By JANET K. KEELER

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 16, 2001

eat your veggies

spotlight on plant food

beets

eating: If you only know beets as those sweet pickled red things offered at salad bars, you're missing out on one of the vegetable world's most colorful characters. Beets, dusty brown on the outside and intensely crimson inside, are packed with folic acid, which helps prevent birth defects, heart attacks and colorectal cancer. The root vegetable can be eaten cooked or raw, but earthy-tasting raw beets should be shredded or finely cut. The red juice stains clothes and hands, so take care when cutting.

buying: Beets can be purchased year-round but their true season is summer and fall. Beets have a long shelf life but the greens attached to them do not, which means beets sold with greens are probably fresher than those without. Beet greens, which can be bitter, may be prepared like chard or kale.

preparing: Most recipes call for beets to be peeled. This can be done with a vegetable peeler but, again, be careful not to get the juice on your clothes. Use a grater to shred peeled fresh beets for a crunchy addition to a salad.

cooking: Jack Bishop, author of Vegetables Everyday (HarperCollins, 2001), touts baking as the best way to cook beets. Trim off the greens, wrap each beet in aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 1 to 11/4 hours. Let them cool slightly and, holding with a paper towel, gently rub off the skin. Slice and dress with a favorite vinaigrette. Bishop also recommends combining shredded beets with potatoes for a twist on potato pancakes.

quick fix: Grated Beet Salad from Vegetables Everyday. Trim, peel and shred four medium beets. Whisk together 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard and 1 medium minced garlic clove. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Whisk in 2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 2 teaspoons minced fresh tarragon or parsley leaves. Drizzle over beets and toss to coat.

constant comment

"There is no technique, there is just the way to do it. Now, are we going to measure or are we going to cook?" -- Frances Mayes in Under the Tuscan Sun (Chronicle Books, 1996)

this web site cooks

www.homecanning.com

In honor of International Pickle Week, which begins Friday, log on to this site for easy directions on how to make your own. Canning is not as difficult as you might think, and the big benefit is that you'll have a case of gifts to dole out to a new neighbor, an ailing friend or a favorite co-worker. The equipment to get started is minimal even though the list on this site appears long. Some of the items, such as a Ball "Bubble Freer" spatula to run around the inside of a full jar to release bubbles, can be substituted with items in your kitchen such a wooden spoon handle or a chopstick. You must have, however, a large canning pot, jars, a funnel and tongs to lift jars.

If you're not online and want information about canning, call your county Cooperative Extension office and ask for a home economist.

cooking class

Zest is both noun and verb. It means to remove by peeling or grating only the colored part of the peel of citrus fruits. The tool of choice is the zester. When it is pulled down the length of the fruit, it removes only the top layer, not the bitter white pith beneath. A peeler can also be used but you'll have to cut the peel into fine pieces. Recipes that call for lemon, lime or orange zest are asking for colored peel.

chocolate chug Coffee, tea, chocolate milk? A recent issue of Time magazine reports that the proliferation of individual-sized chocolate milk drinks on the market is yet another case of baby boomers wanting to relive their childhoods. Hershey's, Nesquik and T.G. Lee are just a few of the companies trying to grant that wish. Look carefully at the labels, though. Some are "chocolate drinks," milk not included. Low-fat and non-fat versions are also available. Can strawberry milk chugs be far behind?

DormKit

It may not be the most nutritious thing going, but a DormKit full of junk food will make the college kid in your life the Big Cheese on Campus when school kicks up again. DormKits, the brainchild of Floridian Paul Gaiptman of Longwood, are care packages of snack foods that can be delivered during finals, before the big game or as a "hello" from those who miss them most. Priced from $19.95 to $44.95 for a serious dose of 75 munchies. DormKits with laundry items also available. Call toll-free 1-888-367-6548 or go online at www.dormkit.com.

champion chef

Nicole Haislett, 1992 Olympic swimming gold medalists and St. Petersburg native, is the new chef de cuisine of sports nutrition at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens. According to the May issue of Tennis magazine, Haislett is creating signature dishes such as Asian bouillabaisse with soba noodles for the resort's four restaurants. She also conducts healthy eating seminars. Haislett, a 1996 graduate of University of Florida, attended the Florida Culinary Institute in nearby West Palm Beach.

Curry in a hurry

The Indian Grocery Store Demystified, (Renaissance Books, 2000, $16.95 paperback) by Linda Bladholm, guides you through the maze of spices, seasonings, powders, pastes, breads, flours, teas, sweets and canned goods you likely will encounter in an Indian market. More than 200 illustrations help separate your kokum from your fenugreek; 20 recipes are provided.

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