Tweet Beet

Two things happened last week while I was poking around the internet looking for news of the tiny valley in the Catskills where my father has a house.

First, while I like farting around on Twitter, its utility as a news source really became clear as I found people tweeting information about roads closed, bridges out, alternative routes, and utility services. I mean, it's one thing to read tweets about the revolution in Egypt or the assassination of Bin Laden - important, yes, but not as tangible as something happening in a place where you know the people, the roads, the streams, the landmarks, and where all the phone lines seem to be out.

Second, I found a recipe for a beet pie. I know, who'd a thunk it? Beets? In a pie? A dessert pie? It was on the blog of a person who has a house up there in the Catskills, who I'd found via Twitter. (I know. You were wondering how these two things were connected. Everything is connected to everything, if you just know where to look.) I was intrigued enough to make it, especially because I had beets in the fridge from the CSA. What I really wanted to do was make it for the assembled friends and family up on the Cape, and not tell anyone what was in it, but that didn't really happen; there were too many people in the kitchen. (Let's digress again - have you ever made the mock apple pie recipe on the back of the Ritz Cracker box? It's worth doing once, because it really does fool people.) Because I assumed (correctly) that the rental house kitchen wasn't going to be well-equipped, I prepped all the dry ingredients into a plastic bag, and got my husband to make a pie crust, and brought everything else that we needed. And, you know? It was really good. It's almost more like a mince pie, what with the dried fruit and nuts. The original recipe called for cooking the beets; I somehow failed to notice that step and used raw grated beets - it came out just fine. Also, I used the maple syrup called for, but because there was no detectable maple flavor, I might try it with Lyle's Golden Syrup next time. Here's the recipe, as adapted from Edible/Usable.

Beet Pie

• 1 single unbaked pie shell (9 inches)
• 2 medium beets
• 1/2 cup grade B maple syrup or Lyle's Golden Syrup
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 t white vinegar (I used balsamic, because it's all we had)
• 1 t vanilla
• 2 T butter
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t nutmeg
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 T flour
• 3/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
   
2. Peel beets, and grate on a box grater - measure out one cup of grated beets (you may have a bit leftover).
   
3. Beat the eggs gently in a bowl. Add all other ingredients except walnuts and raisins, and mix well. Add beets, walnuts and raisins (or dried cranberries) and stir until blended. Pour into the unbaked pie shell.
   
4. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 25-30 minutes or until pie is firm. Cool on a rack and serve still warm with vanilla ice cream.