Getting Out of a Pickle

I've made this vow many times: I will pack a lunch for work instead of buying one. This is easy for some people. Not me. I'm bad at getting to the grocery store; I'm bad at making the time to prepare my lunch; I'm bad at varying my lunch so I don't get bored of it. But I'm trying it again. I'm on Day 3.

Yesterday, I decided on a beet salad. It's healthy, it's different, and it would give me a chance to prove to a co-worker that beets are delicious. She was raised on pickled beets and hates them to this day. I swore up and down that pickled beets taste completely different than "normal" beets. (I have to admit it's been a long time since I've had pickled beets.) So I went home and roasted beets, which is incredibly easy. Just wrap them tightly in foil, pop them in the oven at 350, and take them out an hour to an hour-and-a-half later. In the morning, I took my roasted and peeled beets, tossed them with orange slices, and poured a dressing---a mixture of orange zest, chives, olive oil, white vinegar, and a pinch of sugar---over them.

The co-worker tasted a beet. She tried to be nice, but she didn't like it. Then I tasted one. It didn't taste much different from pickled beets at all. While it was still delicious (don't let the photo fool you), it tasted very much like its jarred cousin. My theory is that the vinegar in the dressing gave it a slightly pickled taste. Or maybe beets just taste like beets no matter the preparation. Either way, I'm going to keep experimenting. Sorry, Jule.