Shaved beet and arugula salad

I really like beets, but I don't always have the time and energy to make them. They're red, they're messy, and they take a long time to cook. Fortunately, I discovered that gold beets and chiogga beets don't bleed red all over your kitchen and they're quite pretty on your plate.

For this salad, I combined shaved gold beets with baby arugula. You definitely want to use a mandoline to shave the beets as thinly as possible. Since they're raw, they can be a little tough if the pieces are too thick. I made a simple meyer lemon vinaigrette for the salad: meyer lemon juice, honey, olive oil, shallot, salt and pepper. I tossed the beets and greens in the dressing and topped the salad with shavings of ricotta salata and chopped marcona almonds.
Here are a few of my tips for making delicious salads.

-Add a few teaspoons of finely minced shallot to your vinaigrette. Trust me, you'll be glad you did. If you're worried that the flavor of the shallot might be too sharp, let the minced shallot sit in your vinegar or lemon juice for a few minutes.

-Season your vinaigrette very generously with salt and pepper; it may seem like overkill, but you've got a lot of leaves to season with a small amount of dressing. Alternatively, season your greens with salt and pepper before you add the vinaigrette.

-Add your heavier ingredients like nuts to the top of the salad at the end. If you add them at the beginning, they'll just fall to the bottom of the bowl.

-Try mixing some fresh herbs into your salad greens - parsley is always a safe bet, I also like to add tarragon or dill.

-To reduce the amount of oil needed in your dressing, try adding a touch of honey. The sweetness balances the acidity.

What's for dinner?

I get asked constantly: how do you find time to cook so much? The reality is, my husband and I have really busy and sometimes unpredictable schedules. I truly don’t have the time to put together complicated meals on weeknights. I usually save my more ambitious cooking plans for weekends. That being said, I do have a few strategies for successful weeknight cooking. None of this is groundbreaking material, but I figured I’d share what works for me.

Make a meal plan for the week – I usually start with the weekly grocery ad to see what’s on sale and in season. I also try to choose weeknight recipes that won’t take more than 30 minutes. I only grocery shop once a week, so I plan my use of produce for the week based on shelf life. A bag of carrots will last much longer in the fridge than a bag of spinach, so the spinach gets used up first and the carrots get saved for later in the week. I write my menu plan and grocery list on the same paper – that way, if I’m in the store and they don’t have exactly what I need, I can refer back to my original menu and adjust accordingly.

Prepare in advance – On Sundays, I take about an hour to get my ingredients ready for the week. I wash and cut up as much produce as is feasible, grate cheese, make sauces, etc. I don’t cut up anything that will discolor or degrade too quickly, so sometimes I only get two or three day’s worth of produce processed. But you know what? It still saves me a lot of time during the week.

before and after

Keep a well stocked freezer and pantry – I tend to be pretty organized and I’m always thinking ahead. Whenever feasible, I make extra of sauces and soups for the freezer. Bear in mind that not all soups and sauces can be successfully frozen, so use your judgment. When meat goes on sale, I buy extra and freeze it. I almost always have a bag of frozen peas or corn in the house. If you were to open my freezer right now, you’d find everything from kaffir lime leaves to buddha’s hand zest to bread and chicken stock. If your freezer is well stocked, it’s not difficult to put together a quick meal.

Along the same lines, make sure you have all the basics in your pantry. I always have an assortment of grains and beans, a few different types of oils, olives, a variety of nuts, canned tomatoes and salt packed capers. I also try to keep bittersweet chocolate in the house for baking emergencies.

Once I’ve taken the time to prepare in advance for the upcoming week, I find that it’s quite feasible to have a healthy and delicious meal on the table without too much hassle. I’d love to hear from all of you – what are your tips for making quick meals? What are the pantry and freezer staples that you can’t live without?