Now if they can just find something to do with okra!

I truly dislike beets. All forms. My parents would eat pickled beets and I would dry heave just smelling them. When I get a salad with beets on it, I quickly remove them along with any lettuce that may have some of that strangely pink-colored juice on it. Then I wipe my fork off and eat. Ed once lost a $100 bet because we got salads with these little pinkish red strings on them and he insisted they weren't beets. But I knew. Oh, yes, I can spot one of those things a mile away. He doesn't doubt me any more.

As an adult I decided I needed to at least try to like them. So two years ago (okay, it took me until I was a senior adult) I decided to try roasting fresh beets. Ed actually likes them so I thought, what the heck. My son-in-law told me how to do it and I went to work. Put them in foil with olive oil and seasoning, roasted them just the right amount of time, peeled them and had that juice (sort of the color of The Blob) running down my arm. They actually smelled pretty good. So we sat down to dinner and I tasted one. Yup, still tastes like dirt. Roasted dirt with a touch of olive oil and garlic, but still dirt. Hey, at least I didn't dry heave. Just pushed them all onto Ed's plate and wiped off the residue.

But now someone has found a good use for beets! Finally! Beets as a weapon. I love it.

Beet Juice Used To Fight Ice
Crews Prepare For Icy Roadways

CINCINNATI -- With snow possible later this week, crews are already gearing up for flurries, but also rolling out their secret weapon.

The weapon isn't, in fact, all that secret -- it's beet juice, said road officials.
They said they mixture of 10 percent beet juice, salt and calcium chloride will be used across the state in preparation for low temperatures.

"We had quite a bit of rain last week, so water drains from the hills onto the street -- that will freeze and cause some ice conditions," said Diane Watkins. "Five or six people will be out there in different areas of the city making sure the bridges don't freeze, keeping those treated and any other isolated problems that will occur."

Watkins said the mixture is only needed when it's too cold for salt alone. She said crews would be patrolling for icy spots to drop salt and the beet juice mixture."We had quite a bit of rain last week, so water drains from the hills onto the street -- that will freeze and cause some ice conditions," said Diane Watkins. "Five or six people will be out there in different areas of the city making sure the bridges don't freeze, keeping those treated and any other isolated problems that will occur."