I used to work for a company called ‘Companion Care,’ which sent me to take care of the elderly in their own homes. This could involve making a meal for them, helping them bathe or use the bathroom, simply sitting and keeping them company, sleeping on a couch next to their bed in case they needed something in the night, and doing moderate cleaning.
And–lest we forget–watching every single episode of The Golden Girls ever to air. Ever. I loved every second of it, and I want to be just like fun-loving Blanche when I grow up.
Minus the philandering part.
Minus the hairstyle . . .
. . . and minus the Southern accent.
So I guess I don’t want to be like Blanche at all.
I will never forget my resolution arising from this stint at Companion Care: I will not become a magazine lady. I remember a particular house in which the piles of magazines were just everywhere. Along with piles of mail of who knows what else–it was overwhelming. And claustrophobic. And gave me the creepy-crawlies all over my flesh.
After being given a subscription to the now-defunct Gourmet magazine by my friend Eve, a subscription to Bon Appétit by my mother, and then getting a free subscription to Martha Stewart Living using airline miles, I have been steadily heading down the path of Magazine Overload. And those creepy-crawlies started to come back.
Firm and unwavering action was needed, so I recently determined to get rid of all of my Martha Stewart issues, which comprised the bulk of my collection. But they couldn’t, of course, go straight to the trash–what if there was the Dish to End All Dishes in one of them and I missed it?? I just couldn’t take that risk. So I’ve been flipping through each magazine and ripping out any particularly inspiring recipes. Though dear Team Martha was involved to a degree in a ravioli disaster, they were also involved in a whomping mushroom success, so I really wanted to ferret out any hidden treasures and bring them to the light. My initial purging project is now 100% complete; my next project will be making all the recipes, blogging about the worthy ones, and then tossing the paper. This may take approximately 1 decade.
But anyway, this is the first recipe I snatched up. It was simple and colorful and, as I suspected, absolutely delicious. And simple. And easy. And colorful. Did I already say that? And low-maintenance. I made a big adjustment to the cooking time and some small adjustments to ingredient amounts, but besides that, it’s quite true to the original.
Ingredients
(Serves 5)
2.5 lbs carrots (9-10 large carrots)
2-3 TBS olive oil
Salt and pepper
3 TBS fresh minced parsley
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Wash and cut the carrots on a deep diagonal, about 1 inch thick.
Toss the carrots with the olive oil and generous amounts of salt and pepper on a large sheet pan.
Spread them into a single layer.
Pop ’em in the oven and roast them at 425 F for about 40 minutes (or until caramelized), turning them over at the halfway point.
In the meantime, mince up the parsley:
And measure out the crumbled feta.
When the carrots are done, they will look something like this:
Mmmm. Caramelization is, like, the best, dude.
Put them in a large serving dish and toss them with the parsley and feta.
Beautiful! I love the colors. Love ’em, love ’em, love ’em.
Serve ’em up!
I made some salmon to go with this:
Unfortunately that particular fish recipe wasn’t quite excellent enough to share with you all, but I highly recommend the pairing.
These carrots are a cinch to make, and would be a great dish to make for a large group of people, or for a potluck. Or for yourself, on your arduous journey toward 20-20 vision. Give ’em a try! You’ll love every bite.
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