The only carrots Randy will eat

Recently, I have been reading a series of books that my mother has been telling me for years to read. The books belong to The Mitford Series, wonderfully and enchantingly written by Jan Karon. Not only are they highly entertaining (not to mention humorous, although sometimes very subtly so), but they are also challenging, encouraging, joyous, peaceful, and any other adjective that means good and wholesome.

Anyway, I strongly recommend them. In addition to her series, Jan Karon produced a cookbook. In her books, she talks about food and the people that cook it in such a way that you feel like you just cannot go on unless you get a taste of it. The cookbook is written so that the recipes "belong" to the fictional characters and often include stories from the books.

One such recipe is for glazed carrots. This has become the only way Randy will eat carrots, unless I manage to sneak them into stews or pot pies. He claims that they taste like candy (thanks to admittedly copious amounts of brown sugar and butter) and popcorn (due to the toasted nuts which are, alas, done in even more butter). I usually halve this recipe as it makes 6-8 generous servings.

Cynthia's Glazed Carrots
    • 6 cups carrots, sliced on the diagonal, about 1/4inch thick
    1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    1/4 cup brown sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
    1/2 cup chicken stock2 teaspoons lemon juice
    1 teaspoon lemon zest
    1/2 cup walnut or pecan pieces
    1/4 cup unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon

  • In a nonstick skillet, combine the chicken stock, carrots, salt, and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.
  • Uncover and simmer for another 2 minutes. Then stir in 1/4 cup of the butter and the remaining brown sugar. Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes.
  • Remove from heat and add the lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper.
  • Meanwhilce, in a seperate skillet over low heat, melt the 1 tbsp of butter and pour in the walnuts. Saute 8-10 minutes until toasted.
  • Combine the carrots and walnuts in a serving dish. Serve immediately.

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