lover of the russian queen


when i was fourteen and wanted desperately to be 'different', i was really into tom robbins. and i remember reading in the beginning of one of his books a comparison of rasputin's power and the beetroot. something about the almost hypnotic power beets 'held' over russians (which, given both their borscht and pickling potential, is fairly easy to understand). rasputin, i remember him proposing, had beet-like eyes.
then again this could all be something that i imagined. sometimes i have trouble discerning the difference.
regardless, whenever i think of beets, i hear the strains of boney m.

this little beauty might look familiar to some of you. but when i went to the farmers market on wednesday and saw the gorgeous beets and radishes and greens, i couldn't resist.

the salad is greens with spicy spicy radishes, julienned beets, and a horseradish-aioli dressing. the main side is this lovely top loin (3/4 of which is still in my freezer) peppered and grilled and served on a garlic potato mash.

ooooooooooh.

ps - can anyone corroborate the tr story?