From Everyday to Fancy-Schmancy

Or, as children's literature's Fancy Nancy would say, it's not fancy - it's posh, which is a fancy word for fancy.

Sweetie and I consider a handful of carrots to be a better-than-no-veggies-at-all side dish for sandwiches, burgers, whatever. I know, I know, the bags of "baby" carrots are way more expensive than buying a bag of regular carrots and cutting them myself. But I usually opt for the convenience.

A little cup of carrot sticks ain't going to cut it at a holiday table. And even if it's just a regular dinner and you're making (or buying) a nice roasted chicken, the Glazed Mini Carrots are a perfect side dish. For something so easy, they're quite sophisticated. Best of all for holiday purposes, they're made on the stove top - meaning you don't have to try and cram 3 more things into the oven where you're roasting your turkey. Also, these can be made the night before, refrigerated, and warmed up just before serving.

Glazed Mini Carrots
Eating Well, Fall 2004
3 cups mini carrots (1 pound)
1/3 cup water
1 TBSP honey (if a spare packet of honey or two from your favorite coffee place happens to come home with you, that should do it)
2 teaspoons butter - note TEASPOONS. Sticks of butter are not marked with teaspoons, they're marked with TABLESPOONS, which are bigger.
Dash or two of salt
1 TBSP lemon juice (fresh if you have it - bottled is fine)
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley - not vitally important, but a great way to add some color to the dish. If you're having turkey, potatoes and stuffing, you've got a beige/tan plate. Adding orange carrots with flecks of bright green parsley helps liven it up.

Combine carrots, water, honey, butter, and salt in a large skillet.

Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat (5 on an electric stovetop).

Cover and cook until tender, 5 - 7 minutes. If your skillet doesn't have a lid use aluminum foil. It really does have to be covered, as the steam that stays in the skillet cooks the carrots. Also, you don't want the excess liquid evaporating just yet or you'll have a charred brown mess instead of a lovely glaze. Just sayin'.

Uncover and cook, stirring often, until the liquid is a syrupy glaze, 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in lemon juice and pepper. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Per serving: 74 calories, 2g fat, 14g carbohydrate, 1g protein, 2g fiber