With the refrigerator repaired with the promise that it will fail again in a day or two, and take our freezer out with it, we haven’t been using it for much food storage and haven’t been doing much cooking. Last night we ate frozen foods to cut potential losses, but I’ve been feeling a little down from the stresses of life, nothing a little cooking wouldn’t solve.

I recently saw a recipe on Food52 for beet tartare that stuck in my mind because we had some beets in our produce bin (sitting on the deck to try to keep the contents from wilting in the warm fridge) that needed making. This was a naptime project, so I made substitutions and omissions based on what we had in the kitchen.

Beet Tartare
Adapted from Cory Daddario on Food52
Total time: 1 hour
Servings: 4

7 small beets
2 heaping Tbsp yellow onion, minced
3 Tbsp chives, minced
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Roast beets at 325F for about 30 minutes. Slip their skins with your fingers or peel with a paring knife, then dice. Mix the remaining ingredients to form a dressing and toss with the beets.

I ate some right away using a spoon, but we also had the beets with dinner (spinach potato patties from the freezer, fried egg).