Drumroll please…………
Next stop: North Carolina.
I honestly can not even remember if I’ve ever been to this state. Something tells me I have, but I truly have no recollection. If this is any indication of how memorable the place is, we’re in trouble.
What is NC even known for? What is a Tar Heel? It sounds like a lame bird. Is there more to the state than Nascar and moonshine because that’s what my mind immediately goes to and was confirmed when I googled “what is North Carolina known for?” What about famous people? How likely is a spotting? What are the chances I can get discovered here? From what I can tell, the biggest star from the state is Andy Griffith, and while I respect the man’s craft, we’re slightly different genres.
Really just keeping my eye on the prize that for the first time in almost 20 years, I won’t be living directly on top of a major fault line. Bingo!
Time: 1 hour (prep + cooking) | Serves: 4-6
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of arborio rice
- 2 beets, washed
- 2 tbsp. of olive oil
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1 tbsp. of garlic, minced
- 1 cup of red wine (I used a cab)
- 6 cups of vegetable stock
- 1 tbsp. of vegan butter
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- 1 tbsp. of crushed red pepper
- S+P, to taste
- Basil, for serving
How to:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- Drizzle beets with 1 tbsp. of olive oil + some S+P
- Wrap each beet in a lil piece of foil + place on baking sheet
- Roast for 25-30 minutes
- Meanwhile, heat stock in a lil sauce pan over low-medium heat
- Meanwhile x2, heat remaining olive oil in a dutch oven over low-medium heat
- Add onion + S+P, cook 4-5 minutes
- Add garlic, cook another minute
- Add rice, coat in onions + cook another minute
- Add wine, let reduce 3-4 minutes, stirring often
- Now add warm stock one ladle at a time, stirring until rice absorbs it
- Repeat until rice is tender
- Once rice is almost done + the beets are cooled, remove skin + chop
- Stir in beets + butter + crushed red pepper + S+P
- Add peas, cook another 2-3 minutes
- Serve warm with fresh basil
- Put on Barney repeats + enjoy the fact that your dinner looks like Baby Bop
Emerging Adult Eats 
You’ve got NC pegged. I’ve lived here over 30 years and still don’t know what a tar heel is. It was the desire to get away from fault lines that landed me here. I have come to realize, that which is lacking is what makes it a great place to be. After living here awhile one comes to realize that simple things like collards, black eyed peas, poke weed, ramps and moonshine are pretty special. Especially moonshine! 😜
LikeLike
Ahh! We’ll be neighbors! From your description, it sounds like a place I can get behind! I hope a bottle of moonshine is in my welcome wagon 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Be prepared for major culture shock. I suppose that’s true of any new place. Shock can be fun though. You know, like watching scary movies can be fun. I winced just a little when I learned your new location. You’ll need to venture out a few miles to experience the more scenic parts of the state. You’ll be fine though. The people are the greatest, and so is the moonshine. Might need to know the right people to get hold of the real stuff. Best of wishes, and welcome to NC! Can’t wait to read your upcoming posts!
LikeLike
Not sure about the Carolina in the North, like the drunken.
LikeLike
Hahaha I was hoping that’d be a draw for some!
LikeLike
You passed thru NC on the way to Disney once several years ago. Don’t recall having stopped. With any luck you’ll pick up on the ideas from Woodboneandstone. Collards and black-eyed peas defeat beets any day of the week.
Compared to Memphis or Texas the barbeque comes in a distant 3rd place. Though we’ll seek some out when I visit. Perhaps you’ll find something on the menu you’ll eat.
Godspeed child…….
LikeLike
Ahh, yes, that’s what it was! Perhaps I’ll prepare you a meal with the local collards, black-eyed peas AND beets? Sounds well-balanced to me. & perhaps the BBQ joint will have some sort of portobello sandwich…
LikeLike
You got me at ‘drunken’ 😀 Looks amazing and it’s such a great inspiration!
LikeLike
Right?! Really all you need to know!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Girl, you’ll be on some of our old turf!!! What part of NC? I grew up 2 miles from the VA/NC border. My daddy was from NC originally and I have lots of family there. David is from there also! Welcome to Carolina!
LikeLike
Ahh! Too kewl! We’ll be near Fort Bragg! Maybe we can plan a meet up when you’re visiting?! At least we’ll be in the same time zone! 😀
LikeLike
Beets with everything! Can’t wait to try this once I move cities too!
Just one question, can you taste the red wine in the risotto or does it just help add richness? If so, is there anything that I could possibly replace this with?
Gill
LikeLike
Beets are my bae! & risotto traditionally calls for a dry white wine – I just replaced with red wine to give it a little deeper flavor and for the color, of course! If you’re not a red fan, stick with white!
LikeLiked by 1 person