Lots of beet tops, beets and many other veggies -now what?

[carolg]

What can I make with beet tops and beets and carrots? Isn't kim chee one thing I can make for sure? I have so many veggies: carrots, cukes, large cucumbers another kind, onions, potatoes, hubbard squash, so what should I make with these?

I know I need to use up the beet tops quickly. Help please with ideas. I have enough produce from the Farmer's Market to feed an army so wish you were here to celebrate my weekly findings with you. I got a large ONION bag of cabbage. Too bad my local son doesn't embrace produce as I have more than enough to share. Oh well. Husband and I celebrate on raw. Thanks everyone for putting your ideas out here for me and the "family" here.

carolg

[coco]

beet tops are so yum. if you would like them "cooked" you can marinate them in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice and spices. that softens any veg, it's good with broccoli and cauliflower too.

as for the beets and carrots, how about a root veg slaw? there are recipes for raw mayo, use that with raisins and shredded beets and/or carrots. you could make a coleslaw with that cabbage and spoon a bit of root slaw on top of that.
i shred root veg into salad too, it's pretty and tasty. sometimes i use the spiral slicer for a different look and texture.

raw carrot cake is so tasty, there are lots of recipes out there for that.

and juice! use the left over pulp of carrots and/or beets to sprinkle over salad or any dish really, it's pretty.

[Ilse W.]

The beet tops need to be used up right away, so aside from the "cooked" beet greens, you could also put them in your green smoothies. Carrots and beets keep very well, either in the refrigerator, better in a cellar, if you have one. You could also store them in the garage in a box with sand or dig a hole in the backyard and layer them in there with sand. Your cabbage can be easily made into sauerkraut. Just layer in a ceramic pot, sprinkle some salt over it and "stomp" it with maybe a cleaned piece of 2x4 (we had a special tool called a "krautstampfer" - cabbage tamper) until the water is pulled out of the cabbage and covers the layer. Repeat until the pot is full. Cover with some cheese cloth, an inverted plate, and a fairly good size stone to weigh the whole thing down. The squash should keep quite some time as well. Sounds like a seriously good haul! I picked up 10 lbs. of organic red grapes for half price today. I turned them into 5 qts. of grape juice, drank one, refrigerated one, and froze 3. Then I took the very dry pulp and put it into my dehydrator. Resveratrol is found in red grape skins. Once its dry, I will grind it up in my coffee grinder and put the powder in capsules. Voila, my own resveratrol!:D

[carolg]

Hi coco and Emma,

Thanks for the many ideas. I never thought of beet tops in smoothies but tomorrow I will try that for GS challenge. I make kraut. Carrot cake I can make for sure. I was mainly thinking with all these beet tops and not letting them get wasted kim chee. Again thanks for quick replies.

Coco, the recipe you shared sounds great for the beet tops. My husband who is clueless about tops and sees them as junk said they are not good to use. Well, tomorrow night he's getting the salad you suggested.

carolg