Yum Peaceful Cooking: Beauty and The Beets

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Beauty and The Beets


Beets....Yes, this bun was made with fresh beets. From what I understand, beets are extremely good for you. They're full of all sorts of stuff....Potassium, Iron, Manganese (have to look that one up and see what it does for a body), Phosphorus, Copper, Vitamin C, Folate and Betaine. There are lots more nutrients, in small amounts, found in beets. Even with all these good for you things....I've never liked them.

Soooo...what's my problem? How come? 

Was it because I was forced to eat them as a child? 

And if I don't like beets, why on earth would I make Red Beet Buns? 

Curiosity. Duh! 

It all began when Michelle from Big Black Dogs made it known that Red Beet Buns were one of the February assignments for the HBin5 Bread Braid.





My first mental response was....naaaaaaaa. I aint doin it. 

But people got to talking. Some said it hardly tasted like beets at all. And to be honest, the idea of a red bun for Valentines Day intrigued me. 

So I caved. 

I wish I could give you the recipe, but I can't. Its in the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook. Im sure eventually someone will post the recipe somewhere on the internet....

But I can show you what the ingredients are....


Btw....have you ever peeled a beet? And seen how pretty it is on the inside?




I have to say....this is one beautiful vegetable

For this recipe I used fresh beets, peeled them and then put them through my food processor to shred


Gorgeous stuff!! I mean...I just love that color. So rich and deep. But you know what? They smell exactly how I remember them from...I dunno....25? 30 yrs ago? (I think that was the last time I gagged down a beet)

Anyways...the recipe called for some onions. hmmm...that sounds good. Well heck...why not add a garlic clove or two as well? I mean...seriously....it can't hurt, right?


Now THAT smells awesome!!!

So I mixed all the ingredients (including something I had never heard of...and had to do a little searching for....spelt flour). I let it rise on the counter for the said "2 hours"


Lookie at what I have!!! PINK DOUGH!! COOOOOOL!!!

I ended up not being able to bake my buns for a few more days...so the dough sat in the fridge for 3 days before I got busy. 1 lb of dough divided into 8ths...and formed into little mini buns


I'm totally loving the color here! (yes...I'm one of those gals who likes pink. I don't decorate my house with it, I rarely wear it....but I like it).

The buns rose for a little longer than recommended. Partly because I forgot....but mostly because the fridge I store my dough in is super cold....so I think in order to rise properly, it needs to sit a bit longer, otherwise the dough would still be cool when I placed it in the oven and I don't think it would rise to it's full potential that way. (you gotta love a run on sentence. and no....I did not stop for a breath as I said all that).

After about 20 minutes in the oven, this is what came out




Gorgeous red buns. Perfect for Valentines Day, wouldn't you say?

And.....they totally tasted like beets. 

No matter how pretty they are, they're still beetsy. And apparently after all these years, I still don't like beets. 

I tried. Honestly. I swear I did!!

But I can't do it.

So I took them to work for our potluck and prayed that someone there would be a beet lover. And there was....several actually. And they liked the buns!! 

Soo...the moral of the story is. Beet Buns are good. 

But only if you like beets.


25 comments:

  1. Too funny! Kudos to you for trying beets again and the buns look wonderful! ;-)

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  2. I'll eat your rejects any day. Too bad I don't work with you. I happen to like beets....Has anyone ever told you that you have nice pink buns? LOL Sorry--I had to say it....

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  3. Great Post! I made my buns too, and they looked just like yours. They are beautiful and I love them! Sorry you still don't like beets, maybe when you grow up you will...lol

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  4. I love the pictures of the process. When I made my beet bread I wouldn't have dared pull out my camera for fear of the red juice- you are brave! Your buns look amazing!

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  5. HA HA. Ya know, I completely agree with you on the Red Beet thing... Ick! But the buns are beautiful. Have you ever tried the golden beets? They actually taste very different... I even like them. They don't remind me so much of the red beets I had to eat as a kid (Though I have to admit, I love pickled beets)

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  6. I guess you can't beet that with a stick! ;)

    Oh wait, even better. Pam has buns that can't be beet! ;) :) ;)

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  7. I do love beets - can't wait to try them!

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  8. Interesting. I'm not huge into beets, but I would definitely try them.

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  9. beets are definitely pretty, but i'll be darned if i've ever found them enjoyable to eat. while your buns are impressive (yeah, i said it), i think the best use for them is for naturally coloring red velvet cake. :)

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  10. So as I guess you know, I don't really like beets either but I didn't think mine tasted especially beety. Maybe I just used a super big onion that dominated the taste? Hmmm.

    They certainly look delicious!

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  11. I don't like beets, but that looks beautiful!

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  12. Your buns are beautiful. I didn't love the beet buns either. Until I put the turkey, mayo, avodacado, and Dijon mustard on them. Then they were fabulous. Maybe I liked the sandwich ingredients more?

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  13. Gorgeous Beet Buns and fabulous color too.

    We loved the Beet Buns although Mr. Tastebuds said he was not going to eat them, he managed to eat 2 and loved them!

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  14. Love that title! :) They are pretty and pink but so beets. :(
    We don't like beets either and so gave this bread a skip and made some with chocolate instead.

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  15. You deserve a pat on the back for trying the beet buns! I've never had a beet before, but I would be willing to try these buns. They turned out really pretty!

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  16. LOL. I love beets! But I didn't like these buns either. So you are not alone in some things! But I am glad you tried them as I did.

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  17. thanks for the reminder to look under the skin. Beets are indeed a beautiful vegetable. Luckily I have always liked them. Great looking bun.

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  18. Thanks for giving beets another try for the team! They look great.

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  19. These are perfect for today! Happy Valentine's Day!

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  20. Props for re-trying beets. I was in the same boat, hated them from long ago, but now I have gotten to like them. Maybe my taste buds have died off.

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  21. Your buns look just like mine! Aren't they beautiful? (Whether you like them or not you have got to admit they are pretty!)

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  22. Your beet buns look gorgeous! I caved in and made them as well. We actually enjoyed them.

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  23. My hubby could really taste the beets but I couldn't really. Taste like onion to me. But I'm a beet lover so maybe thats why. But they are a beautiful color and I love the look of them all peeled.

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  24. Cute post! I happen to be in the beet-lover category for some strange reason. Loved the peeled beet shot - gorgeous!

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