How to roast fresh beets

One of the fun things at farmers' markets around Seattle that I don't remember from San Diego is fresh beets. San Diego friends, help me out. Did I just miss them?

Anyway, we've gotten them a few times this summer, and each time we get them I have to look up how to cook them. So I figure if I write it down, I'll remember it (just like moms and teachers always say). 

First, cut off the leaves (you can eat them if you'd like) and give the beets a good scrubbing. Then, using either a single piece of foil that you then fold into a large packet or individual pieces, drizzle each beat in olive oil. Wrap with foil and seal the seams.

Bake at 375F for 45-50 minutes, or until the beets give a little when you squeeze them gently with tongs. If you already have the oven on for another project, stick the beets in with them and alter the time accordingly. For instance, I had mine in at the same time as these brownies and just baked them longer (more like 60-70 minutes)

Unwrap the beets and allow them to cool. At this point, the peels will come off pretty easily; you might not even need a knife except to get the tip off. If you're really on top of things, save the oil and add it to your salad dressing.

The peel even slips off the root, leaving a cute little (pony)tail. 

Easy-peasy.  

What new cooking techniques have you been trying lately?

Fudgey Brownies - dairy free

Not only does Mr Official Taster give my sweet tooth a fun for its (the Tooth Fairy's?) money, but he also requests brownies on an impressively frequent basis. I'm not ashamed to admit that until now, I've always just used a box mix (or told him to). A pretty high quality box mix, but definitely not from scratch. I've always heard how finicky brownies are, and the recipes I've seen usually call for lots of ingredients that I don't have on hand. (I never have unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate around)

But this weekend, perhaps inspired by the cool temperatures, I decided to tackle homemade brownies. I searched online, in cookbooks, and in my files, but didn't find anything perfect. So I sort of made up my own and hoped for the best. The first attempt? not so much.  OT tried a piece and valiantly didn't grimace. They weren't bad, but they weren't very good, either.

For my second attempt, I used less flour and added darker chocolate and cooca. The batter tasted, erm, I mean, smelled much better than the first attempt. The result looked better too; it was a much darker both as batter and after baking. They are extremely fudgey, which I think is perfect.

Fudgey Brownies - Dairy Free
1/2 C vegan butter
5 oz (3/4 C) high-quality, dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)
1 oz (2 squares) 70% cocoa chocolate (I used Lindt Intense Dark)
3 eggs
1 C sugar
1/4 C cocoa
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 C flour

Preheat oven to 325F. Melt butter and chocolate in double boiler* over medium low heat.  If you chop it up, the butter will faster than the chocolate, but keep stirring periodically, and have some faith.The chocolate will melt and blend with the butter.

 In a medium bowl, beat eggs and sugar together until well blended. Gradually add the chocolate mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Gradually add the vanilla, cocoa, and flour, beating until combined. **

Pour into a greased and floured***  OR parchment-lined 9x5 in. loaf pan. Bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Notes: 

*I don't have double boiler, either. You can either stack two pots on top of each other, or you can do what I do and use a small 1 or 2 qt. pot with a small or medium glass bowl sitting inside. Put a little bit of water in the bottom pot. The steam heat will melt your chocolate beautifully. Make sure the bowl/second pot doesn't touch the water.

**I did my usual sneaky way of making these more "healthy" and used 1/2 C all-purpose flour and 1/4 C white whole-wheat flour.

***I used cocoa instead of flour because when I take the brownies out of the pan, the residual cocoa powder blends in better than white flour.

I think if you use a normal brownie pan (square 8x8"), you should start checking for doneness around the 40 minute mark. I'd also recommend parchment paper if you don't want to cut your brownies in the pan. It's still a bit of a pain to get it out whole with just grease+cocoa.