But boy are they good. I had no idea. I have just discovered how delicious this unsightly vegetable can be. In my mind beets were those weird, red jelly slices that are served at Thanksgiving. I have since learned those are cranberries, non the less beets remained an item I would not think twice about passing up on the vegetable aisle. By forgetting to opt out of them in our CSA box I inadvertently ended up with a drawer full this week. I went to my friend Jenny about what to do and she passed on this quick, easy, and irresistible recipe. Here it is straight from her:

Mix 1/3 C olive oil, ¼ C balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbs honey and a few chopped shallots (or red onion—I never have shallots around the house)
Peel the beets and cut them into large, bite sized pieces.
 
Drizzle some of your vinegar mixture over the beets, tossing to coat.
 
Place two large squares of foil on top of each other (so you have two layers—this will prevent the beets from leaking all over your baking sheet). Place a pile of beets in the center and then wrap the foil up around them to create a packet. I usually do more than one packet—maybe fit a total of 2 cut up beets per packet.
 
Place the packets on a baking sheet and cook at 400 degrees for around an hour—until the beets pierce easily w/ a fork.
 
They are delicious plain this way, but I love to put them in a salad w/ goat cheese, avocado, and toasted walnuts. Use the leftover vinegar mixture as dressing.

There ya have it. I hope you too will experience the joy of beets this week!