Where's the beef?

It's been a while since there was any meat posts so I decided to make burgers...

...but I replaced the beef with a beet.

We are really not vegetarians here. I swear.  Not even a little bit. My sister is. My best friend is. I am not. WE are definitely not. Yet its kinda been a meat free summer here.

Not TOTALLY meat free. We still do enjoy bbq chicken. A lot. (except Little has a toy barn set he loves and it has chickens and I swear I see his eyebrows go up with when I tell him we are having chicken for supper. He eats it....but he's on to me.)

Two things had to happen for beet sliders occur.  First, Triple D.

Food Network is on in our house a lot. Top Chef. Top Chef Canada. Next Food Network Star. Chopped. And then just on for background noise. Mr. sixtyone45 and I agree while we used to enjoy Guy Fieri and his journeys around this continent for yet ANOTHER deep fried/slow cooked/battered something, enough already.

Dear Food Network.
Enough.
Guy is good. Guy is great actually.
But enough.
Warm regards, me.

Please bring back cooking shows. Not contests or "reality" shows. Just good cooks cooking. And good bakers baking. And Alton. Because he is really funny.

So, beets. There was this one Triple D episode where a diner in Sacramento made Beet Sliders. Mini-burgers with the burger replaced by a thick slice of beat.

Enter the second thing that had to happen.

A day at a farm.

The Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust hosts an annual “A Day at the Farm” community event that gives people the opportunity to reconnect with the land that feeds them. And they give out free beets.

And free carrots.
And free potatoes. (but they make you dig for those...)

Its a beautiful day, especially for the Little ones.  Ducks, Chickens, Cows, Horses....his toy barn came to life. (and we made sure not to have chicken for dinner that night) Its a great community event and I feel privileged to get to participate.

So long story long....we brought home two bags of golden BC Fresh beats from our Day at the Farm.

While normally my Ukrainian heritage would dictate a nice borscht soup here, we decided to give the beet sliders a try.

Best. Decision. Ever.

Super simple. The goat cheese is a perfect offset to the sweet beet. They, by no means, taste like "meat". Its a beet. Not magic beans.  But you (or at least we) did not miss the carnivore element one bit.  The raw red onion and crisp lettuce give it texture. The char on the beet adds a bbq flavour. There were very good...

So good that for Sunday Night Football, we sat at our pub table in the garage, beverages poured and served the house burger special...

....beets.

Beet Sliders Recipe

Inspired by Food Network & Gatsby's Diner, Sacramento, CA

6 - 8 medium golden beets, unpeeled
8 - 10 cups of water
1/3 cup sea salt
2 large carrots, coarsely chopped
2 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
1 white onion, coarsely chopped
2 T. mustard seeds
2 T. coriander seeds
2 T. dried dill
1 bay leaf
2 T. of fresh ground pepper
3 T. Bragg Seasoning (or soy sauce)
2 T. of Olive Oil

To assemble the burgers you will need....

Slider Buns
Goat Cheese
Red Onion
Leafy Lettuce
Sriracha (optional, to taste)

1.  Bring the water, beets and salt to a boil.
2.  Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 45 minutes or until the beets are tender, but not cooked all the way through.
3.  When done, remove the beets from the broth and let cool. Remove the skins (you can use a peeler but they should just slide off).
4.  Cut the beets in 1/2 to 3/4 inch slices and place on a well oiled grill (either outdoor BBQ or cast iron) Cook a few minutes on each side to get some nice grill marks.  Now would be a good time to toast your slider buns if that is your preference.
5.  Remove from grill and place on buns with goat cheese, thick cut red onion, lettuce and a little sriracha. Enjoy!