When it comes to beets, people have a love-hate relationship with the vibrant root vegetable...they either love them or hate them. Those who love them will find every possible way to eat them, drink them, or whatever in between. The beet haters will look the other way when they see beets in any of the dishes. I love beets, any color, shape, or size. You find the regular red beet in the markets all year long, and in some larger supermarkets, you find golden beets very often too. I frequently stop by the friendly grocery store on my way home from work. Last week as I stopped to buy some spinach, I saw these huge bunches of beets for only a dollar. How could I resist picking up some of the fresh beets? I had no idea what I would do with so much beet, but thought beets are not easily perishable and so I could use them over several days.
As I was cleaning the juicer, I picked up the pulp that had collected from the carrot, beets, and apple to trash it, but couldn’t bring myself to throw away this beautiful colored pulp. I saved it in a container and kept it in the fridge. I then searched for recipes using beet pulp. Google came up with several bread and related recipes. I tweaked some of the bread recipes, and came up with my own recipe finally. What you see below is the beautiful bread….the color is absolutely stunning. I added some cheese for flavor and toasted pumpkin seeds for crunch. The bread is dense and did not rise too much, but tasted delicious. I cut it into thick slices and had it for breakfast the next day. It tasted delicious as a snack with the tanginess of the cheese and the occasional crunch of a toasty pumpkin seed. It was sitting pretty on the kitchen counter in all its colored glory...and then it was all gone before too long. I hope to bake it again... when life gives me beets….
Beet Bread with Carrots and Apple
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ cup toasted pumpkin seeds
¾ cup canola oil
2 cups of pulp (I used beets, carrots, and an apple)
Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Combine the two flours, baking powder, and salt well. Set aside.
In another bowl, add 2 eggs, oil, and brown sugar and mix until well combined. Fold in the pulp of beets, carrots, and apple), cheese, and pumpkin seeds. Gently blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Do not over-mix.
Turn the batter into a loaf pan (9x5 inch) and bake in a preheated oven for about an hour until done. Remove and cool completely before slicing.
