Honey Butter Carrots

My friend, Rebecca, took this picture a few years back of the mantle at our beloved old cottage up north.

So many lovely evenings have been spent in that old place.

We just returned from our yearly Thanksgiving weekend when we close it up and say farewell for another season.

Fall is here and I always start to make these carrots again in the fall.

Carrots are a perfect fall food and this is the best way to eat them, in my opinion.

These carrots are simmered until sweet and soft in honey and butter.

A perfect side to our dinner, Chicken with Braised Cabbage and Fennel.

Honey Butter Carrots

5 C carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Butter
1/2 C water
pinch salt

Place honey, butter, water and salt in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Add carrots.
Simmer 5 mins covered at medium heat.  Remove lid and simmer until liquid is almost all gone.
Done.
Perfect.

Quinoa Carrot Cake Muffins

For Christmas, I was given a new cookbook called Quinoa, The Everyday Superfood.

(I am always in the market for a new cookbook.)

A dear friend, who knows I love quinoa, got me this little number.

The only thing I have ever put quinoa in is a pilaf or salad.

This book has you coating chicken with it, eating it for breakfast and even baking with it.

I love the taste of baking with a variety of flours.

Spelt is my old standby. I do everything with spelt. It's often in cookies and cakes and always in my pizza dough.

These carrot cake muffins get their rich nutty flavour by using only quinoa flour.

I wasn't sure if I would like baking with quinoa flour. It seemed strange.

I bought (at the Bulk Barn) only what I needed for this recipe.

If buying 'weird-ish' ingredients scares you, do the same. Just buy a couple scoops of it to start.

My kids love these.

Of course, I didn't say, "Hey kids, come get a load of these ultra weird, low fat, quinoa muffins..." I called them "Carrot Cake", served them as dessert and they totally went for it.

I iced them with the same icing I used for the Red Velvet cupcakes and they're perfect together.

Quinoa Carrot Cake Muffins

From: Quinoa The Everyday Superfood

1 1/3 C quinoa flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground clove

2/3 C golden raisins (I did 1/3 C raisins and 1/3 C pecans)

2 large eggs

2/3 C plain or vanilla yogurt

1/2 C packed brown sugar

2 1/4 C grated carrot

Preheat the oven to 350*, line 12 muffin cups with liners or a coating of non-stick spray.In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, and clove.

Whisk until well blended. Mix in the raisins and pecans (if using) and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, sugar and carrot.

Using a spatula gently mix dry into wet and stir just until combined.

Scoop in to muffin cups and bake for 20-22 minutes or until tester stick comes out clean.

When cooled, top with cream cheese frosting.

Joy's Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 C butter, at room temperature

1 package of cream cheese, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbsp Milk

3 C sifted icing sugar

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.

What we ate for : Dinner

Jibs says, "These are mighty tasty biscuits, I think I'll eat 2."

Moosewood Herbed Carrot Soup

2lbs Carrot, peeled and chopped

3 small potatoes, peeled and chopped

4 C Chicken or Veg stock

1 Tbsp Olive oil or butter

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic minced

2 tsp herb de provence or (1/2tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp margoram or oregano, 1 tsp basil)

1-2 Tbsp lemon juice (I forgot to add this and it was still really good)

Add carrots, potatoes and stock to a large saucepan and bring to a boil, simmer 15-20 mins.

Meanwhile in a frying pan simmer oil, onions, garlic and spices over med-low heat until soft but not brown.

Add onion to carrot mixture and puree either with a submersion blender or pour into an upright blender. Add lemon juice.

Cheddar Paprika Drop Biscuits

(Martha Stewart)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika, plus more for dusting

6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold, cut into pieces

1 C cheddar, finely grated

1 1/2 cups heavy cream ( I used 1 cup whole milk and 1/2 cup plain yogurt)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar and paprika. Using a pastry blender, or your fingers, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles course meal with a few larger clumps remaining. Stir in the cheese with a fork.

Add the cream (or milk and yogurt); using a rubber spatula, stir until the dough just comes together. The dough will be slightly sticky; don't over mix. Scoop dough onto baking sheet using a 1/4 C measuring cup. Lightly dust with paprika.

Bake until brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve warm. We dipped ours in the soup.

Jibs couldn't wait and ate his before dinner.

Lakeside Fish

Growing up with a fisherman dad and a cottage meant that we did a lot of fishing and ate a lot of fish in the summertime. I have so many great memories of sitting in the boat or on a dock with my dad and my brother fishing. Dad generously spent most of his time on the lake untangling our lines, re-baiting our hooks and stringing our fish. Thanks Dad!

After getting the fish back to the cottage, Dad would clean the fish and prepare it one of two ways. Fish Fry was an obvious and delicious choice, but my favourite is fire roasted.

Butter, lemon juice, onion, potato, carrot, the fish and a little salt and pepper wrapped up in tin foil and set on a bed of hot coals is how I like fish the best. Bass and pickerel work really well this way.

For pike you just take away the fins, head, tail and guts, stuff the belly with peppers, carrot, onions, salt, pepper and butter in a package of tin foil, over coals. When you open the package the skin sticks to the tin foil and the meat falls off the bones. Perfect for camping.

Now, it never tastes quite the same at home as when you reel the fish in fresh and cook it on the shore, but it is still so good.

Here is how I do it at home.

Reminiscent of Lakeside Fish

2lbs Cod or if you're at the cottage, Bass or Pickerel

2 carrots sliced thinly in half moons

2 potatoes sliced thinly in half moons

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 onion thinly sliced

Butter 1-1 1/2Tbsp per package

1 lemon sliced

salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400*.

Rip off pieces of tin foil or parchment paper about 12 inches long. Put pieces of fish in foil or parchment topped butter, lemon slice squeezed a little, veg and salt and pepper. Pull foil piece over fish and scrinch to seal package well.

Place all the packages on a baking tray and cook for 30 mins.

Eat the fish and vegetables right out of the package on your plate.