Meatless Monday: Savoring the Sugar Sink

All summer long root vegetables stockpiled carbohydrates, turning their tubers and taproots into sugar sinks. If left in the ground, these roots become sugar sources in spring, providing energy for the growing shoot tips of the plant’s second year.

The autumn days are shorter. Soon the ground will freeze. The roots are at their maximum size and sweetness. For most of these underground treasuries, it's harvest time. 

In farmer’s markets and in the produce aisle bins overflow with potatoes and carrots, parsnips and turnips, celeriac and rutabagas, and beets of many colors.

While it is true that all root vegetables have significant numbers of carbohydrates, some have more than others. They are all low in sodium, high in fiber, and rich in vitamins and minerals. Dr. Andrew Weil writes about the many health benefits of root vegetables and how to prepare them here.

I cooked many root vegetables over the weekend, including my favorite — golden beets. About beets Dr. Weil has this to say: “Beets derive their hue from pigments called betalains, which range in color from red-violet to yellow. Betalains, in addition to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, trigger a family of enzymes that binds toxic substances in cells, neutralizing and allowing them to be excreted from the body.” Pretty cool, don't you think?

Golden beets are more delicate (less earthy) than the more familiar red beets. Here is how I prepared mine:

• Preheat the oven to 425°F.
• Remove all but the top two or three inches of the beet greens.
• Scrub the beets well.
• Dry them with a paper towel.
• Toss them in a bowl with some good quality olive oil and a bit of salt.
• Put them in a cast iron skillet or a roasting pan and bake until fork tender.
• Let them cool.
• Remove the skin.
• Cut the beets into 1/4” cubes.

They may not look like much here.

While the beets are cooling, prepare a marinade: 

• Whisk together: 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil,1 teaspoon of orange juice, 3 teaspoons of good white wine vinegar, salt, freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon of dried oregano.
• Taste and adjust the seasonings.
• Add the marinade to the beets.
• Refrigerate in a covered dish overnight.
• Serve cold or slightly warmed as a side or a salad topping.

But what do you think now?

Come back next week to see how I enjoyed mine.

Happy Monday! 

Have a great week. Eat well. 

I often blog on food, food issues, or gardening on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.”

Meatless Monday Adventures: The Once Intimidating Celeriac

At this time of year, as the fresh local produce familiar to me begins to disappear, I do my best to try new things. My culinary discovery for this week is Celeriac (A. graveolens variety rapaceum), also known as Celery Root (or Knob Celery, or Turnip-rooted Celery).

This very strange looking root is actually a close relative of celery (A. graveolens variety dulce). It has only recently begun to appear at larger farmers’ markets and in the produce aisle of stores like Whole Foods. Celeriac can be eaten cooked or raw. With its very strong celery-like taste, celeriac is an excellent base for a slaw-like salad and a flavorful addition to soups and stews.

Celeriac is a good source of fiber, potassium, magnesium, manganese, and vitamin B6. It is also a very good source of vitamin C and phosphorous. Celeriac has considerably fewer calories than potatoes, and is only 5-6% starch by weight. It can be cooked and mashed as a tasty alternative for those who are cutting calories or have dietary restrictions due to diabetes.

Through Google Books I uncovered a classic volume, Cyclopedia of American Horticulture, published in 1901. Here I discovered that celeriac’s history as a garden vegetable can be traced back to the middle of the seventeenth century. Although little known in the US at that time, it was much prized in Europe where some 15-20 varieties were mentioned in the current seed catalogues. Celeriac’s principal use was listed as a flavoring for soups and stews, but the entry also made reference to boiled celeriac served with white sauce, to celeriac salad, and to an extract with medicinal properties. If you are interested in growing your own, this volume also offers plenty of horticultural advice. 

But back to my experiment. Following the recommendation of every source I could find, I selected and purchased a root heavy for its size, and weighing between 3/4 and 1 lb. In order to prepare it for cooking, I cut off a slice from each end and then trimmed off the skin with a paring knife. I worked quickly to prevent the discoloration to which a naked celery root is prone.

Next time I will add some celery root with carrots, and maybe parsnips, to my Split Pea Soup. But this time I opted for something simple. I diced my root and boiled it along with about 2 lbs. of russet potatoes until they were tender, and then I drained and mashed the lot of them with milk, butter, pepper and just a bit of freshly grated parmesan cheese. They were delicious: the celeriac imparted a nice celery flavor. It’s a good thing the dish was lower in calories than a traditional potato mash, because the two of us ended up with very few leftovers.

I should say that I have since learned that many recipes advise cooking the potatoes and the celeriac separately because the celery root cooks quicker. I did not find this a problem, and I had one less dirty pan this way.

My next celeriac experiment may well be Jamie Oliver’s Celeriac Gratin. I will follow the directions explicitly (once I convert them to American measurements), and I’ll let you know how the dish turns out. This Australian WeightWatchers site also has quite a few delicious-sounding recipes.

Happy experimenting. 


I often blog on food or food issues on Monday in support of Meatless Monday, one of several programs developed in the Healthy Monday project, founded in 2003 in association with Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications. Meatless Monday’s goal is “to help reduce meat consumption 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.

Soup Du Jour

Years ago there was a television commercial with the punchline, “Like I always say, you have to try new things.”

That could be me talking. I’m always looking for something new.

One of my recent discoveries is Meatless Monday. (See my blog post of March 12 .)

What a great site! I made the commitment to make every Monday a Meatless Monday and submitted my original recipe for Split Pea Soup with Root Vegetables.

Today Meatless Monday is featuring my Split Pea Soup as the lunch recipe on their site.  It is posted along with the nutritional information and a nice credit and link to my blog.

Even if you’re not quite ready to make every Monday a meatless one, please give the site and my pea soup a try. This soup is easy, low in fat, and highly nutritious. All you need is a few ingredients and a little time.

Happy eating.