Beeting the Summer Heat

I'm lucky enough to have a number of wonderful local farms not to far from where I live. One of my favorites, Giamarese Farm, has a CSA and we're happy to be members. The last couple of shares

have had a wonderful selection of rich, sweet, beets. I LOVE beets.

With this abundance, I decided to boil our last couple of batches. Then I freeze some, mash some, finish it up by roasting them, or pickling them. But there was all this lovely water that I thought, "There has to be something I can do with this."

Figured something out that's VERY yummy.

I took the water and strained it out well. I made a wonderfully fruity blend of ice tea with limes, pineapple, cherries, raspberries, and rooibos tea. (Sorry there's not more detail, this was very much a little of this and little of that recipe). I sweetened it with just a little honey and added the beet water. Delicious, refreshing - and healthy!

Beets are nutritious little jewels. They are rich in Vitamin B, C, magnesium, folate, lutien, copper, and more. And low in calories! Although the water isn't quite as powerful, it still carries some of those health benefits.

My suggestion - play with your food. Think about what else you can do with the juice or water. I may try it again by adding some beet water to rice, or maybe as part of a stock. So many options that I never thought of before.

Hey - I wonder if it would work making a sherbet. Hmmmm. Maybe next time!