When life gives you beets...

...make CHOCOLATE beet cake!

Next to our house is an empty lot. Our neighbor, who is our home builder, is hanging onto that lot in hopes that one of his children will want to live there someday. In the meantime, he uses the lot to grow a huge garden. It is wonderful! My children like to help him plant the seeds and we reap the benefits of all of his hard work. One night he dug up some beets. I despise beets, but I knew my husband liked them so I graciously accepted his offering. I fully intended to cook them, but since my husband and I had only purchased canned beets neither of us knew what to do with them and they ended up going bad in the meantime. Since that time, my neighbor is always giving us beets because he "knows how much we LOVE them!" Every time, I intend to cook them and every time, they go bad and I throw them away with guilt. Imagine my surprise (horror) when my doorbell rang and I found a pile of about 50 beets on my porch. My neighbor smiled and waved at me...because he knows that I LOVE beets. This time I decided I couldn't throw them away. I wanted to end the guilt. So I found this...

CHOCOLATE Beet Bundt Cake

1 cup butter softened, & divided

1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar

3 eggs

4 (1 0z) squares semisweet chocolate

2 cups pureed cooked beets ( 4-5 beets)

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

2 Tbsp Cocoa

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips

confectioner's sugar

Cut off the top & bottom of the beet. Peel & chunk it. Put the beets in a pan and just barely cover with water. Boil until tender. Place in blender. Puree and add a little water as needed to thin it just so that it can blend smoothly. Use the water that you boiled the beets in. Puree.

In a mixing bowl, cream 3/4 cup butter and the brown sugar. Add the eggs; mix well. Melt the chocolate with the remaining butter; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Blend the chocolate mixture, beets and vanilla into the creamed mixture. The mixture will appear slightly separated. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, & cocoa. Add to the creamed mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour into a greased & floured bundt pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove from pan. Cool completely and then sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

***This cake is very moist. Those of us that are familiar with the taste of beets, can still taste a hint of beet flavor. All of my children enjoy eating it and don't taste the beets. It takes some time to prepare the beets. But if you are looking for a way to add veggies into your children's diet, this is one way to do it.