Carrots | Eating Out of the Local Box

Tag Archives | carrots

Roast Chicken

By Christy on May 4, 2012 in Gluten-free, Main Dishes, Recipes

As the Texas summer starts creeping up on us, my thoughts turn to ways to avoid the heat of the oven. I have long been a fan of the crock pot to stew a chicken in for soups but did you know you could roast a chicken in the crock pot? OK, technically it is probably a braise but by just leaving the lid off for the last 30 minutes of cooking time, the skin gets closer to a crispy roast than a flabby stew. By placing the chicken on top of a bed of vegetables, the juices are used to add flavor to the veggies without submerging the bird in too much liquid. It is ok if it comes part way up the bird but you want it mostly out of the broth for the crispiest skin.

3-4 potatoes cut into bite size pieces

4-5 carrots cut into bite size pieces

1 tablespoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon dried sage

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 black pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

olive oil

3-4 pound whole chicken

Combine the spices to make a dry rub for the chicken. Rub the chicken inside and out with the olive oil and thoroughly sprinkle with the rub. You can let this rest covered in the refrigerator for an hour up to overnight if you have time. Layer the vegetables in the bottom of the crock pot and position the bird on top. You should still be able to close the lid on the crock pot. Cook on high for 30 minutes, then switch to low for 6-7 hours. For the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the lid.

Comments { 0 }

Homemade Veggie Bouillon

By Christy on March 9, 2012 in Soups, Uncategorized, Vegan

As a rare cold winter day hits Austin, my craving for a warm bowl of comforting soup heats up. But who has time to spend all day chopping and simmering? Fortunately, I have a secret weapon in my freezer I can reach for in times like these. My homemade veggie bouillon has no msg or unpronounceable preservatives. Just farm fresh veggies and salt.

Before you ask, yes, you really do need all the salt to preserve the vegetables. You only use about 1 teaspoon of the bouillon per cup of water, so the overall salt content in the final soup is rather low.

Use the bouillon as the base for a homemade soup, to punch up a sauce, or mix with sour cream for a veggie dip.

Vegetable Bouillon

3 carrots, scrubbed and peeled, cut in 1 inch pieces

3 celery ribs, cut in 1 inch pieces

1 leek, white part only, sliced

1 medium onion, peeled and quartered

12 sun dried tomato halves

8 ounces mushrooms (crimini, white button, portabla, whatever you like)

2 cloves garlic

1 bunch parsley, leaves and stems

7 ounces of salt

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon pimenton or smoked paprika (optional)

Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until it forms a smooth paste. Will store in fridge for about a week, store in freezer after that. Use approximately 1 teaspoon per 1 cup of water.

Hints- I have a smaller food processor, so I have to do this in 2 batches. You can add as much as you can fit in the bowl and pulse it down to add more if you need to also. This recipe is very versatile and you can use almost any vegetable you want. Don’t like mushrooms? Substitute parsnips. Want a Mexican style soup? Use cilantro instead of parsley. The sun dried tomatoes are pretty important to rounding out the flavor for me and fresh tomatoes would add too much liquid so I would not sub those out but experiment with your local box to find what works for you.

Comments { 0 }

Have some fun with Back to School

By Mason on August 13, 2011 in Appetizers & Snacks

Here are some fun recipes the kiddos can help you with for their lunches!

Easy Cheese Crackers
From Parenting.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp course salt
dash of cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp milk

Instructions:

An easy recipe for homemade cheese crackers. Kids will love helping by making their own shapes!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a pastry cutter combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and cayenne pepper until the mixture looks like pea-size crumbs. Add the milk and use your hands to form the dough into a ball. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough about 1/8-inch thick. Use a pizza cutter or a sharp knife to cut the dough into your desired shapes or use some mini cookie cutters.

Gently transfer the crackers to an ungreased cookie sheet leaving 1/4-inch between them. Try to make the crackers roughly about the same size so everything will cook evenly. Bake the crackers on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes, or until the edges of the crackers are golden. Cool on baking sheet set on a wire rack. These taste great warm but are also very good at room temperature. Store in a sealed container for up to 5 days.

Carrots with Peanut Dipping Sauce
From Parenting.com

Ingredients:

Carrots with Peanut Dipping Sauce

3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey
A splash of soy sauce
A few drops of sesame oil
Water to smooth
Carrot sticks

Instructions:

Trying to break the peanut butter and jelly habit in the under-12 set is no easy task, but this mellowed peanut-sesame dip just might do the trick. It’s equally good with carrots or tossed with cold noodles.

Mix everything but the carrot sticks together with a fork or whisk in a bowl. Add water as needed to thin mixture to a dipping consistency (all-natural peanut butter needs more; everyday brands need less).

Kids can help: Scrape carrots, stir ingredients

Extras: Torn up cilantro, basil, a squeeze of lime juice or sliced green onion tops. Try apple slices instead of carrots

Comments { 0 }

Local Box Meal Plan: June 27-July 1

By Stephanie on June 29, 2011 in Uncategorized

Sorry about getting this to you a day late!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2Aluow9kN8&w=448&h=252&hd=1]

White Peaches – Cooper Farms
Blueberries – JB Organic
Assorted Summer Squash – Gundermann Acres
Purple Viking Potatoes – Tecolote Farm
Carrots w/ tops – Gundermann Acres
Red & Yellow Onion – Gundermann Acres
Juliette Tomatoes – Hillside Farm
Garlic Chives – Tecolote Farm
Summer Peas – Just Peachy Farm
Garlic – Rim Rock Farm

White peach sangria – What an awesome summer drink. This version uses peach vodka in addition to fresh peaches.

Blueberry buckle – Also called blueberry coffee cake. Alton Brown knows what he’s doing.

Mom’s summer squash – Not my mom, Elise’s mom from Simply Recipes.

Easy crockpot pot roast- Throw some garlic in for extra flavor. With the crockpot, you can cook delicious pot roast in the summer without heating up your kitchen.

Whole wheat couscous with lemon, peas, and chives – Cook your peas before adding them to this light, summery side dish from Bon Appetit.

- Stephanie

Comments { 0 }

Local Box Meal Plan: June 6-10

By Stephanie on June 7, 2011 in Central Texas Local Box

Peaches – Caskey Orchards
Blueberries – Berry Best
Sorrel OR Fennel – Tecolote Farm
Yellow Onion – Gundermann Acres
French Carrots – Gundermann Acres
Large Cucumbers – Acadian Family Farm
Valley Girl Tomatoes – Fruitful Hill Farm
Golden Cherry Tomatoes – Acadian Family Farm OR Tecolote Farm
New Potatoes – Gundermann Acres
Red Beet Bunch – Acadian Family Farm

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX8MhrZnBeU&w=448&h=252&hd=1]

Peach blueberry muffins – I might try subbing whole wheat flour for half of the white.

Carrot, fennel, and potato soup – I’ll use a whole fennel bulb and a whole onion, instead of the halves the recipe calls for. Because I’m hardcore like that.

Heirloom tomato sandwich – Layer sliced Valley Girl tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and basil on ciabatta spread with hummus. Delightful.

Chilled beet salad – One of my favorites. Roast or boil peeled beets till tender. Toss with your favorite salad greens, some crumbled goat cheese, walnuts, and balsamic vinaigrette.

Farro, avocado, cucumber, and cherry tomato salad – Unlike the previous salad, this could serve as a meal. Add chicken if you need some meat. Farro is also called spelt, and barley makes a nice substitute.

If you get sorrel, here’s a good list of sorrel recipes.

- Stephanie