Beets!

I'm sure I've waxed poetic on beets here before but here I go again.  I know some people can't stand them but I love em'. The roots are so sweet and tasty, the tops are tender and earthy, together they're a great pair, here with a little onion sauteed in butter and finished with a grating of fresh nutmeg, salt and a grind of black pepper.  I'm feeling pretty rich this year as the beet crop is looking like one of the best ever, been harvesting a dozen or so good sized roots every week for about a month now and there are still plenty in the garden.  I boil them up, peel and pop them in the fridge to top salads, slice onto sandwiches, or make into a special dish all their own.  The other night it was a salad of beets with fresh baby fennel, purple onion and toasted walnuts dressed with balsamic and olive oil.  Or how about sliced beets in a pita pocket with ricotta salata cheese, lettuce, fresh dill and walnuts?  Those were crazy, looking inside the pocket with all the purple beet juice bleeding into the bread, it looked like a muppet mouth.  Think Ernie or Bert.  I usually eat a few while I'm peeling them, they are irresistable.   I've got enough that I might start branching out, beet muffins, pickled beets, borscht - while there is still plenty of dill to go around.  The giant yellow umbles are forming and the swallowtail caterpillars have arrived so the feathery herb will be finished soon.