Most beets at the farmers’ market, and even the grocery store, have beautiful, leafy greens still intact. Don’t throw them away! They’re tough like swiss chard, but they cook down just like any other green to become very tender. They have an earthy taste, and we recently used them as the base for a delicious warm salad topped with roasted beets, blue cheese and walnuts. It’s an incredibly simple-to-make dish that’s a nice departure from traditionally cold salads–something about those warm beets paired with crunchy walnuts and pungent blue cheese feels like healthy comfort food. Keep reading for the recipe!
One bunch of beets with greens
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
Olive oil
Walnuts
Fresh blue cheese, crumbled
Maldon sea salt (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the greens from the beets, leaving about an inch of stem attached to the beets. Wash and dry the beets, then transfer to a large piece of foil. Rub olive oil on their skin and sprinkle generously with salt. Wrap up the end of the foil to create a pack. Set the pack in the oven and cook for about 30-50 minutes, depending on the size of your beets (ours were very small this time). While the beets are roasting, wash and dry the greens. Discard most of the stems, leaving just an inch or two attached to the greens. Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium-high heat, add garlic and let golden just a minute, then add the greens. Saute until tender.
Check your beets and remove once you can easily insert the prongs of a fork. They’ll be very hot to touch, but go ahead and behind to rub the skin off, using a paper towel to keep your fingers from burning. Slice each beet in half or quarter, depending on the size. Transfer greens to two bowls. Top with roasted beets, walnuts and blue cheese. Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt flakes.
When it comes to bags, my philosophy is quality over quantity. A great handbag is worth every penny, because it becomes part of your identity in a way. You carry it to work, to the grocery store, to run errands, to the restaurant. You put the contents of your daily life in it–money, phone, sunglasses, lipstick, maybe even a book or notepad. So why wouldn’t you want to invest in something you won’t regret carrying year-round?
Enter Roztayger, one of my favorite online sites for bag stalking. Elizabeth Jeffer, the site’s founder, has a knack for curating handbags from around the world and from designers you don’t see everywhere. Think buttery soft leather, timeless neutrals and saturated hues, subtle details, modern shapes and versatility from day to night, work to weekend. Roztayger has a huge selection, too–from keychains and wallets to larger totes and weekenders.
So now the fun part! I teamed up with Elizabeth to show you three of my favorite bags–in different shapes and great hues like hunter green, magenta, and cobalt. And I styled them to show just how seamlessly they transition from work to weekend–these are truly classics, and I can’t wait to treat myself to one for fall.
Speaking of treating, Elizabeth is offering a 10% off discount on anything on her site just for you from now until next Wednesday, August 14. Just pop on over to Roztayger and enter the code PERPETUALLY10 at checkout. Which one will you treat yourself to? Happy shopping!
Outfit details: H&M dress and necklace (in store) | Ray-Ban sunglasses | vintage belt and cuff
We spent Saturday in Chicago taking in the scene and a few of our favorite bands at Lollapalooza. It was unlike anything I’ve seen. The immense amount of people—roughly 100,000 per day—at this music festival is pretty overwhelming…until you grab a beer, find your spot on the grass (or right up in the crowd) and just take it all in. I originally intended to just do an outfit post (thanks for all your votes on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to help me pick between this outfit and this one!), with a few pics of Lolla mixed in, but I took more photos than I expected around the park so you’re getting a little photo diary instead. Keep on reading for the photos from our day, plus a special playlist I created for you!
The highlight of the day was definitely The Lumineers coming out into the crowd, just a few people away from us, to perform. It was the golden hour of the day, and I got some amazing shots from atop John’s shoulders. Being right in the heart of such an awesome live performance counts as one of my favorite life experiences. I loved, loved hearing Ben Howard (huge fan here) play. We also caught the Local Natives, The National, St. Lucia and Eric Church before ending the day with The Lumineers and Mumford & Sons.
The crowd for Mumford & Sons immediately after The Lumineers was insane—way different than the first time we saw them at a small venue in Milwaukee, but there was something so incredibly energizing about joining more than 60,000 people to listen to everyone’s favorite band. We were about 1/3 the way back in the photo above.
Be sure to listen and subscribe to my Lolla 2013 playlist on Spotify for my most favorite songs from the bands who played at Lollapalooza!
It just so happens that one of my proudest moments in the kitchen wasn’t baking some elaborate cake or following pages and pages of instructions for a super-complicated meal. No, it was simply making spicy Thai pesto on a Tuesday night–harvesting the Thai basil from my garden, pulling out ingredients I had on hand, placing them in a food processor, doing a little taste test, adding a few more ingredients, tasting and then smiling big because not only did I love what I’d created, but I knew my husband was going to flip for it too (and he did). A few years ago, I wouldn’t have made anything without a recipe…this is my proof that accomplishments can sneak up on us in small ways.
Next week I’ll share how we used the pesto in last night’s dinner, but for now, keep reading for a peek at my garden and the recipe for the BEST pesto ever!
Spicy Thai Pesto
2 cups Thai basil
1 clove garlic
1 teaspoon fresh ginger
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1 Thai chili pepper
1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
1/4 cup olive oil
A tablespoon or two of water, if needed
Place all ingredients in a food processor, except the olive oil, and blend. Slowly add the olive oil in and blend until smooth, adding a tiny bit of water if needed. Store in the refrigerator in a small dish or jar and use within a few days, or make extra and freeze in a tightly sealed jar for later use.
You are currently browsing the Perpetually Chic blog archives for August, 2013.
