Carrot Soup Garnished with Bacon

This carrot soup is so easy to make and pretty healthy too (okay, okay, if you skip the bacon).

Fried Rice with Crab and Peas

This fried rice with crab and peas takes only 20 minutes to make, especially if you have some leftover steamed or Chinese takeout white rice. It makes a great lunch or dinner with a salad. The rest of the ingredients are easy to find, and the dish is a lot of fun to make.

I used a wok to make this dish, but a large skillet would work too. What's so nice about the wok is that it develops a nonstick finish when you use it over time, but you can still use it with very high heat, unlike most nonstick pans.

Fried Rice with Crab and Peas

Ingredients

1/4 C soy sauce

1 1/2 T rice vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp white pepper

2 T peanut or vegetable oil

1 T minced ginger

3 cloves of garlic, minced

3 green onions, thinly sliced

4 C steamed white rice

2 eggs, beaten

8 ounces of crab meat

1 C frozen peas

Instructions

1. Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper in a small bowl. 
2. Heat a wok on high heat until hot and add the oil.
3. Add the ginger and garlic and stir for about 5 to 10 seconds and then quickly add the rice and stir fry for about 5 minutes.
4. Make a well in the center of the rice to expose the bottom of the pan, and add the eggs and quickly stir fry until cooked through.
5. Add the crabmeat, peas, and sauce and stir fry for about 3 more minutes. 

Adapted from Williams Sonoma: Food Made Fast Asian. 

Caramelized Onion Jam

This sweet onion jam is made by taking four large onions and cooking them down for about 90 minutes until you have this caramelized jammy sweetness that even onion haters would love.

Braised Carrots with Leeks

These braised carrots with leeks will surprise you with their savory-ness. At least they surprised me. Their flavor is fresh and reminiscent of vegetables from a Provencal marche.

This is an easy dish that can be made right before serving, or made in advance and served at room temperature the next day.

You can use spring carrots, or if you cannot find them, you can cut regular carrots cut into thinner pieces by quartering the fat ends and cutting the thin ends in half lengthwise.

To clean the leeks, cut off the root ends and the dark green parts, slice the pieces length wise, place them into a bowl of cold water, and swish them around. Drain the leeks and and place them back into cold water. Once the water in the bowl is clean, the leeks are ready.

We had this with a goat cheese, onion, mushroom, and red pepper tart with a filet mignon. It was definitely a luxurious dinner with an amazing combination of flavors.

For another great dish with leeks, check out this Asparagus, Pea, and Leek Stir Fry. For another great carrot dish, check out these Sauteed Carrots.

Braised Carrots with Leeks Recipe

Adapted from Mark Peel's New Classic Family Dinners.

This recipe serves four.

Ingredients

3 T olive oil

1/2 pound of leeks, white and light green part only, cleaned, with the root trimmed off, and cut into thin lengthwise strips

3/4 tsp Kosher salt

1 garlic clove, minced

1 pound peeled carrots, either small spring, or cut as described above. They should be about 4 to 6 inches in length. 

1/2 C water

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 T fresh chopped chervil, or 1 tsp dried chervil

2 tsp fresh chopped tarragon

Instructions

1. Heat 2 T of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. 
2. Add the leeks and a bit of the salt and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes. 
3. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. 
4. Add the carrots, water, and the rest of the salt, and bring to a simmer. 
5. Simmer over low heat, covered, for about 15 minutes, until the carrots are fork tender. 
6. Transfer the carrots to a platter and bring the rest of the ingredients to a boil.
7. Add the rest of the oil, the lemon juice, the chervil, and the tarragon to the pan and cook for about a minute. 
8. Spoon the contents of the pan over the carrots.
9. Serve immediately, or tent with foil and serve later at room temperature. 
10. You can also refrigerate overnight and serve the next day. 

Green Bean Salad with Basil, Parmesan, Shallots, and Balsamic

This salad is a perfect for picnics.