Orange and Maple Glazed Carrots
A guest post from Sara:
I moved into my first apartment in 1979. It was an efficiency with an eat-in kitchen. I couldn’t cook at all, so I made friends quickly with the young couple across the hall. Sheila was an opera singer studying with Todd Duncan (the first “Porgy” of “Porgy and Bess”) at Curtis Institute of Music, and Michael was a college administrator. I knew they could cook because the delicious scent of their supper wafted its way across the hall every day when I came home from work.
It wasn’t long before I had introduced myself and been invited to the first of many memorable dinners in their apartment. I remember that first dinner, and seeing Michael so excited that Sheila was making…carrots. Carrots? My only relationship with carrots was as a raw snack, and before that, as those indistinguishable bits in a can of mixed vegetables that Mom foisted on me as a child. I was not excited about carrots. But I hadn’t yet tasted Sheila’s….
This dish almost didn’t get made tonight because as I was cleaning the carrots, I kept helping myself to a bite, or two, or three, or six. These carrots from Space Girl Organics were so sweet without being cooked or adorned in any way that they reminded me of candy. Let’s just say that a few carrots didn’t make it into the dish.
Sheila’s Orange and Maple Glazed Carrots:
Needed:
Carrots
Orange Juice
Butter
Real Maple Syrup (optional)
Organic corn starch
Wash and clean the carrots, scrape them if you must, and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Steam them on the stove until they are as soft as you like them. Drain them and put them in a serving bowl.
While the carrots are cooking, combine 1/4 cup orange juice, two tablespoons of butter, and two tablespoons of real maple syrup (The maple syrup is my own twist, optional but try it, you’ll like it!) in a saucepan on medium-low heat. When the butter melts,add organic corn starch to thicken the glaze. I added two tablespoons and my glaze got very thick. I think one tablespoon would work nicely. You can also add a pinch of salt to the glaze.
Add the glaze to the carrots and stir it up. Then, try to take a picture as the cat is appropriating the carrot tops. Try not to eat the whole thing in one sitting.
Sara Ann Conkling has written for several major newspapers, including the Philadelphia City Paper, the Burlington (Vermont) Free Press, and the Orlando Sentinel. Locally, she has edited a few smaller publications, and a couple of books. She currently writes press releases and website content for businesses, non-profit organizations, and artists who care how their stories get told. She is very excited to be writing for Space Girl Organics.
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