beet salad

alright, stop it. this salad is good, i promise. and it's simple! so chop two large beets in half, salt the cut sides, and put them in a foil packet. bake at 350 for two hours. (less time might do it, but i ended up with crunchy beets once, and now i'm paranoid) let them cool, but not all the way to cold. in a mixing bowl combine two table spoons red wine vinegar, one teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 cup olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. cut the peel from two medium sweet oranges, cut them in half, then slice them fairly thin. slice half a large red onion and toss the onion and orange slices in the dressing. peel the beets and slice thinly (about the same as the oranges, see?) then add the beets to the onion/dressing/orange mix and toss it all together. let it sit for a little while, covered, before serving. it's tangy, sweet, and sharp. the oranges are really nice with the beets and the cumin adds a bit of warmth. to state the obvious, this is nothing like the nasty pickled shoe string beets you hated as a child. as a bonus it's absolutely beautiful too!