Well, as I sit here and stare at my screen trying to think of the best words to put together this post, I find myself wasting all the time I have to do this side hobby just staring and forcing myself to think of something… Then I remember what my husband tells me: “if you would just not try to make everything perfect…” Right, being a perfectionist is hard. Well, sometimes it pushes me to do my best and achieve things I never thought possible but (there is always a but…) on the other hand, it just takes me twice as much time to finish my projects.
With all that said, all I wanted to do this week was to share some amazing recipes I prepared last week using different vegetables I’ve been getting from the CSA share or from my friends home garden. I personally love vegetables cooked or raw and for the most part there is very little that you need to do to highlight their natural sweetness, acidity, starch, creaminess or whatever the characteristic may be that makes that vegetable unique. I will start with CARROTS. I like my carrots with a little bit of a hard bite, when I pan sear them they get a nice crust in the outside and keep that nice bite in the center. This Carrots with Cumin-Turmeric Butter recipe is simple, quick and the perfect side dish for grilled chicken on a weeknight. If you have a bunch of carrots sitting around go ahead and try this recipe.
Ingredients:
(serves 4)
1 pound carrots 
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Peel the carrots and cut them into thick sticks. Try to cut them all the same length and thickness so that they cook evenly. Heat the oil in a sauté pan, when the oil is hot add the carrot sticks, season with salt and pepper to tastes and let them cook for few minutes without stirring to obtain a nice crust in the outside. Once they start to brown stir and cook all the sides, about 12 minutes total. Remove from the heat and add to a bowl. In the meantime in a small sauce pan add the butter and cook over medium heat until it melts and starts to bubble on the sides, add the cumin and turmeric, stir and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and toss in the bowl with the carrots and cilantro leaves. Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
