Carrot Craze
William Sigler, Cook.

Disclaimer: I took the pictures with my cellphone, which explains the grainy texture of the photos.

Inspired by this week's contest, I whipped up a fantastic three-course meal for your pleasure.


Appetizer: Creamy Parmesan Carrot Soup.

Carrots and soup just go hand-in-hand. I wanted to make it a tasty appetizer, but still hearty enough to be able to stand on its own. I started by shredding some onion and grating a few carrots, and threw them into a pot with the water base (to capture the flavor of the cooked vegetables), and chopped leeks and garlic.


Making the base of the appetizer soup.

After the vegetables were cooked a bit, I added milk to give it a creamy quality, and threw in some thyme seasoning, and parmesan cheese to enhance the milk and give it a kiss of flavor and texture. I seasoned it to taste with garlic salt, and served it with extra grated carrot for a lovely garnish.


Serving the soup with a grated carrot garnish.

It was quite tasty! It also makes great leftovers for the next few lunches.


Close-up of the creamy soup texture.



Main Dish: "Pumpkin Pie" Mashed Carrots and Slivered Green Beans with an Orange-Carrot Glaze

I wanted something truly unique for the main dish, and I believe I've been able to achieve that in this dish, while still creating something truly tasty that anyone could enjoy. I chopped some carrots into halves and started boiling them for softening prior to being mashed. With the snipped off ends of the carrot, I made some carrot coins and shavings to accent the dish's appearance. I also took some green beans and slivered them to maximize the area for pouring the carrot glaze. I sliced a hard-boiled egg and made a roll of honey ham to accent the dish.I then began making the carrot glaze itself. To make the glaze, I added about a teaspoon of dried mustard powder and cornstarch to a bowl. I then added about a tablespoon of soy sauce, and a fourth-cup of orange juice. After the carrots were soft and mashed, I added about two tablespoons of carrot to the glaze as well. To the rest of the mashed carrot destined to become the star attraction of the meal, I added some butter, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla flavoring to give it a rich, pie-like taste, and mixed it up well.


Shaved carrot for garnishing the main dish.


Adding the spices to the mashed carrot.

While arranging the food on the plate, I began to prepare the glaze in a skillet, stirring constantly to avoid clumping or burning. After it reached a light, syrupy texture, I poured it over the slivered green beans and carrots, and added the carrot shavings as garnish.


Making the orange-carrot glaze.


The finished product.

I loved the texture of the food, it was such a delight to eat! And what a feast! The glaze also works well for chicken, ham, pork, fish, and just about any other main dish you can imagine. One could also substitute the carrot for something else, for instance fruit jam or marmalade.


Close-up of the food's texture.



Dessert: "Ants on an Orange Log" with Vanilla Yogurt Dip

This dessert is a carroty twist on an old classic, "Ants on a Log." I substituted the celery with carrot, making a slight groove in the center to mimic the celery's shape and give a bit of depth for the ingredients to rest in. I simply spread the peanut butter in the grooves (I used chunky, which gives it a great nutty texture and extra flavor, but creamy can easily be substituted in if you prefer), and topped it off with some California Raisins. For an extra dimension of flavor, I added a vanilla yogurt dip to complement the log's taste, and served it on a charger decorated with carrot shavings.


The dessert, with a yogurt dip.

It was quite delicious, and the carrot complements the peanut butter's taste remarkably, not being as overpowering as the original recipe's raw celery.


Another angle.



I hope you enjoyed my creations just as much I as enjoyed making (and eating!) them. Until next time, bon appetit!

I think it looks tasty and that I should stop reading food threads before I've eaten breakfast; it's killing me.

Other than that, I don't think the quality of your camera messes with the quality of your food or really the presentation, because I can still tell what's going on.
I will agree that the soup looks a little too runny.  Try to thicken it and then croûtons would go very nicely with it.  It looks like it would taste delicious, it's just that with something with texture like a carrot, it does blend well with really thin soup.  Or really thick soup, for that matter, like gravy would be too thick.
The main course again would taste great but just looks too busy.  Maybe have one small side plate with the carrots and less green beans with the glaze on it, and another plate with the ham, eggs, and maybe a bread of some kind, then have the glaze in a ramekin.
The dessert is sweet, simple, and kind of back-in-the-day-ish.  I like it.  I think I am going to go make some and eat it.

Excellent work, I think.

Thanks for the comments. I've since come across a better camera. It's still old, but better than my cellphone camera.
I hope to enter into future events. I'm also working on a new Southeast Asian cuisine website at http://www.silhou.net so maybe the next round will involve some of that. ;)