Tomato, Avocado, and Golden Beet Salad

Tonight's dinner is 100% brought to you by Joe Fray. Well, I picked out the recipe and helped with the shopping, but I took no part in the actual making of the food. You won't be seeing him writing any guest posts, however. I asked him what he would say about the making of this meal, and he looked at me for a few seconds and said, "You chop things and put them in a bowl and mix them." Not the most loquacious when it comes to food writing, that Joe.

So I'll just tackle this from the point of view of the eater. This salad is delicious. It's great for early fall because there are still pretty decent tomatoes to be had, and beet season is now upon us. We ate the salad with crusty hunks of whole wheat baguette (and a great episode of House on TV).

Tomato, Avocado, and Golden Beet Salad

• One bunch of golden beets, greens removed
• 4 medium tomatoes, sliced into wedges
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 small red onion or half a large red onion, sliced
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 4 teaspoons red wine vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 tablespoon chives

Place a medium saucepan filled with water over high heat; bring to a boil. Add beets, bring back to a boil and reduce heat to medium; simmer until beets pierce easily with the point of a sharp knife, about 25 minutes. Remove beets from pan and place under cold running water until cool enough to handle. Peel beets with a vegetable peeler and cut into 1/2-inch wedges; place beets in a large bowl.

Add tomato, avocado, onion, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper to bowl; toss to combine. Sprinkle with basil and chives. Serves anywhere from 2-4, depending on how hungry you are.