Creamy Carrot Soup (Germany)

3 Tbsp butter
2 medium carrots, sliced
1 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp curry powder or more to taste
2 cups chicken or beef broth
salt to taste
1-2 Tbsp sour cream or yogurt
2 Tbsp white wine (optional)

1. Melt butter in large saucepan. Add and saute carrots. Sprinkle sugar over carrots to glaze.
2. Add flour, curry powder, and broth. Bring to a boil while stirring and cook until carrots are tender.
3. Remove from heat and puree in blender until smooth. Add salt, sour cream/yogurt, and white wine.
4. Pour into soup bowls and serve immediately.

*Option: Swirl a dab of sour cream or yogurt decoratively on top of each bowl instead of adding it to pot.

Source: Extending the Table

Try #1 - October 18, 2010
YUM! Rich, creamy, delicious. I followed this recipe pretty much exactly as it was written, except I increased the amount of carrots (and the other ingredients, proportionally). I don't think the two medium carrots would have fed my whole family. As it was, we ate it all!

Try #2 and 3- December 2012
We rediscovered this delicious soup and made it twice this month.  In order to make it more substantial, I doubled the recipe and, on a whim, added one cup of cooked couscous at the end.  The couscous was a great addition, because the amount of butter makes it a fairly rich soup.  The couscous balanced it out a bit, plus gave it some texture.  I didn't use the white wine.  I also froze some of this soup (minus couscous) and gave it to Lucy (7 months) - she loved it!

Note: When doubling the recipe, it's probably not necessary to double the butter... in general, the amount of butter could be decreased.

Ethiopian Vegetable Stew (Alecha)

From "Extending the Table." Pronounced ah-LEE-chah.

2 Tbsp butter or oil
1 clove garlic (1/2 tsp minced)
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup water
3 medium potatoes, chopped in large pieces
2-3 carrots, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (I omitted this because I don't have any)
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lb cabbage, chopped (about 1/2 or 1/3 of a cabbage)
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
1 green chili pepper, seeded and quartered

1. In large saucepan, combine oil, garlic, and onion. Saute until onions are soft, but do not brown.
2. Add 1/2 cup water, potatoes, carrots, 1/2 tsp salt, and spices. Cook about 10 minutes until potatoes and carrots begin to soften.
3. Add cabbage, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 tsp salt, and green chili. Cook until vegetables are tender. Stir gently to combine, taking care not to mash vegetables.
4. Serve with Ethiopian flat bread or rice.

Try #1 - August 7, 2010
Turned out great! I used red potatoes (instead of our normal russet) and red cabbage, because a friend had given us some. The flavor of the stew was delicious, and just a hint of spice with the green chili. It went great with the Injera flat bread. I'll definitely make this again!

The whole stew (not counting chopping the vegetables) takes about 45 minutes to an hour to cook. This was just the right amount of time to simultaneously cook the flat bread.

All told, the stew and flat bread took about 3 hours, start to finish. Not difficult, just time consuming.

Carrot Orange Juice

From "Extending the Table: A World Community Cookbook"
Honduras

4-5 medium carrots, uncooked, cut in 1-inch chunks
3 1/2 cups water
4 1/2 cups orange juice (1.1 liters)
2-4 Tbsp sugar (optional)

Place carrots and water in blender. Blend until pulverized. Strain if desired. Combine with orange juice and sugar. Chill and serve. If unstrained, serve with a spoon to eat the carrot pulp.

Foil-wrapped Grilled Vegetables

1.Coarsely chop your veggies into bit size pieces.
2.Drizzle over olive oil generously and lightly toss the vegetables to coat.
3.Sprinkle with herbs, freshly ground black pepper and salt, to taste. Lightly toss to distribute.
4.Lay out one or two layers of aluminum foil on your work surface. Pile up the vegetables in the middle. If you are making more than a couple cups worth of vegetables, separate them into separate foil packets.
5.Either fold the foil around the vegetables and secure on top or lay another layer of foil on top and bunch up the edges to secure it. You want your foil packet of vegetables to be closed on all sides. Also be sure that where you close the foil is facing upward. If the seam is on the bottom of the packet or facing down, your oil and other liquids will simply drip out into your grill.
6.Up to this point, you can prepare your vegetable packets slightly ahead of time while you prepare other food or prepare the grill or fire pit. Do not leave the vegetables sitting in the oil for more than a couple hours however.
7.Put your grilled vegetable foil packets directly on your hot grill. After some time they will start to steam and sizzle.
8.Cooking time varies depending on the hardness of the vegetables (more time if hard veggies like potato and carrot are included), the size of the pieces, the size of your packets and the heat of your grill. In very general terms, you will need at least 10 minutes of cooking time and up to 30 to 40 minutes if you have large pieces of potato or carrot which need time to soften. You can also cook more or less to your taste if you like your veggies more well done and soft or more on the crisp and fresh side.
9.If all else fails, remove your foil packet from the grill to a plate or platter (I find a large spatula the best way to do this without the foil packet breaking or falling open). Carefully open the packet (the steam will be hot!) and check your veggies for doneness. If they are not done to your liking, simply wrap them back up tightly and put back on the grill for a while longer.
10.When done, remove the veggies to a serving bowl or platter and discard the foil. Taste for salt and pepper and add some if needed.
11.Your grilled vegetable dish is now ready to serve alongside the rest of your delicious grilled recipes!

Roasted Carrots

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (I did 375 degrees, since that's the temperature I had the oven at for chicken and potatoes.)
2. Cut the carrots into quarters.
3. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray.
4. Arrange carrots in a single layer on the baking sheet.
5. Drizzle olive oil over the carrots and sprinkle a few pinches of salt and dashes of dried thyme over them. (I just sprayed the carrots with olive oil cooking spray for convenience sake.)
6. Place in the oven for 45 minutes or until the carrots are soft.

Try #1 - April 16, 2010
Roasting the carrots brings out the sugars and makes them sweet and delicious! I served this with roast chicken and roasted potatoes.