Beet red

I forgot to mention that on Sunday, I also picked up a pound of beets at the Mi Tierra!

I am a big fan of beets, despite their benign side effects. My neighborhood cafe, Duboce Park Cafe, has this yummy beet salad with roasted pecans, blue cheese, fresh arugula and, of course beets. I try to eat that salad once a week (except when I'm on the Food Stamp diet, of course... at $8/plate, it's a bit much for my $4/day allowance :D ). Beets are rich in anti-oxidants (and sweet too, which is just icing on the cake).

I started the beets boiling (they need to boil for about 30 minutes before they're soft and tender and oh so delicious), and set about making dinner.

Today, I decided to make broccoli and peppers, two of the ingredients I picked up on Sunday, South-Indian style.

You'll need:

• 2 medium-large bell peppers, sliced and chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 6 big cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb of broccoli, cut into little florets
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 2 tbsp of South-Indian "sambar masala"
• salt to taste

Since I don't let anything go to waste these days, I also used the broccoli stems. You should remove the tough, fibrous outer skin and chop the tender inner part into small pieces. In the picture below, you see the broccoli on the left; garlic in the middle back; peppers on the right; and the broccoli stems in the front.

1. Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in a wok or a medium-size saucepan
2. Add the garlic and the peppers (and the broccoli stems, if you're using them), and stir them around on medium heat. Cover and let them cook for a while, stirring frequently. Cook for about 5-8 minutes, till the garlic pieces are light brown in color.
3. Add the masala, and stir them all up so the spices coat the veggies. Stir continuously for about 30 seconds.
4. Add the tomatoes and the salt, and mix things up. Let them cook for another 5 minutes (the masala may stick to the bottom, so you'll have to be sure to scrape the bottom).
5. Add the broccoli florets, and 3/4 cup of water. Stir nicely, cover, and let it cook on low heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

On another note: on the way back from work, I stopped by at the Costco with a friend, Mohit. There I picked up a 40-count bag of flour tortillas ($2.79), and 20-count bag of high-fiber, low-carb tortillas ($4.99). That put a little dent in the budget, but I'm getting sick of eating corn tortillas every day. These should last me for the rest of the month.

And the beets? After they were done, I let them sit in cold water for a while, and then peeled them (like a potato) and sliced them into medium-thin slices and put them in the fridge. Should last me the rest of the week. I'm looking forward to a yummy salad for lunch tomorrow!