Sunday Fun: Cooking and Checking on the Garden

I bough a ton of vegetables at the farmers’ market last weekend, but since I’ve been swamped with school and work, I haven’t had time to do much cooking. Since it’s the weekend, I figured I’d take on some easy cooking that will carry me into the next few days.

Roast Carrots, Turnips, and Lacinato Kale

Chopped into 1 inch pieces (2 inch pieces for the kale), tossed with a little extra virgin olive oil, nutmeg, pink sea salt, and black pepper. Roasted at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Tossed frequently. (Add the kale later if you prefer it to be softer; I like bits of crispy kale in the mix for flavor.)

The caramelized bits of the carrots and turnips make it particularly yummy.

Salade de Carrottes Râpées

When I visited Lauren in Paris years ago, it was the first time I ate carrot salad. Before that, I wasn’t all that partial to carrots. I’d liked the braised, Chinese-style, as a child, but never liked them raw. But the Dijon dressing of the French style salad made a convert out of me. Complimenting the sweet carrots with acidity and a little parsley from the garden was just right. I’ll revisit and share the recipe in the next few days.

Speaking of the garden…”Why were you out in the garden today?” you ask.

Well, I wanted to give my new succulent box a little added sunlight, so I brought it outdoors. I think it turned out rather nicely, considering the sad-sack plants at Lowe’s, don’t you think?

While out there, I was happy to see that my herb box was starting to greet the early spring with new sproutings.

This is the parsley, which got promptly put to use. (Don’t worry, I have 3 parsley plants and this photo was taken post-harvest.)

…And here are the chives.