St. Valentine's greetings!Like many, I enjoy taking this opportunity to make heart-shaped food, and beets seem especially conducive to this type of thing. Heart-shaped dining commenced early, with a heart beet salad and some pizza with heart-shaped beetaroni :
Beetaroni pizza with mushrooms, red onions, and Daiya vegan cheese
Beetaroni? Yes, it's so cool. I'm sure many of you already know about it, but if you don't, you'll have to check out Ricki Heller's original post about this ingenious idea. It's basically thinly sliced beets slow baked in a smokey, spicy, garlic-y marinade. The end result really does go well on pizza: lightly smokey, spicy and tender..adds a nice color too. I never ate or liked pepperoni before going vegetarian (seemed suspect to me), but beetaroni...now, that's another story.
I didn't have a cookie cutter, so I made a little stencil to guide the heart-shaped cuts...cutting the raw beets was much easier than cutting the cooked ones in my experience. (I'll use the cut-out scraps in salads throughout the week.)
Here are the beets in the marinade, pre-baking:
And then out of the oven. The marinade bakes into the beets and as the liquid evaporates, the little beets curl up a bit:
Happy Valentine's Day!!
Roseann Laponte Tobin
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Posts
lol beetaroni? only you
ReplyDeletehappy St, Valentines day to you too!(to all of you)
raspberry beer, ok that does sound good.., and i dont ever drink!!
I love that beetaroni idea! I have to try that soon (Vegan pizza day got me in the mood). Looks like a beautiful meal.
ReplyDeleteI also love those Lambics. I'm not sure if it's the same brand, but there are a few different flavors out here - currant, apple, and another I think, but raspberry is the best!
Happy Valentine's!
I never liked pepperoni, either, but I bet I'd like beetaroni! The pizza & salad look fantastic, and so cute.
ReplyDeleteI love your beetific post. The salad looks very beetiful and special. I really like the two different colored beets, and of course the pizza looks great. I've got to get over my beetphobia and make some beetaroni. I was intrigued when I first saw it on Ricki's blog, and it appealing to me again now that I see your pizza. Happy Valentines Day.
ReplyDeleteOh, happy Valentine's day! I like the beeting heartaroni. That's so clever - I had not heard of it! I like sweet pickled beets and need to get more comfortable eating them other ways. I'm a little unsure about trying them on pizza, but I'll add them to my list!
ReplyDeleteI love Lindeman's, especially the kriek - probably because I like the less sweet ones.
"Heart Beets," I just got it! LOL
ReplyDeleteBeetaroni?! I'd never heard of it but I ♡ it! That sounds like a wonderful way to trick me into eating beets. :-) You did a great job cutting those heart shapes freehand. The beer sounds delightfully tasty and your salad and pizza and flowers and table setting are so pretty and romantic... what a sweet (and inviting) Valentine post!
Happy Valentine's Day, Rose & John! :-)
I love beets and your hearts are lovely, so perfect looking! I love the flower also. I don't know if it is a cyclamen, but it reminds me of them and I just had a flat of them planted today in my yard. Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day to you as well!
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure that that is the prettiest pizza I've ever seen. I am glad I am not the only one who loves vday. Everyone at my work is anti vday. I am such a romantic, so any day to celebrate romance sounds great to me! I also go overboard with heart shaped foods on this day of the year. Your food is beautiful. Happy Valentines Day!
ReplyDeleteWow...what a beautiful meal! You are so clever. I would have never thought to do anyhing like that...I love it!
ReplyDeleteI've never been a beet fan, but I think I need to try the beetaroni. :o)
Raspberry beer...now that sounds good! I don't think we have anything like that where I live. I'm sure going to check it out though.
Dirty Duck
ReplyDeleteI know, beetaroni makes me laugh too. :D
Food Feud
I'm sort of sorry I discovered the lambic beers...I end up drinking them too often! :)
Molly
I bet you'd like beetaroni too...it's not fatty and greasy like the version made from unmentionables :P
Andrea
I do think making beets this way beats beetophobia (I think I feel a tongue twister coming on...) because Mr D, and avid beet hater, liked these on the pizza. I made the smokey flavor quite mild too, so the taste was not too overpowering.
Jessica
Yeah, I get into ruts with beets too, it's easy to think that they aren't as versatile as they are. I"ll have to try the kriek you speak of. :)
Laurie
ReplyDeleteOh another beetophobe eh? We'll trick you into eating your beets yet! Hope you had a wonderful V-day too!
Daphne
Yes it is a cyclamen. They are well suited to our climate, I think. :)
Carissa
Anti-V-day? What a bunch of party poopers your work colleagues are! I say up with romance...and most of all love!
Michelle
I do think the beetaroni can sway those who are not so inclined towards beets...and you can tweak the marinade to your tastes...as the beets cook, they soak up the flavors, so that's what you taste moreso than the beets themselves.
Oh yes, the raspberry beer is good...and not too terribly sweet...I wish I didn't like it quite so much though ;)
Your heart-themed foods are too cute! You had some lucky valentines in your life. I've tried beets several times, but to me, they taste like dirt. I'm sure that bright-red color offers some spectacular antioxidants, but I'm hesitant to give them another shot. Maybe I'll just enjoy your pictures from afar! :)
ReplyDeleteHappy Belated Valentine's Day! I'm a beetophobe but can still appreciate the imagination, effort and love behind your meal. Gosh I'm feelin' all sappy tonight.
ReplyDeleteMmm I love beets! Especially those orange ones. Your pizza looks so pretty. Never even thought of adding beets as one of my toppings but I must try..sounds like it would work well!
ReplyDeleteCadry
ReplyDeleteI think beets get earthier tasting when they're cooked...but cooking them this way makes them take on the flavor of the marinade instead of the earth...but all said, it seems you're not alone in giving beets a wide berth. :D
Shen
Aww, thanks for your sappy, but sweet comment! :D
Jacklyn
Yeah, pizza isn't the first place you'd thing of using beets...that's partly why Ricki's idea was so cool; these do have a great flavor too; I went light on the smoke flavoring, but was generous with the garlic and the chili pepper.
I heart this post! What a sweet, romantic meal.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, LOVE your pizza! Heart-shaped beetaroni--such a great idea! Glad you liked it. I'm still planning to try them stuffed in a sandwich one of these days. :)
ReplyDeleteYour salad is beautiful, too--it's amazing what a difference it makes when you cut your veggies into shapes! Hope you had a great V-Day. :)
BlessedMama
ReplyDelete<3
Ricki
Thank you for the wonderful recipe! I think it would be great in sandwiches. And, so true...what is it about cutting food into shapes that just makes it so much fun?
Thanks again for all your great recipes!
How could I have missed this post! I love how you used the beets and cutting them into hearts too!!!
ReplyDeleteThat is the cutest pizza and salad i've seen..
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love this post! I'm usually very theme-y and celebratory, but I sort of bombed this Valentine's Day since I was sick. I'm very jealous of your meal, and I definitely want to make this next Valentine's Day. Must try the beet pepperoni soon, too.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little late on this one, but first I would like to say that I love the title "heart beets." It definitely made me smile :)
ReplyDeleteBeetaroni's sound incredible. We will have to try those! And that pizza looks fantastic!
L's Framboise is a little sweet for us. I wish you lived nearby because we have an unfinished bottle in the fridge that has been waiting for someone to enjoy it.
Jenny
ReplyDeleteThe beet pepperoni is good and it's fun too! Let me know how you like it if you try it.
Cassie
Oh, shoot...if I lived nearby...you'd see me there in a heart beat! (Pun intended...I know, I'm lame). :D
Thank you for ideas and recipe!
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