or grapeseed oil

sea salt to taste

Combine all the ingredients, chill for 30 minutes or more, then serve. That’s it. Simple and delicious! I had to stop myself from eating the entire bowl.

It went well with a millet cauliflower “potato” dish and sautéed beet greens. I’ll be posting the potato recipe soon!

Winter Candy

After making a delicious root vegetable soup the other day, I found myself with lots of leftover vegetables. This time of year, root veggies offer a wealth of nutrients and fiber and will stop a sweet tooth in its tracks.

When roasted, roasted root vegetables are colorful, crisp on the outside, warm and creamy on the inside and loaded with flavor. They’re perfect as a side (I had them with a fritatta) or even piled on top of a bed of salad greens. And no worries about what you have on hand. This time around, I didn’t have sweet potatoes, which are my favorite, so I used parsnips, rutabegas, beets, and fennel. The result was still sweet like candy and I didn’t even miss the sweet potatoes!

Roasted Root Vegetables

Any combination of the following:

Onions, Shallots, Leeks

Parsnips

Carrots

Celery

Rutabegas

Turnips

Sweet Potatoes, yams, or white potatoes

Beets

Fennel

Garlic, minced

1 – 2 T olive or grapeseed oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash, peel, and chop the vegetables into uniform, bite-sized pieces. Place them in a large bowl and add the garlic, oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine well then spread the mixture onto a pan or in a baking dish. Roast at ~400°F for 30 minutes, turn the veggies over and roast an additional 15 minutes, or until tender.

A Sweet and Tangy Red Juice

I’ve talked about my time every week in Boston on several occasions and there’s always something to learn from it for me. I work not far from a few small but good restaurants and although I mostly bring my food with me for two days of work, I will sometimes eat out. Around the corner from the office is a place called the Blue Shirt Café that makes salads, wraps, soups, smoothies, and juices. Before leaving Boston one week, I designed my own fresh juice of beets, carrots, cucumber, lime, and ginger and I instantly fell in love with it!! It’s a beautiful, vibrant red from the beets and carrots, it's sweet, it’s tangy, it’s got a little bite from the ginger, and it’s refreshing. In fact, drinking this on my ride home has become habit–almost ritual, and when I get home I feel fabulous. It keeps me from getting hungry without weighing me down, loads me up with energy, and alleviates any sweet attacks that may be lurking. I enjoy it so much that I’ve begun to make it at home. And it’s great with a scoop of green powder to boost the already abundant levels of nutrients. This is one of those habits that I’m so glad I’ve adopted!! So here it is...

Red Juice

1 raw beet, top and bottom removed and mostly peeled

1 large cucumber, quartered

4 medium carrots

½ lime, much of the skin removed

2” piece of fresh ginger

If using organic vegetables, wash well and remove any stems. If not organic, peel the vegetables and remove most of the skin from the ginger and lime. Run everything through a juicer, or blend in a blender, then strain. If desired, add your favorite green powder. Enjoy immediately!!