Fresh Beetroot

Straight from the oven and with steam still rising off them, though I didn't manage to capture that in the photo. Looks good, smells good, tastes good and even does you good - an all-round winner for my money.

I was cooking this in the kitchen this morning when Mum rang up. When I told her what I was up to, she said: "Ooh, that sounds good - could you bring me some?" So the two largest ones are earmarked for me to take up to Derby with me tomorrow.

The only thing you need to be careful with when cooking beetroot, of course, is not to let the juice stain everything in sight. But that's not a problem if you rub the skin off under running water while they're still warm, and mop up any splashes. I have a good recipe for a salad of beetroot, goat's cheese and blackberries, plus all the ingredients - that's tonight's starter sorted.