It’s been a long time, but I’m finally back in the kitchen. This past month has been a long one, lots of work meant not so much time in the kitchen and even less time in the world of blog. But hey, I knew I would be back at some point, and that point is now.

Summer has certainly arrived here in the UK, at last we have the temperatures reaching somewhere vaguely that I like, high 20’s even reaching the low to nearly mid 30’s. apart from the humidity, (I do prefer dry desert heat) it’s nice to know that school is out for summer, apart from the administration work, I now have more time for my passion.

Passions that have changed a little as well. I always thought I hated beetroot. That vile red vinegary vegetable, that stains your fingers, stains your clothes if, like me you are a messy eater, smells disgusting and has a texture of grainy slime. I can honestly say that the thought of beetroot would have me heaving and squirming, like a Pavlov dog!!

That was until recently at pizza express, when I ordered the super food salad, and forgot to ask for the beetroot to be removed and incinerated. Upon seeing the dreaded veg on my salad, I decided to be brave, I decided to eat one. It was a bit like when I was a child and would be served liver. Which is another food I hate. We would have to eat it, and would compromise with a fork of potato eaten with the liver. So, with my beetroot nemesis on my fork, I added some spinach leaves to try and hide the taste. Amazingly, the beetroot tasted, well, nice. Surprised and shocked I tried some more, and still the same taste bud reaction. I re checked the menu, noticed it was a balsamic drenched beetroot, decided I now quite liked it.

Yesterday, I made a huge salad, and chose to put some balsamic beetroot in it. First, I got some sweet baby beetroots, sliced them in half, placed them in a container and poured balsamic over until they were covered. These were left for a few hours just to make sure the vinegar soaked into them.

The salad was very refreshing, basically a bed of spinach, topped with my new friend the balsamic beetroot, crumbled goats cheese, cucumber and strawberries. No need for any dressing or salt. This was served with a bacon and onion omelette and crusty warm bread. A lovely filling summers day lunch.