03 SepCarrots

First let me apologize for not posting yesterday, but I had a hell of a day. I will post an extra recipe this weekend to keep up with my 30 recipes goal. So on to today’s subject.

Ok, carrots are the second most popular vegetable in the world so why am covering it as part of my under appreciated foods? Simple, there are a lot of people that are scared of cooking carrots and i can understand why. If you boil them they get mushy, if there isn’t enough moisture with them while baking they become hard little chewy things and flavoring them can be a bit tricky. Carrots are wonderful because they are loaded with dietary fiber, antioxidants and of course beta carotene. And even though they are insanely popular, most people don’t think of adding them to their meals. They are an ingredient in dishes not a dish all their own which is a shame.

Carrots believe it or not are easy to cook. Because they have a lot of natural sugar they could very easily become a picky eaters favorite vegetable if done right. I personally like to braise my carrots because that way they stay relatively intact and it gives them plenty of time to give up their sugars. Roasting is another favorite just about every where because they get thrown into the pot roast or chicken while cooking but a few things to remember when executing that move. Always make sure to have enough moisture to keep them from getting dried out, don’t over crowd the pan and keep them near the bottom to avoid burning. As far as seasoning them you wan to stick with herbs in the same family as carrots themselves, such as: caraway, celery, coriander, chervil, cumin, fennel, dill and my favorite to add to carrots parsley. All of these will add to the flavor of the carrots instead of competing with it.

This recipe was created on day when I had no veggies around except some frozen carrots, so I threw these together and it was loved by all. I hope that this gives you some courage in trying to move your carrots from an ingredient to a side dish. And we will continue our quest to elevate the status of underrated foods tomorrow.

Last Minute Carrots

1 Package frozen carrots, sliced or baby

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, mined

1 teaspoon paprika

1teaspoon cumin

1/2 cup water

salt to taste

2 tablespoon chopped parsely

2 tablespoons honey

In a large skillet heat oil over medium high heat. Add garlic, paprika and cumin and cook till fragrant, approximately 2 minutes. Add carrots and water cover and simmer for 5 minutes, or until slightly tender. Uncover reduce heat, add honey and simmer for 3-5 minutes or until liquid begins to become syrupy. Toss in parsley and serve


01 SepThe Challenge Begins….Okra

So, here we are at the beginning, again. Today is the first day of September and there for the first day of my personal food challenge. The goal is give informative post about different foods along with original simple recipes. For the first seven days I will be covering vegetables. Honestly because so many veggies are severely underrated odds are I will be doing more than seven days worth of post on them. So.. lets get on with it.

Okra, okra, okra.

You are seriously under appreciated and somewhat mysterious vegetable. You have tiny, prickly little hairs all over you and when your cooked you make slime. But, I love you. I really really do. I like you fried, in a casserole, in gumbo and especially pickled. Hmmm okra pickles.

I really am OK, I swear I just really like okra. Once you get past all of it’s weirdness it has a fresh clean flavor and it is truly wonderful. Yes, it does make slime when you cook it which why it is used to thicken many stews like gumbo. Okra has gotten a bad rap because of well, it weird. It looks like something out of the world and once you cut it and add heat it becomes a bunch of slime with green stuff. Alright, maybe I have an issue the the slime.. not really it’s just the one thing that sticks out in every one’s minds.

Ok, let’s get down to it. Okra like many of it’s other green friends is full of nutrients that most people miss out on just because of the weirdness of it. Okra has a ton of fiber, B6, folic acid, Calcium, potassium and even some iron. There really is no need to explain why even though this veggie is so good for you most people pass it up but the truth is, it is really good for you and with the right recipe all of it’s weirdness can be over looked.

So, my favorite Okra application? Well, aside from pickles, which I haven’t made myself but am tempted to try it out sometime, my favorite okra recipe is stewed okra. The advantage to this is you want a thick sauce with this which okra does quite nicely with very little help. My family, yes even George, loves it when I serve up my Tex-Mex Stewed Okra. I like to use the froze okra for the ease of it but you could use fresh, just make sure to wash thoroughly, trim ends and slice into rounds. It goes well with just about any main dish and I have been known to eat the left overs alone. I hope that you all enjoy this recipe and come back tomorrow for my next veggie treat.

Lara’s Tex-Mex Stewed Okra

1 Package frozen sliced Okra, thawed

1 can Rotel or diced tomatoes with chilies

1 medium onion diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauté pan heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion, and garlic and sauté until fragrant approximately 2 minutes. Add okra, rotel and cumin to pan and reduce heat. Simmer for 10-15 mins or until sauce is thickened. Season with salt and pepper and serve.