beet water

The sink is filled with suds and, as the running water rinses the plate, I wait for the moment when the bubbles turn a delicious color of pink. Not blood red and not girlie girl pink but an amazing flush of red pink that delights the little girl in me still.

As a young child I was always the first to jump up to clear the table of supper dishes on the nights when mom served beets. Back then, they were from a can and the juice tasted a little like tin, not at all like the luscious root vegetable that was simmering on my stove tonight, but the effect of the pink swirling into the white porcelain sink filled with water enthralled me when I was ten and still holds a spell over me. It is mesmerizing to watch. First a tinge appears, next a blush, and finally a deep penetrating splash that would sink into the pours of my fingers and, to my great delight, stain them a telltale hue.

I would swish the cotton rag about in the water until the colors blended and then get the pan off the stove hoping there would be one or two drops of beet juice left to make the pleasure last longer.

I love beets. I love them freshly cooked with a dollop of butter melting and running in rivers over the bleeding grain of the firm fleshy food. I love them pickled , the tangy bite of the onion contrasting with the hearty sweetness of the beet. I love them in the thick sweet and sour sauce that you pour out of a glass jar. I love licking the spoon that scooped them out into the sauce pan. I love that the thick delicious sauce colors the water in a different way than the thin vinegary brine does. I love the taste and texture of beets and I love the color.

Beets are wonderful alone or in salad. They are scrumptious with juicy pork loin and if you serve them with mashed potatoes you get to watch the ruby juices spread out on the plate and run into the white lump. There is a perfect moment to take your fork and swirl it all into a beety mashed potato pink mush. What fun!

Tonight I cooked fresh beets while Nattie B, my two year old grand darling, colored with crayons at the kitchen table that my father built. I layered the beets in a pyrex dish with garlic, carrots, onions, brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes and drizzled olive oil over them. I ground fresh pepper all over the mix. Before popping the offering in the oven to roast I picked a small red cube up in my fingers, turned to nattie and offered her a bite. BEETS! she shouted as she tasted the treat. BEETS!

I didn't clean up until after nattie went home. I can't wait until she is a little bigger and I can pull a chair up to the sink and say - watch nattie - watch ! I just know she will fall in love with beet water, it's in her genes you know. But, she will have to be pretty quick to get to the dishes before I do:)

beet water. one of life's simple pleasures waiting to be shared. life is good.