The Artful Cook, Recipe #1 Fresh Beet Salad

Haha, when I was growing up, I thought all beets looked like those little round ones that come out of a can!  Those are ok if that's all you know, but I've been cooking fresh beets now for years, and recently figured out a new way to prepare them without cooking!

This is the recipe I made for 2 people:

Grated Beet Slaw
(You can increase the recipe depending on how many people you are serving.  This recipe made 4 moderate servings.)

* Use a paring knife to remove the root and stem top from a large (5" - 6") fresg red beet (you could use a golden beet instead if that's what you have).  My neighbor had given me one from her garden.  Use the paring knife to peel off the skin, as though you were paring an apple.

* Rinse and dry the beet on a paper towel.  Next, shred the beet on a grater into a shallow container.  I use the traditional stainless steel hand shredder with medium holes (not the tiny ones, and not the oblong ones).  Shred the whole beet.

* Add:  2 Tbsp. good extra virgin olive oil
             2 Tbsp. good balsamic vinegar
             1 Tbsp. sugar (brown sugar would be a nice substitute for white)
             A shake or two of coarsely ground pepper
             1/4 cup dried cranberries
             1/4 cup chopped walnuts

* Toss together.  We had it as a pretty and tasty side dish with our meal one night, and the next night, I divided the rest of it to put over the top of a green salad.  YUM!  The grating did make my fingertips magenta for a few days, though :^)