Finished carrot salad plated at one of my recent pop-up dinners!
Is anyone else getting to the point with their winter CSA where they’re drowning in carrots? To keep dinner fun (instead of “again??”), I’ve been dipping into other cuisines for inspiration.
This weekend’s weather might keep you inside, but that’s a great excuse to cook. My husband and I are signed up for the Lancaster Farm Fresh CSA, which drops off boxes of organic eggs and produce at Manhattan Avenue’s Eastern District each week. The CSA winter session just started, and I was excited to open my box this week to a variety of root vegetables.
Today’s soup stars two of those CSA gems, carrots and sweet potatoes, both rich in potassium — an important mineral most Americans underconsume. So stock up on this hearty deliciousness to SOUP UP your healthy muscle, heart and kidney function! What else are you going to do tomorrow while you’re inside Netflixing and chilling?
Carrot Chips I can make a carrot lover out of anyone, including children. Let’s first start with an interesting carrot. You know, like a purple or a yellow one; they come in so many colors, let’s switch things up a little bit. The farmers market in McCarren Park usually has a nice choice of colors for carrots. For this recipe, I chose the yellow ones, which can also have shades of green towards the ends. Here’s what you need:
1 lb of carrots, washed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon each salt & pepper
1 ounce grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
Sliced Carrots, Spread Evenly
Don’t peel the carrots; it won’t affect its appeal once we’re done (pum-dum). Cut the hard ends off the carrots. Cut the carrots lengthwise with a long, sharp knife about 1/16th of an inch or like the thickness of corrugated cardboard. Put them in a large bowl and drizzle half the olive oil on top. Stir with a fork or your hand. Then add the rest of the oil. You want to make sure they’re well coated on all sides. Add salt & pepper while mixing to get it evenly coated. Now you’re going to want to place all the pieces in one layer on a baking pan. Ideally you have a silicone-baking sheet: these things are amazing, safe & you will never have to scrape a baking sheet for the rest of your life. If not, brush some extra oil on the pan, but not too much. Try not to overlap or have pieces touching. Continue reading →
