Chocolate Beet Cake

Beets are such an underrated, under-appreciated vegetable. They've often been the bane of our childhood existences when they're in pickled, boiled or borscht form. And, even as we learn to love beets again after roasting or grilling them and appreciating them in whole-food form, sometimes, they can still be lackluster. But not anymore.

I justify making chocolate beet cake because (1) it's an excellent way to integrate/disguise beets (especially from kids/beet haters, (2) I can write it off under the ironically named category of "healthful desserts" (3) it's easy to make, and, most important, it's delicious! Friends and family have asked for this recipe, so, anonymous followers - if you're out there - I'm sharing it with you. I first saw a recipe for this cake in "Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables" [an entertaining cookbook about Angelic Organics and how to utilize seasonal foods], but I've adapted it and made it my own.

Alex's Chocolate Beet Cake

4 oz. chocolate chips or baking chocolate

1 c. oil OR 1/2 c. oil/1/2 c. apple sauce OR 1/4 c. oil/3/4 c. apple sauce (your choice - more applesauce: cakier result; more oil: dense, rich result; I like using a mix of the two, especially when you can get/make homemade applesauce)

3 eggs - regular chicken eggs or flax eggs* (*1 egg = 1 Tbl ground flax eggs to 3 Tbl water; blend until thick + creamy)

1 3/4 c. unrefined sugar

1 Tbl. vanilla extract

1-2 large beets/3-4 medium beets, boiled + skins removed

2 c. spelt flour

2 tsp. baking powder

pinch of sea salt

2 Tbl. baking cocoa (optional, although it adds a richness of flavor)

- Preheat oven to 375F. Prepare a 8"-10" pan (spring-form works great) or line a cupcake pan (will make 24 cupcakes).

- Melt chocolate over a double-boiler or in a microwave. Add 1/4 cup of oil, until well combined and the chocolate is glossy.

- Prepare your flax eggs in a food processor or blender. Add the beets + sugar until well blended. Add the reserved oil/applesauce, melted chocolate + vanilla until thoroughly blended. Pour into a large bowl.

- In a medium-sized bowl, sift/whisk the flour, baking powder, salt + baking cocoa, if using. Fold into the beet mixture until the dry and wet ingredients are thoroughly combined.

- Pour batter into your prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 min.

Eat as-is, or serve with your favorite cream cheese or buttercream frosting, dusted with confectioner's sugar or a light fruit glaze or coulis. Any way you choose to make or eat this, you'll forget that you're eating beets!

SWYF Find: Evergreen Berry Farm

Evergreen Berry Farm (Watertown, Conn.): Off the winding roads of Rt. 63 and Bassett Road exists a berry mecca called Evergreen Berry Farm. Since 1979, owners and farmers Bob and Cathee Alex have turned the once abandoned 28-acre farmland-wetland parcel into a home for beautifully organized rows of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.

When you arrive at Evergreen, you receive a quart container with a ribbon to tie around your neck to make picking easier along with a plastic bag-lined gallon container and an optional wagon to tote around your kids and/or buckets. Once you start picking, you can't stop! The plants look amazingly healthy (a testament to the farm's strong commitment to conservation and stewardship), and, although you can't make a pig of yourself, you can taste your way through the rows and appreciate the different varieties of blueberries.

I left with a criminal amount of blueberries, but plan to go back for more ($2.09/lb, is an amazing price for P.Y.O. low-to-no-spray blueberries, especially if you're freezing for the winter [a.k.a. not buying expensive fruit from the store during the off-season] or canning). I highly recommend that you go to Evergreen Berry Farm - it's an excellent summer activity for both kids and adults. 

**EVERGREEN BERRY FARM: 435 Bassett Rd., Watertown, CT; (860.274.0825) - visit the farm's Web site for hours and more information on berry availability.

The art of hay

Driving home today, I saw a striking image of large, circular bales of recently cut hay settled in the pasture of a local land trust. I went back with my camera and here's my take:

Sorry for the excessive folksy-ness, but I thought they were all pretty and, yes, even hay can be interesting in its own way!

Daylilies: The new "it" foraged food

Daylilies, the vibrant orange flowers that have recently appeared among the lush foliage, are moving from the vase to the frying pan. Hank Shaw, a noted writer, award-winning blogger, gardener and forager, of The Atlantic writes in his latest commentary about the "common daylily, hemerocallis fulva" and experiments with the flavors of each part: the flowers, tubers and buds. Here's a few cooking highlights from Shaw's article to get your taste buds curious: 

• The unopened flower buds can simply be sauteed in oil/butter, salt and pepper. The flavor is similar to squash blossoms.
• Skip the stalks: "More like a bland, tough scallion."
• The flowers add color and act as a thickener, but require more culinary perfecting to find their proper place in a dish.
• The tubers: "First thing I noticed was that some looked exactly like fingerling potatoes, while others were pure white, like the inside of jicama. I ate a white one, and Great Weeping Jesus on the Cross, it TASTED like jicama! Only better. Like a raw sweet potato. Or rather a sweet, raw potato, not a yam."

Click here to read Shaw's piece and learn more about daylilies and how to cook them up.


*Note: If should go without saying, but, before you forage any food for the first time, consult a guidebook or materials by expert foragers like Shaw.*

Harvesting in your backyard: Stinging nettles

It's so excellent when you can find local produce, but free and hyper-local - what could be better?

The last few years I've been drinking nettle tea. Yes, stinging nettles don't sound too appealing, but they're terrific for you: loaded with iron, up to 40% protein when dried, vitamins and minerals galore! Saute or steam them like other greens or drink in fresh or dried form, nettles are an inexpensive and interesting way to get essential nutrients in your diet.

First step: Harvest the nettles. Right now is the prime time to harvest stinging nettles. The properties of the plant change when they become mature and/or go to seed. *Note: Consult wild edible guidebooks for instructions, pictures and notes on harvesting or just look for them with a knowledgeable friend.* But, whatever you do, I suggest wearing gloves - that stinging sensation, though not harmful, is not always a welcome feeling.

If you want to make nettle tisane (not technically tea since it's an herbal mixture), cut the nettles. You can drink them fresh by letting the leaves steep under boiling water for at least 10 minutes to allow the stinging property to dissipate. I prefer to dry the nettles; they store for months in mason jar. Simply tie them with kitchen twine or a twist tie, hang in a paper bag with holes or upside down in a cool yet dry place where your nettles aren't susceptible to moisture or mold. The other option(s):

1. Place nettles on a baking sheet, set your oven to the lowest setting and dry until the leaves easily crunch/break apart when touched. 
2. Microwave for 1-2 minutes or so (never used this option, so consult preserving or drying resources for instructions as well as your microwave settings).

If using dry, simply put a heaping teaspoon of the dried leaves in a tea ball or strainer, submerge in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove and add a sweetener of choice (optional). Also delish as iced tea - alone or as part of an herbal blend.

(Beautiful image above from the flickr photostream of sassyradish)