Wellspent Market founder Jim Dixon has been writing about food and restaurants for Willamette Week for a long time. Lovers embrace the dirt, and they point out how sweet beets can be, not surprising since they’re the only vegetable that produces sucrose. Sweeter and lacking that earthy geosmin taste, Chioggia (kee-AH-ja) beets could be simply boiled, sliced and drizzled with good olive oil. RecipeChioggia beets*Extra virgin olive oilKosher-style sea salt*Sometimes labeled pink or candy stripe beets; golden beets are similarly sweeter and less earthy than red beets, though the same technique works for regular red beets, too. Coat the bottom of a heavy skillet or baking dish with olive oil and arrange the beet slices in a single layer.