Homegrown beets are a sweet treat for the taste buds.  The flavor also helps to enhance other flavors, making the whole meal taste better.  I like to have a bowl of beets to eat by themselves, especially if my body is ready for some 'real' food.  The best way to enjoy the flavor of beets is to go out to the garden, pull some up and take them to the kitchen to steam them.  You want to wash them very well, trim off the tap roots and the leaves.  Make sure there is no dirt under the rough area around the top, then put them into a steamer until they are completey tender, but not mushy.  This usually takes 30-40 minutes.  When they are tender, you pour cold water over them, let them cool down so you can handle them.  The skins will slip right off of them.  Now, you can eat them warm or refrigerate them.  You can salt them or put a little butter on them, but I like them best cold, with just a little bleu cheese dressing on them.  The remarkable thing about beets is how much the additions change their flavor.  If you put just butter on them, they get a rather creamy flavor.  If you sprinkle a little salt on them it's entirely different.  It's a vegetable for experimentaion and exploration; for eating alone and for combining with other flavors.

Beets are easy to grow. The seeds are big enough to see as your planting.  I have never had anything attack my beets.  You can eat the tops as well.  Some varieties are specialized for harvesting the tops and reduce the root, but the more popular varieties of globe shaped beets, like Detroit Red, Giant, etc. are going to give you both root and some good greens on top.  I have grown the long rooted variety, but I think it's flavor pales to Detroit Red's taste.  Do succession planting for harvesting long into the late fall months.  If it gets below freezing in your area, mulch them heavily so you can continue to harvest them when you want something from the garden.

Beets are perfect for tha salad bar.  And of course, a hot soup called Borsch, is made with beets.  They will keep cooked, in the fridge for just a few days, so eat them all up fast.  In Sweden they serve beet salad which is julienne slices of beets with vinegar.  And of course, you can pickle your beets, but I like them fresh best.