Carrots – spencesgirl

With Autumn upon us, I’m in that mindset to switch to my colder weather cooking – casseroles, crockpots and last Sunday, my mouth-watering pot roast. I’d bought the most perfect carrots at the Farmer’s Market and thought they’d be a colorful and tasty side dish.

While I could have dropped them in with the simmering pot roast I wanted to change it up and do something visually stunning and delicious. Though it’s in the seventies today, on Sunday our furnace was on and having the oven fired up was welcome, making the kitchen cozy.

After perusing lots of recipes, as usual, I took those ingredients that looked the best from several recipes and came up with this. Visually stunning – check. Delicious – check. I wanted to share it as it would make a perfect side dish for Thanksgiving.

Oven-Roasted Honey Glazed Carrots

6-8 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch long sticks
3-4 T honey
1-2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 t coarse black pepper
1/2 t sea salt
2 t balsamic vinegar
chopped flat leaf parsley, chives and thyme for garnish

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a shallow baking pan with foil (for super easy clean up), drizzle with olive oil and smear to cover the surface.

In a bowl, mix the olive oil, honey, pepper, salt and balsamic till blended. Add the carrot sticks and toss to completely coat them. Place the carrots in a single layer onto the pan, use a spatula to get any excess glaze out of the bowl and drizzled over the top. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, onto your serving platter and top with the chopped herbs. If you don’t have honey or want to make this vegan, maple syrup would be wonderful as a substitution.

I recently came up with this recipe after looking at Pinterest seeking a way to use both frozen shredded zucchini and a partial bag of carrots. I found several recipes, each which had appeal – and took ideas from each.

After I made this bread, I shared it with my Mom and my lifelong BFF, both who gave it a big thumbs up. It remains moist even after a few days, the orange zest and cinnamon giving it a delicious flavor, chopped walnuts adding texture and the flecks of orange and green make it look festive. I loved it so much that I made two loaves this morning to enjoy over Thanksgiving and the weekend.

Orange Carrot Zucchini Bread – makes 2 loaves

4 eggs
1 1/2 c sugar
3/4 c canola oil
2/3 c orange juice
1 1/2 c shredded zucchini – squeeze out any excess liquid
1 1/2 c finely chopped carrots
3 1/4 c flour
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t salt
3 t orange zest
3 t cinnamon
1 c chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, beat four eggs until they are a creamy yellow, add sugar and beat till blended, followed by oil, orange juice and orange zest.

Add all dry ingredients, blending as you go. Fold in the zucchini, carrots and walnuts.

Grease and flour two loaf pans. Pour the batter evenly between the pans, it will rise as it bakes. Check after 45 minutes by testing with a toothpick, if not clean when tested, place back in oven for another 5-10 minutes.

Cool on a rack, loosen around the edges with a knife. After cooling turn out of loaf pans and if completely cooled, wrap in foil or plastic wrap.