Honey beets

Beets--you either love them or hate them.  And I'll confess that up until very recently, I belonged to the latter group.  I could never get past the bitter-ish taste, the sort of hard, but equally squishy texture, and the seemingly unnatural color (although as one of my previously white wash clothes suggests, that red-purple juice is indeed found in nature).  So when we got a two-pound shipment of raw beets from our bi-weekly Dominion Harvest delivery, I was underwhelmed.  Until I tried this incredibly delicious (and easy!) recipe:

Honey Beets

 2 cups cooked diced beets (I cooked the raw beets by steaming them whole with a tiny amount of water in the microwave for about 5 minutes.  Check half-way to ensure they don't bubble over and create a huge, purple mess!).

 2 tablespoons butter

 1/4 cup orange juice

 1 teaspoon grated orange peel

 1/2 cup honey

 pinch of sea salt

 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

Put diced beets in a saucepan. Add remaining ingredients and mix gently. Cook on moderate heat until liquid evaporates and butter and honey form a glaze over the beets. Remove from heat and serve immediately. Beets pair well with pork chops or pork tenderloin.

And now?  I love, love, love beets.  I will eat them in a boat.  And I will eat them with a goat.  (Sorry, apparently George's recent love affair with "Green Eggs and Ham" is starting to rub off on me).  The recipe claims that even your kids will love them; but alas, mine did not.  But don't let that deter you from trying them with yours.  What is not to love when you combine butter, honey, and orange zest?

Enjoy!  And happy Monday!