More Veggies

As I mentioned, I am constantly trying to make sure we have good, tasty vegetables for our family dinners. Before James, I would often make a salad as the vegetable. As in: Casserole + Salad = Dinner. That's ok, especially if the main dish has vegetables in it, right? But it wasn't really quite enough items for James. I really like a big salad as part of most meals, so I still have a salad (I eat 3/4 of it and the rest of the family splits the other 1/4). But I try to have another vegetable too.

These carrots are a go-to veggie around here. The original recipe from Ina Garten is roasted in the oven, which is super for the winter. But here in the southern part of the country, it's already too hot to have the oven on right at the hottest part of the day. So, I cook them in the skillet. To get them really tender, I have to put the lid on and let them steam for a while (or pre-cook them in the microwave), then I make sure to take the lid off and turn the flame up so i get those sweet singed edges.

I think the cutting method - turning the carrot a quarter turn and slicing on the diagonal - is an important part of the preparation because it creates nice sharp corners that caramelize so well. This can be plain, tossed with dill or parsley, or cooked with ginger or garlic. It's a great, versatile, quick and tasty. And oh yeah, easy. Easy is good.