flickr user larryjh1234Beets are a favorite in our household, but somehow we’ve managed to ignore the bunch of them that showed up in our Local Roots CSA box last week. Yesterday evening, as I reached into the fridge to grab the bottle of wine and cheese we were bringing over to a friend’s place for dinner, I tried to avoid making eye contact with the wilting greens peeking out of the vegetable drawer. “We really have to do something with these beets,” I yelled out, annoyed, to my boyfriend, to myself, to no one in particular. A few hours later, I was biking back up the hill to my house with another bag of beets. Soon, I’ll have a triple batch of borscht simmering on the stove. Dinner conversation turned, naturally, to food. My friend raved about the borscht her boyfriend made earlier that week. “The thing is,” he chimed in, “I’d never even cooked beets before.” Turns out our friends, who are members of Full Circle Farm CSA, had gotten a large bunch of little beets in their box last week. “I just don’t know much about them,” he continued, “but I had to figure out something to do with them. The borscht turned out even better than I expected.” Of course I found this whole scenario very heart-warming. We’ve had similar experiences with garlic scapes and kohlrabi with our CSA, but I loved hearing a friend talk about how a CSA pushed him out of his normal cooking comfort zone into new, rewarding territory.”We’ve got some extra beets,” my friend told me. “You should totally take them home and try this recipe.” I didn’t have the heart to tell her that we already had our own neglected beets to deal with, especially after they had just fed us an incredible roast and broiled peaches with honey and vanilla ice cream. Besides, it was a sweet and generous offer. (Also, knowing full well how overwhelming the veggie box can be occasionally, I’m pretty sure that we were doing them a favor by taking a little extra produce off their hands.) Luckily, I’ve got a fresh pot of beef stock that was simmering away most of the weekend on hand, which will make a perfect base for a big batch of borscht.