what if you made INVERTED grilled cheese sandwiches with haloumi on the outside and a thin bread soaked in something yummy on the inside?? like herbed olive oil? or berry sauce? i have no idea. or, heck, put more cheese between the cheese.

look up chinese red-cooking (hong shao － 红烧). it will make delicious, savory, melt-in-your-mouth tender pigsfeet! the idea is to simmer in a mix of water, soy sauce, sugar (white or brown), and some asian spices (star anise, cinnamon), for a loooong time on a low heat. my mom is obsessed with pigsfeet and this is the only way she ever cooked them. (yes, we're chinese =D)

what a fabulous retinue of suggestions... almost makes me want to boil more beets to try them all ;D

actually, i ended up doing probably the least adventurous thing: i made borscht! the russians are ingenious! i got my housemate who thought beets were nasty to eat them, and like it. borscht basically starts off by boiling beets anyway =)

i don't think i'm ready yet for BARBIE PASTA.

the liquid itself is pretty flavorful, so i'm sure it would work as gelatin or granitas or popsicles. it definitely would make pasta beets-y i think...

thank you for all of the suggestions! =D

I second janniecooks. You don't need bonito flakes. UNLESS you also like some shaved on for an extra-fishy garnish.

IMHO, miso soup is pretty simple, and it's best when it's simple. But if you are adventurous and don't want the same old same old every time, then try some of these additions:

- natto (this is fermented soybeans -- slimy on their own, but delicious and nutty when added to miso soup)
- sichimi (seven spice powder) - real japanese people probably don't use this in miso soup (usually, just noodle soups) but i do =) it spices things up. literally.
- wild mushroom mix - this makes things really savory and yummy...

Alas, I would have baked them had it not been for the 90 degree weather, my apt lacking a/c, and our old oven having a flaw where it fills the whole room with AWESOME HEAT.

the hair suggestion sounds fabulous. except i have black hair. dough!

making pink rice sounds great XD that will surprise the coworkers at lunchtime!

Cut off the ends and scoop out the seeds. Then stuff it with ground pork mixed with scallions and ginger and a little soy sauce. Then slice the melon cross-wise so you get little round pieces with pork filling in the middle. Fry the slices (with pork mix in the middle) in a fry pan. This is the only way I can be made to eat bitter melon, and I'm supposed to be Chinese... =P

Hi! I am a newbie, both to this board and to cooking (well.. sort of. I've been stumbling my way through college for 4 years with a spatula but now I am graduated and trying to learn for serious!). For my inaugural post here, I have a nagging question:

---> What do I do with the water I boiled my beets in?

I know most people would just throw it out, but I can't bear to do it. It is such a deep rich garnet color, and it smells fabulous. I know there are nutrients in there. Hiding. Waiting. Ready to pounce.

I read a blog entry online somewhere that says you can put sugar in it and drink it as beet juice. Sounds plausible, but any other ideas? Beet soup? Beet sauce? Beet... popsicles!?!??

(BEETS, btw, I have just discovered them, and they are AWESOME. Why did it take me this long??)

Thanks for reading my first post =D

-t!na