Save the Cows: Eat Beets

USDA recalls 143 million pounds of beef.

After I watched the beef recall story on the news this morning I left a note for my slumbering husband: "Thank you for turning us vegetarian!"

In June of 2006, Mike was in trucker school to get his commercial drivers license. At the time we were living a blissful life full of barbeque ribs, roasted chicken breasts, herbed sausages, and ham and egg sandwiches. I doubt that either of us had ever went a single day without a bite of meat. But one night Mike came home from trucker school and said he didn't think he wanted to eat meat anymore, simple as that. It wasn't because he wanted to get healthy or lose weight, though we both ultimately did both, but because he wanted to stop eating animals. (Yes we are THOSE awful kinds of vegetarians, the kinds that even some other vegetarians hate, who want to spare the fuzzy wuzzy little cows from being turned into hamburger.)

Since I love to cook and also to seize any opportunity to delve into some new research and development project (dog training went fairly well, knitting not so much), I volunteered not only to join his meat boycott, but to find out everything we needed to know about what to eat and how to eat without eating meat.

Nearly two years later, we've found vegetarianism to be not only much easier than we might have thought, but also much more delicious. Being a newbie vegetarian (and not even a strict one - we eat cheese, eggs, and occasionally seafood) I'm not going to pretend that a grilled sirloin looks disgusting to me, but I will say that stepping off the Chicken Every Night carousel has been a relief in a variety of ways. As a cook my horizons have broadened: once you remove meat as the heart and soul of your cuisine, you're forced to be more creative about proportions and flavors. We've eaten and enjoyed vegetables that previously were entirely unbeknownst to me: burdock roots, daikons, golden beets, collard greens, and my personal favorite, Swiss chard. We feel better, we look better, we eat better. And we can watch 143 million pounds of beef being recalled and feel good about what we're putting into our bodies every day.

Here's one of my favorite dinner recipes, from The Flexitarian Table by Peter Berley (paraphrased for brevity):

Penne with Beets, Beet Greens, Goat Cheese, & Walnuts
You'll need to buy about 2 lbs of beets with the greens still attached - make sure the greens look healthy and appetizing! I've made this with red and golden beets. Both are good, the red have a stronger flavor but tend to turn everything in the kitchen pink, at least when I'm cooking.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and roast beets in foil for about 45 min.
Wash and drain beet greens, cut into 1/2-inch wide ribbons.
Unwrap beets and cool under running water. Remove skins, trim ends, and slice into 1/2-inch wide sticks.
Bring water to boil and cook 8 oz whole wheat penne until al dente.
Meanwhile, saute garlic (4 sliced cloves), 1 TB fresh tarragon (I usually skip it or use thyme bc who buys fresh tarragon??), and a pinch of red pepper flakes for a couple of minutes. Add beets and greens and cook until greens wilt, about 1-2 minutes.
Drain pasta and add to pan. Stir in 4 oz goat cheese and 1/4 c cream (I use soy cream/milk) and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, serve sprinkled with chopped walnuts.