http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/237192/

Yes, that’s a smoothie. And yes, it has beets in it.

And, yes, I did that on purpose.

You see, I’m the only person in my house who adores beets. And we happen to be in the middle of the local beet season. I can’t get enough of them, which is great because they’re abundant at the Lawrence Farmers’ Market and through my Rolling Prairie CSA. But, it’s also sad in that I have to work my tail off to get through all of them in a week.

Hence, I decided to try something new.

And that something is pretty. Which is always nice, in my estimation, as an eater.

So, here’s the story. Last week at Rolling Prairie we took home beets, blackberries, collards, summer squash, corn, new potatoes and giant shallots.

The berries and the corn went super fast (as in they barely made it through the door), while the squash, potatoes and shallots went into a twist on this favorite of ours, the Herbed Summer Squash and Potato Torte. The “twist” being that we used shallots instead of onions. Exciting, I know. But if you like cheesy, potato-y things, that torte is totally for you!

As for the beets and collards, I tried to do something a bit different with them.

Last week, I made the collards into wraps. That worked well, but I’m a bit wrapped out. So, this time around, I decided to juice the collards. It wasn’t the tastiest idea I’ve ever had (talk about a STRONG flavor), but the result was pretty healthy. More on that later.

As for the beets … they are definitely a “no middle ground”-type food. You either love them or hate them. Or, at least, that’s been my experience. And, as I mentioned above, usually it’s just me enjoying them in our house.

So, some of my beets I paired with the collards for the aforementioned juice. The juice also utilized local apples and parsley I got at the Farmers’ Market, so it was a super local concoction!

The remaining beets, well, I got creative with them, and the results were electric:

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/237201/

That smoothie is something I’ve never done before. But, because I know very few of you out there probably have a juicer, I thought I’d try something with my blender.

It’s much more likely that you readers have blenders, right? Right.

Even if you like beets, I realize this smoothie idea is probably a little hair-raising, but, I implore you, just try it. My top reason besides the flavor: the fact that my beet-hating kiddo is happily drinking it in the above picture. If he’ll drink it, your beet haters might drink it, too.

Thus, I give you beets two ways. First, that smoothie recipe. Second, my “gulp it down before you can really taste it”-type beets-and-collards juice. Both are full of antioxidants and vitamins, though the smoothie definitely tastes worlds better!

Electric Pink Smoothie

1 medium beet, raw, peeled and diced

2 cups chopped pineapple

1/2 cup strawberries, chopped

1/2 cup blueberries

1 to 1-1/2 cups water

Blend and enjoy! Serves 1 to 2.

http://www.lawrence.com/users/photos/2012/jul/02/237202/

Liquid Beets and Greens

2-3 small beets, or one large one

2-3 collard leaves (kale works too)

2 tart apples

2 lemons

2 heads celery

1/2 bunch parsley

Run all through a juicer. Enjoy! Serves 1 to 2.