So tonight I was going to tell you about how I couldn’t believe that I was already cooking beets and sweet potatoes and pumpkins and what not, and that I was seriously starting to crave squash and comforting warm dishes.
I was going to talk about how summer is already coming go an end…
I was also going to tell you about how excited I am to have officially booked my trip to Cuba! About how it’s going to extend summer by that much for me and about how immensely good it is going to feel to just unwind for a week, forget about everything and enjoy the hot sun, infinite white sand and seemingly neverending turquoise sea.
But instead of that, I feel I need to vent. Rant. Get something off my chest.
I think I just need to share my frustration, as well as get other people’s opinion, I guess.
Venting is not something that I’ve done often here, but you see, this situation is just infuriating me to no end.
I think smoke is actually coming out of my ears right now.
You see, I got a pingback yesterday to this site (god I hate the idea of sending traffic their way!) where this person posted a recipe that is VERY similar exactly the same as my Totally Sugar Free Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies, which happens to be a recipe that I came up with myself and that I am EXTREMELY proud of and really super excited about, too.
Well, not only did they not give me credit for it, they litteraly claimed ownership of the recipe!
But it doesn’t end there. Now they are telling me that I am being offensive and attacking them publicly and feel they don’t have to give me credit for THEIR recipe. Basically, they are telling me that I am way out of place for accusing them of having stolen my work, because THEY created the recipe.
Now, seriously, take a look at this…
I haven’t changed the order or anything. I pretty much just copied and pasted from both our sites.
And then they dare tell me that this is THEIR creation and that they did NOT copy and paste from my site…
They even left the link to my home made vanilla that I had inserted, for crying out loud.
Now, is this such a big deal? I guess not. I was just a little annoyed when I first took notice of this.
What really infuriates me now is that this individual is giving ME hell and making it sound like I’m the bad guy…
I mean, come on! How could one possibly have come up with the EXACT same ingredients in the EXACT same order and EXACT same quantities, and describe the steps in the EXACT same way?
Yet, they claim they did NOT copy and paste MY recipe and are now offering to modify THEIR recipe to “put my fears at ease”.
I am just so furious right now!!!
I need to calm down…
So let’s talk about tonight’s recipe, shall we?
Yes, it contains beets and sweet potatoes…
Yes, it pretty much has an autumnal feel to it. Sorry to break it to you guys, but fall IS just around the corner.
Come on, admit it, most of you have probably started thinking about making plans for the Holidays, already…
Oh well, seasons come and seasons go, that’s just the way it is!
Now I know I’ve made something similar to this in the past, but this one has one very interesting particularity that the other version did not offer.
It uses the beets in their glorious entirety!
That’s right. You need ENTIRE beets for this one, with their tops still attached.
If you’ve never tried beet greens before, you really have to! They are just FANTASTIC! They are a bit of a cross between Swiss chard, spinach and kale, I find.
Even the stems are super delicious so by all means, don’t throw them in the trash… They remind me a little bit of rhubarb, but in a MUCH sweeter version.
They sure make for a VERY interesting addition to any salad…
And if you can’t find beets with their tops still attached, all is not lost. You could very well use Swiss chard, or any other greens that you happen to have on hand… The salad will still be very good!
I just find that there is a certain charm to using “complete” beets.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 large beets, complete with tops
- 1 large sweet potato
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 30g pumpkin seeds
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
- the juice of 1 lime
- 1 tsp fermented garlic flowers (or one garlic clove, crushed)
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
- ¼ tsp Himalayan salt
- ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat the oven to 425F
- Trim the tops and stems off the beets and set aside.
- Peel the beets and potato and cut them into bite size pieces.
- Place the vegetables in a roasting pan lined with parchment paper and roast in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until fork tender but still a bit on the firm side.
- Make sure you keep your veggies separated so the beets don't end up staining the potatoes.
- While this is happening, rinse and dry the beets tops and stems and chop them coarsely. Place them in an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to put the salad together.
- When the veggies are nice and roasted, take them out of the oven and let them cool for a while then transfer them to separate containers and place them in the fridge to cool completely, ideally overnight.
- Add all the ingredients for the vinaigrette to your small blender or food processor and process until smooth and well incorporated. Set aside.
- Divide the greens between two serving plates and top with beets, potatoes, sliced avocado and pumpkin seeds.
- Drizzle vinaigrette on top and serve immediately.
Sonia, you are an accomplished cook and blogger, and no one heard about their blog.. ever. People will always try to steal your recipes, it doesn’t matter how many times you say that it is your personal creation. Just know that readers are not stupid and that person will never be able to become as popular as you are just by copying someone else’s recipes. But at this point, you should let it go. Just try not to get bothered by this (I can guarantee it will happen at some point again), and instead continue to create and publish amazing recipes. You are great, and readers love you!
Thank you so much Ksenia for such kind and heartfelt words. I am really, sincerely touched and truly appreciate your taking the time to leave such a great and inspiring comment. You are a real gem!
Oh gosh you have every right to be pissed off!! They obviously stole your content! What amaze me is that they still have the guts to deny it… I mean, its maths, look at the two recipes, the only thing they changed is about the coconut at the beginning. I would be furious too if that happened to me! But you know what? Let’s take that as a compliment! Your recipe is so delicious and so perfect they didn’t need to change it a bit. In a way, you should be proud! I know, I know, that must be hard to think that way, but come on, just ignore them, they just don’t deserve your attention
Oh, I am totally dropping this now, it really isn’t worth it! What is killing me though is that this individual would STILL claim that they came up with the recipe… But hey, like you said, I’ll take it as a compliment and run with it! Thanks a bunch for your support, Marie. I truly appreciate that!
Sonia you are an absolute genius! I have been trying to create a few fat free salad dressings and I never thought to use unsweetened applesauce as a replacement for the oil. I have no idea why it did not occur to me, I use applesauce in most of my baking. This recipe looks fantastic. I am trying it for dinner tonight. Are your nutrition calculations for the whole recipe or for one serving?
Thanx!!!
Thanks Danielle, and YIKES! I forgot to indicate that this serves 2!!! The nutrition info is for each of 2 servings. I will go and fix that right away…
Oh, and by the way, don’t leave the vanilla out… it makes a world of difference! Funny, I’m finding it harder to make sugar free salad dressings than fat free. So really, the applesauce was included to add a little bit of sweetness. I find I’m really liking it as an ingredient for salad dressings though. I get the feeling I’ll be using it often. I hope you like it too. I sure would love to get your impressions after you tried it!
OMG I would be FURIOUS! Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure recipes aren’t copyrightable but if they were I would find some legal support. That’s blatant plagerism. Did they not go to school? Don’t they know that isn’t ethical?
It’s not even about copyrights, really… To me, it’s just a question of respect, of good etiquette. I would never dream of so much as adapting someone else’s recipe without citing them as the source. And if I am going to use their recipe without changing anything, then I will simply link to their post.
What goes around comes around, you know…
Thanks for you support, by the way. I really appreciate it!
So sorry you are dealing with such nonsense! I bet you are not alone, I’ve noticed that people like this tend to rip off lots of other blogs. I just hope that everyone finds your recipe first
But on to better things, this salad sounds incredible, and the only thing missing is the word avocado from the title! Because Sweet Potato, Beet and Avocado Salad sounds even more perfect!
Totally agree, Cara! The word “avocado” will make anything sound so much better! Maybe I should even consider editing that title…
And you got just the right word to describe the situation, too! Nonesense!
Thanks for your support, I appreciate that!
I’m so sorry that happened! And the fact that they won’t even admit to copying you…absurd!
On the bright side, this salad looks really good. Beets and sweet potatoes are both amazing in my book so I’ll have to give it (or something similar) a try.
One question, though, and forgive me if this is a bad time. I love a ton of your recipes and have been meaning to give them a try. I also have a blog that I like to post recipes I make on. If I were to post one of your recipes, would it be ok if I wrote out the recipe, but gave you full credit for it (and linked back to the original recipe), or would you rather I just link you instead of writing everything out?
Thanks so much!
Absurd it a good choice of word, too! I just don’t understand that they would still defend themselves and claim to have created the recipe themselves.
And your question is just perfectly well timed, au contraire! I do love it when people try my recipes and love them so much that they feel the need to repost them on their own blogs. However, I ask that people quote me as the source and link to my site…
Usually, when I use other people’s recipe for inspiration, I label them as “Inspired by” or “Adapted from” such and such (insert link to direct recipe, not home page, under “such and such”) When I use a recipe exactly AS IS (which doesn’t happen all that often) then I don’t even bother copying it and send traffic directly to the original author’s site.
That, to me, not only shows respect in using other people’s material, but it’s also helps share the love and increase traffic for both parties.
That being said, I’m real happy to hear that you love A TON of my recipes and that you are considering blogging some of them! Make sure you drop me a line to let me know when you do that! It will be an honor, I’m sure, for your blog is absolutely gorgeous!
And thanks a bunch for your support! It’s appreciated!
Thanks so much, that’s all really helpful information. I just wanted you to know that I did already post a version of one of your recipes on my blog (I probably should have asked you first, but I was really excited to share it). And I believe I followed all of your requests, too. If you want to check it out, here’s the link: http://mouthwateringfoods.blogspot.com/2012/07/peach-blueberry-breakfast-crumble.html
LOVE IT!!!! And you were very ethical in sharing, too! Nothing to worry about… You do awesome work, Ruta. Thanks for that!
ps… I never got a pingback to that one. Really wonder why that is??!?
I was asked to bring a salad to a dinner party of health-conscious foodies and this so fits the bill! I’m using red oak lettuce instead of the beet greens or spinach as my hostess is quite allergic to both. Also adding some goat cheese that has been glaring at me for letting it sit in the fridge for so long.
LOOOOVE the addition of goat cheese! Poor thing, all lonely and bored in the fridge. This should NEVER happen to goat cheese. Let it out of there, already! Set the poor thing free!
Aw, I’m so sorry you had to deal with that. So frustrating! Try to keep in mind that anyone copying your work obviously doesn’t have the creativity and kitchen skill to do what you do so that’s why they feel like they need to copy others work
You salad looks fantastic! Beets and sweet potatoes are my favorites
Thanks Heidi! That’s real nice of you to say. I guess we all have to deal with unpleasant situations / individuals like that once in a while. Respect is a concept that not everyone grasps, unfortunately. Guess that guy won’t be making many friends in the food blogging world!
Okay – so I didn’t get to any of your recipes while you were still on vacation. But I did roast sweet potatoes and beets last night so that I could make this salad tonight. Of course, I had such a long day at work because of end of quarter and was putting the salad together in a hurry so I could finish up a couple of work things, and I realized after I ate almost the whole thing that I forgot to add the avocado. Yes you read that right – of all things for ME to forget!! This was delicious – and since I love sweet potato and avocado together I know it will be even better when I have the rest tomorrow WITH the avocado! Also, as a supertaster (yest that’s real too!) I found the beet greens to be a little bitter. But once they had dressing on them they were okay – I just might use different greens next time. Definitely another winner!