Beet and Lentil Salad

The other day I took out the garbage and met a new friend all at the same time.

As I lifted the lid, something made me look down and there, lying on his back, waving up at me was a young raccoon.  Naturally, I did the logical, brave thing: I screamed like a starlet in a horror movie, dropped the lid back down, threw the bag of garbage up into the air and ran like a track star.

But then, I started to think about it and got worried that the poor thing might have been trapped and with the temperature predicted to soar over 90 degrees that afternoon, I couldn’t leave the him/her to that fate.

Naturally, the first thing I did was to call everyone I knew and tell them about my near death experience with the vicious, laughing raccoon who waved delightedly at me from the bottom of the trash bin. I’m not sure they understood the grave danger I was in, and how lucky I was to escape without losing life and limb.

Finally, after polling family, friends, random passerby and the guy who was at my house fixing my toilet, I decided to get a broom and push open the garbage lid, hoping he would somehow be able to climb out on his own. In my mind, I was like a kick butt Disney princess, but more likely, I looked like Shrek fighting the dragon, only instead of a talking donkey for a sidekick, I had the plumber coaching me on how best to wield the broom.

An hour later, I was still waiting, and the raccoon was taking a nap, burrowed between the garbage bags, seemingly unconcerned that I was having a massive panic attack for him. At that point, I called in the  reinforcements, in the form of a friend next door who, together with the plumber maneuvered the garbage over to a shady side of the street with lots of trees and bushes and tipped the garbage over, so my furry friend could find his/her own way out.  I manned the cell phone, ready to call either 911, animal control, or America’s Funniest Home Videos.  It was a tossup as to how this was going to end.

Luckily, the raccoon decided he had had enough of being rudely woken up when he was just trying to catch a nap in between all the gourmet snacking he had been doing, and he rumbled off into the forest, most likely to share his tale of horror with his friends and family.  I can just hear him now…”I was sleeping off last night’s binge eating, all comfy and cozy when all of a sudden this giant with a huge stick tried to kill me…..”

Ingredients:

• 2 cups baby spinach
• 1 bunch of beets with leafy green tops
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 cucumber
• 1/4 cup diced red onion
• 1 orange
• 1/2 cup of lentils, rinsed (I used black lentils, but green will work – so will canned lentils, drained and rinsed)
• 1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2-3/4 teaspoon ground mustard
• olive oil
• salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  Peel and cut 2 small or 1 large beet into bite-sized pieces.  Place on a lined baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes or until tender.  Allow to cool. (This step can be done earlier and the beets can be refrigerated until ready to use.)
2. Peel and thinly slice another large beet.  Stack the slices and cut into thin strips.  Toss with a small splash of olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Put on a lined baking sheet in the oven and roast 10-15 minutes till crispy.  (I use an air-fryer and cook at 400 for 5-6 minutes). Set aside to cool.  Peel the orange and cut the segments into bite-sized pieces.  Set aside.
3. In a small pot, combine the rinsed lentils with 1  1/2 cups of water and the zest of the orange.  Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes (for the black lentils). Remove from heat when does, drain if necessary and allow to cool.  (This step can also be done ahead of time)
4. In the meantime, wash and dry the leaves from the beets.  Roughly chop them as well as the spinach and mix together in a serving bowl.
5. Slice the carrots and cucumber and add them to the lettuce.
6. Add the lentils, orange segments and onion to the salad as well as the cooked and cooled roasted beets (not the crunchy beet strips)
7. In a small jar with a lid or a small bowl, combine the orange juice, vinegar, ground mustard and a pinch of salt.  Pour over the salad right before serving and top with the crunchy beet strips.

Enjoy!