Real food or literary device?

I was in my late teens when I read my first Tom Robbins book, and quickly became a fan. I liked the tone of his writing- quirky characters followed convoluted zen-like plot lines, with a good dose of sexiness thrown in. Reading Still Life with Woodpecker inspired me to start smoking Camels, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues encouraged me to hitchhike more, and Jitterbug Perfume made me want to practice the Kama Sutra to stay forever young. Jitterbug Perfume also had an unforgettable introduction extolling the intensity of beets. During the introduction Robbins name-drops a type of beet, the Mangel-Wurzel. This name stuck with me in much the same manner I can remember that little Cindy Lou Who is the one who walked in on the Grinch- it's silliness stuck. To my mind, the Mangel-Wurzel was another of Robbins' quirky characters.

Imagine my Joy and Surprise (yes, capital J and S) when I discovered at the Farmer's Market a Mangel-Wurzel in the bins of one of the farmers. I'd like you to meet her.


Isn't she a beauty? Look at how big she is!!

I was surprised to discover that she was pale white on the inside.
Not wanting to be too fancy about it (after all, beets are a serious vegetable) I simply cut her up and boiled her. She turned out to be about 2 lbs worth of beet.


Let me tell you, this is one of the sweetest beets I've ever tasted. It's not especially beety though. According to Wikipedia, this type of beet has been used to brew beer. I used it to make a beet, spinach, and pecan salad.

It's nothing fancy really. Just boiled beets, steamed spinach and toasted pecans tossed with balsamic vinegar.

After this discovery, I'm going to have to keep my eyes out for Roast Beast and Who Hash.