The real name of this salad should read:

“Roasted Rainbow Heirloom Carrot Goat Cheese and Avocado Salad with a Citrus Cumin Dressing.”

But! it needed some tweaking. Let’s not do recipe titles that read like paragraphs. Not a good look. Also the word “rainbow” is way cuter than the word “heirloom.” (I think.) Who doesn’t want to eat a rainbow?! No one.

This dish is like a plate full of skittles…but in carrot form.

Have I ever told you how I sorta think lettuce blows? I’m not a big salad eater.

Let me retract my statement: I’m not a big salad maker. As a kid, making the salad and setting the table was my job, every day…for what felt like for forever. So now, in adult protest, I don’t make salads. Unless they have brown butter dressing on them.

I am, however, a big salad orderer. When I go to a solid restaurant, I usually get a salad. I dig good salads. They’re not super easy to make. There’s an art to the anatomy of a successful salad.

I had something similar to this at a restaurant here in LA. It couldn’t have been simpler: roasted carrots sprinkled with cumin and goat cheese. That was it. Easy. Incredible.

The texture of the roasted carrots is super spesh, guys. Special. They’re thinly sliced and roasted until they become chewy with a slight crunch. That might sound weird, but trust me it’s such a win.

Add some avocado! And some goat cheese! Major.

I’m also not over winter citrus yet. I dunno if I’ll ever be.

I made a simple citrus and cumin dressing, using a few tangelos and a meyer lemon. Feel free to use an orange and a regular lemon. And for the carrots, I found some beautiful heirloom carrots at the store. Regular ol’ orange carrots will work juuuust fine.

In other non-salad news, Pepperidge Farm asked me if I would cook something up that’s healthy for the Super Bowl, which is funny ’cause I dunno even know who’s playing…

…actually, I do now. I just googled it.

So, what are you feeling? Are you feeling healthy? Do you even care about eating healthy on the Super Bowl? If so, what do you think I should figure out how to bake? This is important!

Roasted Rainbow Carrot Salad (with Citrus Cumin Dressing)

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Salad:
15 carrots (peeled, trimmed and thinly sliced)
1 avocado, cubed
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Dressing:
1 shallot, minced
2 tangelo oranges
1 meyer lemon
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt
Ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Evenly divide sliced carrots between two lined (important!) baking sheets and place in oven for 15 minutes. Remove carrots and let cool on baking sheets. You’ll find them slightly rubbery. This is good. You don’t want a carrot chip salad, ya know?

2. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Place the minced shallots in a small bowl. Squeeze the juice from the oranges and lemon, being sure to catch any seeds. Whisk in extra virgin olive oil. Add cumin and add salt and pepper to taste.

3. To assemble the salad, add the carrots, cubed avocado to a medium bowl. Pour half of the dressing over top and gently toss. Add more and more dressing until it’s to the point of your liking. Divide salad between two plates and crumble goat cheese on top. BOOM! Eat the rainbow.

Yields 2 Salads

Something happened when I started this food blog…all my (boy) friends (a.k.a. friends who happen to be boys) started texting/calling me with their cooking questions.

I’m not sure what it was per se that piqued their interest in cooking since most of them didn’t care a few years ago.  I kinda think it had to do with growing tired of their typical take-out and fast food options..but mostly…it was to cook for girls.

I couln’t really blame them? I mean…boys cooking = cuteness.

I’d get calls like, “hey, I have two eggs, one sweet potato and garlic in the fridge…what can I cook?” They’d call with questions about roasting vegetables, how to cook bacon, what roasting actually means, etc…and then they got the hang of it…and umm…it’s really cute. Now, I get texts (all of the time!) of pictures of what they’ve cooked.

1. The first pic of filet wrapped bacon with a side of potatoes au gratin.  This is a huge step for my friend Ian. One time he told me he was giving up fast food and then opened up his freezer to show me all the Lean Cuisines and Stoeffers meals. He wanted approval. Umm…

2. Second picture is total show-off city. My friend Ryan got all fancy with his omelet and Sriracha. He’s a cooking pro (sort of) and makes some of my fav guacamole ever. His secret: crushed cumin seeds, which he pronounces in another way to be crude. I laugh every time…mainly because deep down I’m four years old.

3. Third picture is my friend Justin bragging…his girl makes him vegetarian chili.  Girls cooking for boys is equally cute.

4. And then, after four (separate) calls on how to make sweet potato fries, Justin got all crazy and put ‘em in some fish tacos. Kind of genius. Let’s be nice and just ignore the burnt ones.

5. & 6. Travis eats super healthy.  He sends me pictures of healthy food made delicious. Some sauteed shrimp with peas and carrots. And the other picture is a tofu patty he made with rosemary carrot fries?

Can I be honest? I don’t even like carrots. And boiled carrots? #vom

But I wanted to give them a try.

I thought them in a spicy variety would be delicious. Curry, cumin powder, a little cayenne and salt.

I peeled them and cut them into batons.

Transfered them to a bowl and added a few tablespoons of olive oil and spices.

Toss. Tumble.

Baking sheet. Spread ‘em out evenly.

I made a tzatziki sauce, which I have to google every time to get the spelling down.

Pretty standard: dill, greek yogurt, lemon, cucumber and sour cream. Delicious and refreshing.

Perfect combination with the spicy, curriness from the fries.

#boom!

Spicy Carrot Fries with Tzaziki Sauce

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Yields enough for 8 people

Spicy Carrot Fries:

6-8 small carrots, peeled and cut into batons

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2 teaspoon of curry powder (if you’re adverse to heat, scale back to 1 teaspoon)

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne

1 teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder

Tzatziki Sauce:

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice (or juice from 1/2 lemon)

7 ounces of whole greek yogurt (one small container of Fage)

2 tablespoons of dill

3 tablespoons of sour cream

1 teaspoon of salt

Pre-heat oven to 425F.

In a large bowl, toss carrots with olive oil, curry powder, cayenne, salt and cumin powder. Evenly spread out on a baking sheet being sure that the carrots don’t overlap. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until golden brown.

For the tzatziki sauce add all of the ingredients to a food processor and blend until thoroughly incorporated. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

I’m all about some one-pot/one-pan meals. Reason number #1 – less dishes to clean. I really, really dislike doing dishes, although I guess that’s a pretty obvious thing to say. If you’re a weird person who likes doing dishes, we probably don’t get along.

Actually…if you like doing dishes then maybe we should be best friends. As in, the kind of best friends that will drop by unexpectedly do nice things for each other. How about, I cook dinner in your kitchen and you come clean my dishes? Deal? Deal.

However, until my perfect new best friend starts popping by, I’m going to stick with my one-pot meals. Like this coconut curried fried rice. Okay, technically this is 2 pot/pan meal, since you have to make the rice separately. Buuuuttt… you can make the rice the night before, so you’ll only have one pan per day. It works for me. Chase and I get to eat big bowls of hearty fried rice, and then we just clean out one pan when we’re all done. This leaves plenty of time for other things, like playing Super Mario Wii, or watching American Idol, or other life-enriching activities.

Coconut Curried Fried Rice

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Adapted from the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home cookbook

This recipe works great with any cooked rice. It’s the perfect way to use up leftover rice from anther meal. It must be said though that the coconut rice is pretty heavenly.

For the coconut rice:

1 1/4 cups water

1 cup basmati or jasmine rice

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 piece cinnamon stick

1/4 cup raisins

Combine all ingredients in a rice cooker and cook. Remove the cinnamon stick and either use immediately or you can refrigerate for a few days until you’re ready to make the fried rice.

For the curry fried rice:

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tablespoon red Thai curry paste

1 medium carrot, peeled and diced

3/4 cup frozen peas

1 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoons fresh lime juice

Have all of your ingredients prepared and nearby before you begin to cook. (the rice should be ready at this point). Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet or wok. Add the eggs and cook on medium-high heat. When the edges of the eggs begin to set, gently flip them over (you can also scramble if that’s easier. Once the eggs are completely cooked, remove from the pan and cut into pieces or strips. Wipe the wok clean with a paper towel.

Heat the rest of the olive oil on medium heat. Add in the carrot and cook for 1 minute, then add the garlic and curry paste and cook for a minute more, stirring constantly to begin scorching. Add the rice and peas and cook until heated through. Stir in the egg strips, soy sauce and lime or lemon juice.

You can add a little more soy sauce to taste if you wish. Now just pour into bowls an enjoy!

Fact: I don’t eat very much meat. Technically, my diet is classified as “pescetarian” because the only meats I will eat are fish and seafood.

Fact: I never call myself a pescetarian because I think the word sounds snotty.

Fact: Contrary to popular belief, I, like most vegetarians, do not like eating salads all the time. I do not typically believe that a salad constitutes a meal. I prefer “stick to your ribs” kind of food.

Fact: Uncooked and/or steamed tofu is gross. Seriously people, why even put it on the menu?

Fact: This Bolognese is amazing. It is 100% vegetables and brings back every memory I have of eating the beef-based kind. With recipes like this I do not miss meat. Ever.

Fact: I ate this for dinner and then breakfast the next morning. Totally awesome.

Vegetable Bolognese

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Adapted from Giada Dr Laurentiis

I liked the base of vegetables that this recipe uses, but I thought it was a little skimpy on the tomato aspect so I added in a can of crushed tomatoes. It is absolutely perfect, definitely going to be showing up in my kitchen a lot more often. I used white button and cremini mushrooms, but feel free to play around to get different flavors.

1 pound pasta – I used rigatoni
3 small – medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup olive oil
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces assorted mushrooms, stemmed and chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 14oz can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.

Place the carrots, onion, bell pepper, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse the vegetables until finely chopped but still chunky. Place the olive oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped vegetables, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook until tender, about 6 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and tomato paste and continue cooking, stirring to dissolve the tomato paste, until the mushrooms are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, reserved liquid from the pasta and red wine. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and let the mixture simmer until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Remove thyme sprigs.

Toss the pasta with the sauce, sprinkly with parmesan and serve.

I am a huge fan of Looney Tunes. Note: I’m not saying that I was a huge fan as a child, I’m still maintaining my super-fan status now as an adult. I even bought tickets to see Bugs Bunny at the Hollywood Bowl, which means I spent 2 hours watching cartoons on big screens while the LA Philharmonic played the music live. I was happier than a five year old on Christmas morning.

I’m sure that my mom was at least a little happy about my love of Looney Tunes, not because she wanted me watching TV, which she normally didn’t, but because those clever cartoonists were smart enough to have the loveable Bugs always munching on carrots. Which meant that I, in an effort to be just like Bugs, also wanted to always be munching on carrots. I can even remember my mother once telling me to stop eating carrots or I would spoil my dinner.

Think about that – while other mothers were trying to keep their kids out of the cookie jar, mine was fighting me off from the vegetable bin in our refrigerator.

I’ve never quite reclaimed the same devoted love of  raw carrots that I had as a 2nd grader, but I definitely can sense some of the same feelings toward this pudding. This traditional Indian dessert is sweet and creamy, and definitely something I wouldn’t mind spoiling my dinner for. I think Bugs would approve.

Gajar Halwa, AKA Carrot Pudding

 

Adapted from Bon Vivant

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I was drawn to this blogger’s recipe for two reasons: one, she used butter instead of ghee, which I didn’t have in my kitchen. Two, the idea of a sweet pudding with saffron sounded heavenly, which it most certainly was. The original author recommended serving with vanilla ice cream, but I ate it plain and was just fine.

1 2/3 cups grated carrots
2 cups milk
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon saffron threads

A handful of chopped nuts of your choice, I used pistachios but almonds, pecans or cashews would also work.

Heat the milk and water in a heavy-bottomed pot, stirring occasionally. When bubbles start to form on the surface, stir in the carrots and cardamom. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Stir every few minutes until the milk evaporates, about 45 minutes to an hour.

Add in the sugar, butter and saffron and turn the heat back up to high. Stirring constantly, allow the mixture to boil until the liquid evaporates and you have a soft mush.

Scoop into individual bowls, sprinkle with nuts and enjoy.

I sometimes wish I could have conversations with my past, younger self…here’s a conversation between Little and Big Adrianna that I wish I could have:

Big Adrianna: Hey…geez you’re tiny.

Little Adrianna: You’re tiny too and you’re supposed to be a grown adult. Umm…I don’t mean to be a harsh, but you don’t look like Cindy Crawford. People tell me I’m gonna grow up to look like her.

Big Adrianna:  I know I know, disappointing.  I’m not as rich either. Oh and by the way, sweet punch stain on your upper lip. Classy.

Little Adrianna: I like Hawaiian Punch, sue me. Hmm…well, your hair is pretty.

Big A: Oh yea…way nicer. I mean, I have to blow it straight and I need this fancy straightening cream and a flat iron…but it works, you know.

Little A: Yeah, totally…well, you look really happy.

Big A: I am…really happy.

Little A: Is it as hard as they say? You know, life…

Big A: (sigh) Yea totally…unfortunately.  Childhood is hard. Teenage years are hard. (sigh) Love is hard.

Little A: Love?

Big A: Yea, that’s right…you’ll fall in love, be loved and have your heartbroken.  But it’s awesome. So awesome. You’ll want to do it again…over and over, no matter what.

Little A: Hmmm…what else?

Big A: Well…lets see. Mom and Dad are cool…you still love them a whole lot. Dad still tells you what to do, but you sorta like it and strangely listen. Daniel is your friend.  He calls you for girl advice and you think that’s fun.

Oh! You like coffee now…you love it, actually. You like all sorts of vegetables now, too…all kinds.

Little A: Weird. Even carrots?

Big A: Yeah, you totally love carrots. Especially when they’re roasted with honey…and even raw ones…and when they’re in cookies and cakes. I made these cookies for you just to prove to you that you can like ‘em too.

Little A: Oh yea…they’re not bad. Not bad at all…kind of amazing, actually. Uh…thanks.

Big A: Yea, no problem.  (pause)

Oh and if you ever get really sad while sitting in your room listening to Brian McKnight, writing poetry with your Hello Kitty pencil just remember this: you’ll be loved. It’ll make the hard stuff alright. Trust me on this.

Little A: Umm…okay.  Thanks.

Big A: See you on the flip side, chiquita.

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling

Recipe from The Craft of Baking

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Cookies:

3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
3/4 cup roughly grated carrots (about 1 1/2 medium carrots

Filling
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoons granlated sugar
Pinch of kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Grind the oats in a food processor or blender to make a fine flour.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat flour, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt.

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract on medium speed until well combined. Add the egg and beat to combine, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the dry ingredients in two additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each one.  Add the carrots and mix until just to combine.  The dough will be very sticky.

Drop 1-tablespoon mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing them 1/2 inch apart. Bake, rotating the sheets once halfway through, until the cookies are golden brown and spring back when gently touched in the center, about 12 minutes. Cool the cookies completely, on the baking sheets set on a wire rack, before filling.

To make the filling, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, lemon zest, sugar, and salt on medium speed until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. (The filling can be kept in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.  Let it come to room temperature before using.)

Using a small spoon or spatula, spread 1 teaspoon of the filling over the flat side of half of the cookies. Sandwich with the remaining cookies, flat sides together.

The cookies can be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 days.