Glazed Carrots with Tarragon

I am usually a bit stand-offish when it comes to carrots.  Ever since I was a child I was never completely crazy about cooked carrots.  I love them raw with a nice dip or chopped up and added to just about anything.  But just a big serving of carrots as a side-dish?  Nah.  That is until I read about this recipe from Padma Lakshmi's cookbook Tangy Tart Hot and Sweet: A World of Recipes for Every Day (which is a wonderfully fun cookbook, by the way).  She takes carrots, sautés them with onion and then glazes them with some maple syrup and fresh tarragon leaves.  Sounds interesting enough to give a whirl.  Plus tarragon is one of the herbs in my garden that I seldom use.  Not that I don't care for it, it is just a very distinct flavor of black licorice that I'm not usually drawn to.  She says that the maple syrup brings out the sweetness of the carrots and the tarragon gives an earthiness that balances everything out.  Sounds good to me!  Well I finally found "my carrot".  These carrots are now such a favorite of mine, when cooked in this way they move up to one of my most favorite vegetables.  The maple syrup isn't too sweet, and she is totally right, the tarragon does a perfect job at balancing the flavors.  Today I was lucky enough to use fresh young carrots grown from my parents garden which made them extra tender and sweet.  This would be a perfect dish for Thanksgiving dinner.  They are that special.  

Glazed Carrots with Tarragon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 1/2 pounds young carrots, scraped and sliced - 1 inch thick diagonally
1/3 cup loosely packed fresh tarragon
1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
1/3 teaspoon salt

First - Heat a deep skillet on medium heat; add the oil and butter. When the butter is melted but not burned, add the onions.  lower the heat if the butter starts to burn, and stir for a couple of minutes

Next - Add the carrots, and continue to stir for 6 to 7 minutes, depending upon the width of the carrots.

Lastly - add the tarragon leaves, ripping them apart as you add them to the skillet.  Drizzle the maple syrup into the skillet, add salt to taste, and stir the carrots until they are glazed uniformly, cooking approximately 3 to 4 minutes mores.  Serve as a side dish.  SERVES 4



I linked up my recipe on Mom's Crazy Cooking!

Homemade Applesauce

Last night I was overjoyed to see that I had apples on my tree just ready for picking!  Autumn is on its way and I couldn't be happier!  Of course I had to get them right then and there because I have pesky deer that will undoubtedly beat me to it if I leave them even a day.   As cute as deer are, I don't like to share my homegrown food with them!  They can have the ones that fall to the ground, that is as nice as I get when it comes to my produce. Otherwise- stand clear!  

With my fight against deer, every year I end up picking so many apples at one time I have a race to see how many recipes I can find to use them all up.  My number one stand-by is easily applesauce.  It is quick, delicious, and you can control how much sugar goes into it when you make it at home.  Applesauce is one of those things that you really should never buy from the store.  It is that simple. With having a three year old, we eat A LOT of applesauce in our house and I love knowing I have a freezer full of it whenever we want it! And applesauce isn't only for kids. You've heard of applesauce with pork chops, right? Match made in heaven.  But it is also delicious warm with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt.  Kinda tastes like apple pie this way.  Mmmmmmm.  

Homemade Applesauce
3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples. (Make sure you use a good cooking apple like Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein.)
4 strips of lemon peel (a vegetable peeler works nicely to cut your strips)
1- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, depending on tartness of apples
1 large cinnamon stick
1/4 cup of dark brown sugar*
up to 1/4 cup of white sugar*
1 cup of apple cider or apple juice

optional ingredients:
1/2 to 1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Place the apples, apple cider, lemon juice, lemon peel and cinnamon stick into a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring often until tender, about 20-30 minutes. Stir in the sugars, nutmeg and any of the optional ingredients. Cook, stirring, until the sugars are dissolved and blended, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and remove the lemon peel and cinnamon stick.

For a chunky applesauce, mash with a potato masher. For a smooth applesauce, run it through a food mill or a coarse sieve. Serve warm or chilled.

*the sugar measurements are just a guideline.  Add a little at a time, tasting to achieve the right sweetness you desire.  My homegrown apples are very tart so I like a good balance between the sweet and tart.

Freezes easily, lasts up to one year in freezer.  I like to freeze them flat in ziplock storage bags.  When you are ready to eat you can easily break off the amount of applesauce you need.

Mom's Zucchini Pancakes

Are there certain foods that take you back and remind you of a specific time?  Oh goodness, I have so many.  One of these is definitely my Mom's Zucchini Pancakes.  They are the definition of Summer to all of us and are a staple at many meals throughout the season.  The first time I remember eating these was while we were away on our very first family vacation to OBX (Outer Banks, NC).  We have since gone so many times and have made hundreds of wonderful memories there.  These pancakes are one of them!  I can't eat them without thinking of waves hitting the shore, the smell of salt in the air and laughing till our bellies hurt over delicious fresh fish the men just caught.  

These are an extra special family recipe, and you all should feel very lucky I am even sharing it on here.  (there may have even been a family meeting making sure it was OK for me to post...) It isn't like this is a complicated recipe- the exact opposite actually!  It just holds a special place in our hearts (and bellies!)  But it is one of those recipes that is so darn good, it is a shame NOT to share it.  It's a perfect use for all of those crazy zucchini's that are multiplying like rabbits in everyone's garden.  We double it all the time. Trust me, you will want to do the same.  These have a tendency to fly off the plate super fast and you will want the leftovers!   They are the very best eaten right away, the batter wonderfully fluffy and creamy.  But there is also nothing like having them the next day with breakfast or eaten cold layered in a turkey sandwich... yummmm!   

So please, enjoy this recipe with your family and hopefully it will become a summer staple for all of you as well.    

Mom's Zucchini Pancakes
1/3 cup Bisquick
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 cups zucchini, shredded
chives, chopped (optional)
butter for frying

Mix first three ingredients. Stir in eggs until moist. Fold in zucchini. Fry patties until brown.

*I like to keep an oven proof dish in the oven on warm and put the pancakes in there as they cook. Just be sure to keep them loosely covered with foil so they don't shrink up or dry out.  Diced tomatoes are also a nice addition.  Just be sure to deseed them. You don't want a whole lot of tomato, just enough for flecks of color and a bit of flavor.