carrots... carrots... more carrots

I like carrots... really, I do. Always have. Good thing, too... they're in just about everything I eat these days.

this is salad... before mixing...
boil beets, boil carrots... when they've cooled, grate them all into a bowl along with several peeled apples. (An apple secret(?): grate and then allow to turn brown- it's a bit easier to digest... I care about stuff like this right now...) Sprinkle a bit of salt over this, drizzle about 1/4 cup of honey or dark corn syrup over it and about half a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice... then mix it all up. Now... it's not quite your typical salad...but it is really pretty good. It's a take-off of a really super Ukrainian salad where you grate raw beets, carrots and apples together and dress with honey (and maybe a bit of apple cider vinegar or lemon???). Chopped walnuts are super in it... but we are not yet back on such delights as walnuts...
It also smells sort of like freshly chopped silage... but that just adds to the mystique! I'm sure...

then there's this... see, I told you there were carrots everywhere you look! Start with fish- this time it's trout. Beat an egg (add a pinch of salt) and dip the fish in the egg. Sprinkle finely ground bread crumbs mixed with herb of choice (I used a French Provincial mix) on bottom of baking dish and lay fish on this; sprinkle more breading on top of the fish. Squeeze a tiny bit of lemon on the fish. Then- here's where the carrot comes in (!)- grate a raw carrot over it... Then- this has been fun- pour the rest of the beaten egg over it all (it goes to the bottom and makes a sort of omelet on the bottom). You can also do potatoes with this. It's not much to look at... but the taste is just plain good... after boiled chicken breasts umpteen different ways. Cover and bake at 350 for about 30 min. Add a bit of boiling water towards the end if it's getting dry.

of course- you have to watch out for bones when eating this... with the tilapia, you don't... I usually do this with a flat white fish and am generous with pats of butter and mushrooms. One thing that's saved the day with all this boiled/baked/fat free stuff- herbs! You can do dried herbs (and proly fresh- I just don't have any) and get flavor! And thankfully, I love boiled veggies with salt- I've always loved the taste of the veggies themselves and have never cared all that much for cream and cheese sauces. However, I'm going to be mighty happy to get back to some other kind of eating!