Anna Lissiman, Hawaii
A friend from my years of college in Minnesota, Anna, is a pretty special lady. She was always intricate in her ways and slightly off the beaten path. I remember always admiring this part of her 17 years ago, when we are young and certainly in the “cookie cutter” community of folks we went to college with in Minnesota where following the norm is… well, the norm. Anna always had the personal convictions to live her life down her own path…and the good news is she still does. In life and (unbeknownst to me) also in the kitchen!
In the spirit of Anna’s eloquence and originality, I will share with you, in her words, this amazing beet stem cake idea and recipe!
“I think that the notion of this recipe came from a deep-seated dislike of garbage and waste, and less a matter of creativity. My great-Grandmother Della raised five children during the Depression and once said that ten pounds of flour, ten pounds of sugar and a dozen eggs meant security to her. When I think about her cooking with nothing and feeding her family, I commit to the notion that everything should find a useful purpose. We stopped buying anything that comes with excessive packaging in this house, so cakes and breads tend to be made from the basics.
Over the weekend, there were these beet stems left over from the veggie box I got at the local farm, staring me down. Trying to find ways to use them turns up heaps of recipes for soups and the odd pasta. Having done this many times already, I gave them a second look. They look a lot like rhubarb to me, so I decided to tinker with rhubarb cake recipes and see if it actually worked… guess what? It’s most deliciously, devilishly awesome.”
“I don’t see why a person couldn’t add a handful of diced pears, cubed apples, you name it – maybe even swiss chard. This recipe is easy to use and creates a cake that tastes of Christmas. It also has worked a treat as a breakfast slice, instead of a granola bar. Somehow I believe that if my great-Grandma saw me using beetroot in cake, she’d be very pleased. In regard to this recipe, I did find that the batter needed a little longer time in the oven.
Aloha!
-Anna Lissiman”
Beet Stem Cake Ingredients
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups chopped beetroot stems
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or macadamia nut pieces
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter, melted
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans. In a small bowl, stir together milk, lemon juice and vanilla; let stand for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, oil and egg. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda, stir into sugar mixture alternately with the milk mixture just until combined. Boil beet root stems until soft, remove from water, cool and dice into cubes. Fold in beetroot stems and nuts. Pour batter into prepared loaf pans. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. Sprinkle this mixture over the unbaked loaves. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.
