I went to visit my grandparents last weekend. I was the only one visiting, and the agenda was very low key. The days were planned around eating, napping, and spending time outside to admire their gorgeous view of the Spokane Valley.
It was really great to see them. Part of the reality of living 1600 miles away from home is that I don’t see family as often as I’d like to. Between plane ticket costs and getting time off work with only 80 discretionary hours a year (seriously, what corporate overlord convinced people to go along with that?), it just doesn’t happen more than a couple times a year. So the fact that I got to fly out for the weekend, without a holiday or occasion to justify it, was really special.
The lackadaisical way time seems to pass at my grandparents’ house has always been calming. It’s ok to wake up when you want, and sometimes there’s stuff to do, but mostly you just get to do your own thing. I’m sure many of you have the same struggle with To-Do List Anxiety as I do when you’re at home. Cleaning, weeding, taking care of the animals, cooking.. it’s exhausting. Visiting the grandparents was great, because the need to worry about taking care of things vanished.
I always used to bring books to my grandparents to read. This time I didn’t, and I had to scavenge for reading material. The only things I could find were the newspaper and a bunch of Ina Garten’s cookbooks. I opted for the cookbooks (shocker).
I do have to give it to Ina, her recipes are always simple but delicious. Thumbing through her cookbooks gave me some solid inspiration for new combinations of ingredients. Arugula and beets aren’t something I would think to put together, and I probably wouldn’t have thought of adding goat cheese or marcona almonds. And mustard in the vinaigrette? Weird. But since it was an Ina recipe, I knew it would work. Not only is this salad gorgeous to look at, it’s also very tasty. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
A couple of notes: if you aren’t able to find small enough beets, the smoking method will take way too long. Substitute another cooking method, such as roasting in a 500 degree oven for 5o minutes or boiling for the same amount of time. Also, if you have trouble finding marcona almonds, you’re not alone. I finally found them at Trader Joe’s. They had a truffle variety that worked really well in this salad.
Arugula Salad with Smoked Beets
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof: Recipes You Can Trust
serves 4 as a side salad
– 6 small beets with leaves attached
– 8 oz arugula leaves
– 2 oz marcona almonds
– 1/2 log of goat cheese
– 1/4 cup olive oil
– 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
– 1 tsp dijon mustard
Heat the smoker to about 275 degrees using the indirect smoke heat.
Prepare the beets for smoking by chopping off the top leaves and the tail. Place a layer of beet leaves on a large piece of aluminum foil. Put the beets on top and then cover with another layer of beet leaves. Wrap up the aluminum foil packet and pierce with a fork several times on the top and bottom.
Place in the smoker for approximately 2 hours or until beets are easily pierced with a fork. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Prepare the dressing by whisking together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and mustard.
Once the beets are cool, peel them and cut each beet into four wedges. Coat the wedges in the vinaigrette.
Assemble the salad by placing a layer of arugula leaves on a platter. Place the smoked beet wedges on top of the arugula. Crumble the goat cheese overtop the salad. Sprinkle the salad with the almonds. Either dress with the remaining vinaigrette or serve on the side.
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