Roasted Beets with Citrus and Feta

I am currently on a road trip and sitting in one of the grimier motels I've ever been in. There are 5 strip clubs down the street and several shady-looking dudes loitering around the building. Welcome to the ghetto part of San Diego. I'm also thinking that it would be very nice if I had something light and tasty to munch on (twizzler pull-n-peels get a bit old after two days of pulling and peeling). Something citrusy. Something juicy. Like this salad.

I have a strange relationship with beets. Some days I love them; other days the mere thought of beets makes me gag just a little. The day I made this salad was an excellent beet day. And I bet you wouldn't have thought to combine citrus and beets and feta and barley, but it really is an excellent match, I assure you.

24-Hour Fruit Salad

This recipe was submitted to us from one of our readers, Jessie. It is a delicious variation on fruit salad, and will make a great summer desert. The recipe calls for pineapple, bananas, mandarin oranges, and grapes. However, I would suggest that you could use almost any type of fruit that you have in your refrigerator. The custard is simple to make, not overly sweet, and very...for lack of better words, fluffy. A great treat to have in the fridge on a warm summer day.

*As a warning, Jessie warns that her husband could probably eat the entire fruit salad in one sitting, so make sure you get your share before you divvy it up to anyone else!

24-Hour Fruit Salad
Recipe submitted by twolittlechef's reader Jessie
Picture by Caroline

3 eggs
3 T flour
12/ t salt
1/4 dry mustard
6 T sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water

1 cup whipping cream

2 cups diced pineapple
4 1/2 sliced bananas
4 cups mandarin oranges
2 cups grapes

1. Beat eggs and add dry ingredients, then add lemon juice and water.
2. In a small to medium pot over low heat, cook slowly and stir constantly until very thick dressing forms. Beat 2 minutes; let cool in refrigerator.
3. Whip cream in a frozen bowl until peaks are stiff (the stiffer the peaks the better) Combine custard and cream in a large bowl (add some reserved pineapple juice here to make the cream the consistency that you want, and a bit sweeter).
4. Gently mix fruit into cream dressing. Refrigerate overnight or at least a few hours. The longer it rests the better.