Friday Date Night with a Special Guest, Carrots

For some reason, the last time I went to the grocery store I decided it would be a good idea to buy five pounds of carrots. Hey, it was a cold day and I had soup on the brain. When I made chicken noodle soup and saw that my carrot use barely made a dent in the gigantic bag, I knew something had to be done.

So, last night instead of leftovers, I decided to browse Epicurious.com to see if I could find a creative use for carrots. That's when I stumbled on the Szechwan Carrot Soup. It sounded interesting, but a little scary. The soup contained lots of carrots and very little of anything else. Jesse was even a bit skeptical when I told him what would be served for dinner. Basically, you brown onions celery, and garlic, drop in a boat-load of carrots and a little fresh ginger, some red pepper flakes, and then cook the carrot concoction in chicken or veggie broth until everything is nice and tender. I blended it with my handy immersion blender and then stirred in the final key ingredients -- a little peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, and a touch of cream. I have to say, it was quite tasty. We sprinkled on some cut scallions and toasted almonds. Yum!

I rounded out the evening with a batch of carrot cake cupcakes. I found out that I didn't have cupcake liners way after it was too late, but they popped right out anyway. Look how evenly they baked and how beautifully uniform they are! Usually one half is flat and the other is burnt. Oh how I love you new giant electric oven!

But enough about my oven, what does the true critic think?

Hands down, carrots rock.