The Vegetable Conspiracy

I think we have all had that one vegetable in our lives that has taunted us. My father hated squash, my grandmother use to trick him and tell him they were whipped sweet potatoes so he would eat them. When my mother was little she hated lima beans and her mother having a sense of humor would often make her succotash (heavy on the lima beans)! My mother would try to fit them all in her napkin for fear she’d never be allowed to leave the table. For me it was carrots, I didn’t like them raw or cooked. I didn’t even like the smell and wouldn’t you know it, carrots just happened to be my mothers favorite. So guess what I got all the time? Even if buying “Swanson Frozen T.V. Dinners” she always managed to pick out the ones for me that had the little carrot coins as a veggie. Do you know how many Swanson Dinners had corn or peas as a veggie option?….I loved corn and peas.
But time goes by and people change and their taste buds change right along with them. Now my father loves squash, my mother likes, not loves lima beans and I actually like carrots; ‘raw, cooked, in stew and especially glazed”.


Glazed Carrots

1 1/2 lbs. fresh carrots
1/3 c. packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
2 tbsp. butter


Scrape carrots and remove ends. Cut into lengthwise strips. Heat salted water to boiling. Add carrots, bring to a second boil. Boil 18 to 20 minutes. In a 12” skillet put butter, brown sugar, orange zest and salt, add carrots. Cook over low heat until carrots are glazed and caramelized evenly, takes 7 to 10 minutes.