I cooked a carrot, and I liked it.

I've never liked cooked carrots. No matter what was done to them, unless in soup, I couldn't stand to eat them. I was always a raw carrot gal. That has changed! I was watching Best Recipes Ever by Canadian Living and saw a recipe for sugar snap peas and carrots. My first thought was "it looks good, but I doubt I'll like it." I'm glad I was wrong.

I've been buying sugar snap peas to use in pad thai, so I had a package. I didn't like them raw. They needed to be used up, so I figured, what do I have to lose? I knew Joe would eat them. So I cut some carrots into sticks similar in size to the peas. I heated a pan with a little bit of olive oil. Into the pot went the peas and carrots and a sprinkle of salt. After tossing them together, I covered the pan. About 20 minutes later, they felt done. Some were nice and caramelized. I probably could have eaten the whole yield. I'll be making this again and again.

While on the topic of carrots, I tried a carrot and barley soup tonight. This is a low glycemic index recipe. I didn't exactly follow the directions from the website I found the recipe on. Here is what I used.

A few large carrots, a leek, a few stalks of celery, vegetable bouillon (instead of vegetable stock), dried thyme, pot barley, and margarine. The recipe didn't call for leek, but I had one that needed to be used. Also, it called for pearl barley. I use pot barley because it is the unrefined whole grain.

The important thing to remember when using leeks is to cut them THEN wash them. While the leek is growing through the dirt, soil gets stuck between the layers. So cut the leeks and let them soak in water for a little while. This will remove the soil.

 This is not an ingredient you really want to add to your soups or other dishes. This may not look like much, but that grit will make itself known with every bite.

While the leeks are soaking, you can take this time to peel and chop your carrots. I used more than the recipe asked for because, hey, I don't always like to measure. I get that habit from my mom. You rarely get recipes from her that have actual measurements. Anyway, chop the carrots into same-sized pieces.

When the leeks are clean, add them to a stock pot with some margarine. I used about a tablespoon to get them started. When you can smell them, add the carrots, salt, pepper, and thyme. The recipe called for a sprig of time, but I don't usually use fresh herbs because they don't always look good at the store and I don't know if all freeze well. Since I used the vegetable cubes, I threw them in. I find they dissolve better in heat than in water. Mix everything to coat, and I added a little more margarine.

Let the carrots hang out for a few minutes to start cooking them. After a few minutes, add about half a cup of barley. Stir to coat the barley, and cook about ten minutes.

Stir occasionally, because they might start sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add about two and a half cups of water to make up the vegetable stock. If you don't use the cubes, this is where you'd add the stock.

The recipe said to wait to add the celery, but I can be impatient, so I added it with the water. The recipe wanted me to wait until the soup was almost done. I never do that.

Turn the heat to low and cover the pot. Let the soup simmer for about an hour. Check for seasoning. If you used the sprig of thyme, you'll want to remove it now. You may want to adjust the salt. If you have an immersion blender (stick blender), blend the soup to smooth. Otherwise, you can always use a blender or a food processor.

I don't know if the soup is supposed to be thick like mine was, but it was pretty good. The barley isn't totally pulverized, so you get little chewy bits. I imagine if you blend it more it could be more uniform. Overall, it was pretty tasty and rather filling. We served this with a slice of homemade whole wheat bread.