Roasted Carrots

These are so easy and so good.

Ingredients:
Enough carrots to fill a 9x13 pan when cup up. (I use about 5 large)
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced
2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
Salt to taste

Method:
Melt coconut oil in a 9x13 pan.  I use a glass one lined with parchment paper.
Cut carrots into narrow, thin sticks.
Mince rosemary.
Toss carrots and rosemary with the coconut oil and salt to taste.
Bake for about 1 1/2 hours at 350*
They should be almost carmelizing.  Dark edges and kind of sticky.

Best-Ever Carrots

Here's another "Best-Ever" recipe.  Cooked carrots were never my favorite until we grew our own and I learned a little trick.  Cut them in julienne strips!

For information's sake, carrots are something I never buy unless they've been organically grown.  Inorganically grown ones harbor all kinds of bad stuff.  The mini-carrots you find in the stores everywhere are not necessarily a good bet either, organic or not.  There's a lot of information out there about carrots.  A google search will give you more than you want to know!

Ingredients:
As many carrots as you need to feed your family
Butter
Parsley
Honey (optional)

Method:  
Trim the carrots and cut into julienne strips.
Steam the carrots until tender.
Melt enough butter for the carrots you've steamed, add some chopped parsley (I use a couple of tablespoons for about 8 carrots)
Add a Tablespoon or so of honey if you like.

Toss the carrots in all that and serve.  They disappear rather quickly around here!

Morning Glorious Muffins Remake (Grain-, Dairy- and Refined Sugar-free)

A friend of mine asked me if I could do a recipe revision on one of her favorite muffin recipes.  Here's the result.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut flour (2 oz. by weight)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon

6 eggs
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
2 Tablespoons vanilla

1 cup shredded zucchini or apple
1 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup dates, chopped
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (or other nut)

Method:
Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until frothy.
Add coconut oil, honey and vanilla and beat until thick.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well.

Add the zucchini or apple, carrots, coconut and nuts and mix until just blended.

Divide batter into muffin cups.
Bake at 350* for 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Makes 12 muffins.

Chicken Soup

This is good for what ails you, for real.

Ingredients:

Meat from 1 range fed chicken EITHER baked or boiled

1 gallon Chicken broth  from baked chicken carcass
OR
1 Gallon broth from a boiled chicken. (See instructions below)

Note: Your broth will be richer if you make it with a baked chicken carcass.

2 medium sweet onions in medium dice
4 carrots, coarsely chopped
1 head of garlic, minced
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons mild curry powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Method:

Two ways to cook the chicken and make broth:

Bake it, bone it and make chicken broth, reserving the meat.
OR
Put the chicken in a large stock pot, cover with water by 2-3 inches, add 2 Tablespoons vinegar and bring to a boil.
Skim the foam, reduce heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through.  About 1 1/2 hours.
Remove the chicken from the broth, bone it and reserve the meat.
Reserve 1 gallon of the broth for the soup and freeze the rest.

Okay, with whatever broth and chicken meat you are using, put them in a large stock pot and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, sautee the onions and carrots in butter and then add the garlic at the end to gently warm it.

Add the veggies to the soup pot and bring back to a simmer.
Add curry, salt and pepper.
Simmer for about 30 minutes to blend flavors.

Options:
Add cooked rice or noodles.

And if you're not sick, you might want to serve it with these biscuits.  :-)

"Cream" of Vegetable Soup

This is a wonderful soup for fall.  I freeze some of the summer's bounty of zucchini and yellow squash so I'll have some for this soup after the warmth of the season has fled.

1 sweet onion, or a leek, peeled or cleaned and chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
4 Tablespoons butter (or olive or coconut oil)
2 pounds of potatoes, scrubbed and chopped.  I leave about half of the skins on.  I most often use Russets, but Yukon Golds or Red Potatoes are awesome.
2 quarts chicken broth
Several sprigs of fresh thyme tied together
4 summer squash (zucchini, yellow crookneck, etc.) sliced
Sea salt
Sour Cream or creme fraiche

Saute the onions or leeks and the carrots in the butter or oil until they are very soft.

Add the sauteed veggies to a stock pot, along with the chicken broth and potatoes, and bring to a boil.
Skim the foam and then reduce the heat and add the thyme sprigs.
Cover and cook until the potatoes are soft.
Add the summer squash and cook for another 10 minutes or so, until it is tender.

Remove the thyme.

Puree the soup with a stick blender.

Add water if the soup is too thick.

Season to taste.

Serve topped with sour cream or creme fraiche.