On a Day Off...

...when I had the usual plans in mind:  up early, off to the gym, an afternoon spent cooking and/or baking, catching up on newspaper reading, and errand running...I found myself sleeping in until 10 a.m., and not feeling all that motivated.  (But I made it to the gym!)

...so, it wasn't until 3 p.m. where I was actually geared up to start my day...got the errands done and came home with an urge to cook.  Looking in the fridge, once again, my eye was caught by an object in the drawer.  Dark, roundish, covered in a slight sheen of earth.  Oh yeah...THAT!

'THAT!' was a beet.  Yes, just one.  My lone beet fell into the 'never attempted' category and ended up in my shopping cart on the last trip for groceries with me thinking...'okay, something new to try.'  Beets are growing on me...again.  It's a fickle relationship.  There are times when I think they're too earthy...too beet-y.   Others when I find them sweet, with a nice bite.  Time to give them another chance.

The oven went on, the beet was packed into an aluminum envelope with a generous drizzle of olive oil, a sliced shallot, and three cloves of garlic.  About an hour later, out came my little foil packet, smelling fabulous.  The oil in the aluminum served as a base for a vinaigrette.  And the beet found itself sliced, staining my fingers (and everything else it touched!), atop a bed of spinach with walnuts and feta.

This time around....I'm in love.