Vegetables and How I Cook Them: Beets

But until then, there are beets. Beets make me feel like a profound planner. They are one of the few fresh ingredients that I buy in large quantities and cook in one big go. This stems from my inherent love of efficiency; if you are going to turn the oven on, it had better be for more than one lonely beet. So when the oven is on to make a casserole, I put a tray full of beets on the other rack and feel smugly methodical. Then, later in the week, when there is no time for a hot meal, I have a dish full of beets that are ready to be sliced and tossed with whatever else is in the refrigerator. The smugness continues.