Carrot Salad: Bright Flavors in Winter

The past few days have been unseasonably warm here in Nebraska. As in, it was 67 degrees on Thursday afternoon. In JANUARY. But I'm not complaining - I'll take any hint of spring I can to get through winter. Naturally, I went for a run with the pooch outside, to take advantage of the sunny skies!

When I came back, we were in the mood for a summer-inspired dinner. Summer cooking for me, though, is about celebrating the bounty of fresh produce that is available. How do we bring those bright, fresh flavors into January? This carrot salad certainly did the trick. And because carrots are pretty much available (cheaply) anytime, you can bring a little summer to January too. We ate this with a chicken and prosciutto involtini that Nick made on the grill - and for once, it was actually comfortable to be outside grilling!

I suppose the lesson I learned from this meal was to really celebrate the small moments - a warm day can be a huge bright spot in an icy winter.

Carrot Salad
I call for fresh basil here, but you could use any combination of basil, parsley, and mint that you like - just use whatever you can get fresh. In the summer time, I might increase the amount of herbs, but here it lends a nice background note to the bright lemon and carrot flavors.
Yield: about 4 cups, enough to serve 8 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS
4 cups grated carrot (about 10 medium carrots)
Zest and juice of one whole lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground coriander
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil (or more, to taste)
2 tsp honey

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Stir, cover, and refrigerate for an hour or more.
2. Serve and enjoy! Refrigerate leftovers.

We saw a few sprouts starting in the windowsill garden this morning - hopefully I'll have a few baby plants to show you next week!

Soup and Beans

I love soups in the winter. Truthfully, I love soups all the time, but especially in the coldest months of the year. And it has been COLD here lately - as in single-digit cold. So I've been on a soup kick these past few weeks, in some kind of effort to stay warm. This soup is mostly veggies, but thanks to the addition of a little bread and milk, it is quite hearty.

 

Creamy Veggie Bisque
For broth, I used 1 tsp of this home-made bouillon per cup of water - it works great here and in the bean recipe below. 

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
5 carrots, diced
5 ribs of celery, diced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
2 14.5 oz cans tomatoes (diced, whole, or whatever you have)
2 tsp dried Italian herb seasoning, or 1 tsp each dried basil and oregano
fresh ground pepper, to taste
1/2-1 tsp salt, to taste
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 cup milk (almond milk or cow's milk)

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat, and add the onions. Sautee for about 3 minutes, until the onions are soft.
2. Add celery and carrots, and saute 5 to 10 minutes more, until the veggies begin to brown the bottom of the pot. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Add broth, tomatoes, herbs, salt and pepper, and stir well (scraping the bottom of the pot).
4. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Puree the soup. Use an imersion blender if you have one, or let the soup cool slightly and blend in batches.
6. Stir in the bread crumbs and milk. Bring back to a simmer, and simmer for a few minutes while the bread crumbs thicken the soup.

We enjoyed this soup with grilled cheese sandwiches (naturally). For a side dish, I tossed this kidney bean recipe in the slow cooker.

Slow Cooker Kidney Beans
Did you know the slow cooker was initially invented to be a bean pot? It works super-well for cooking beans - you don't have to worry about boiling over, and I find the beans come out much more evenly cooked than on the stove top.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup kidney beans, soaked over night, drained, and rinsed
3-4 cups water
3-4 cups veggie broth
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed (but still whole)
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp dried italian herbs
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander

DIRECTIONS
1. Spray a 3.5 quart crock pot with non-stick cooking spray. Add all ingredients, using enough liquid to cover the beans by 2-3 inches.
2. Cook for 3 hours on high.
3. Drain beans, and discard bay leaf and garlic cloves.

I suggest re-heating these in a non-stick skillet sprayed with a little olive oil - let the beans and onion brown a bit.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...which has me in the baking mood! Recipe for iced cutouts is coming later this week.