Carrots Fresh From the Garden

The humble carrot is one of my favourite veggies, so when I was asked by the YK Community Garden Collective to come up with some recipes to highlight the freshness of this years harvest, Dill Glazed Carrots was a natural. This is a simple way to prepare them that brings out their garden fresh flavour. Tamara brought me a selection of Sebastien's finest carrots from the Arctic Farmer garden to play with and here's what I ended up with.

Dill Glazed Carrots

I like to use multi-coloured carrots when I can find them but plain old orange carrots do just as well. I also like to cut them in sticks rather than slices. I just like eating them that way. To peel or not to peel? That’s up to you. I peel large carrots but more often than not, I just remove the ends and scrub them down.

1 lb carrots

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp fresh dill, chopped roughly

Salt and fresh cracked black pepper

1. Prepare the carrots by peeling or washing them. Cut them in about 2 to 3 inch long pieces. Cut those pieces in halves or quarters the long way, or leave them whole, depending on how thick they are. All the pieces should be about the same size for even cooking.
2. Place the carrots in a large bottomed pot or pan and add just enough water to cover. Add the sugar and salt and bring them to a simmer. Cook them until they have softened a bit, but are still firm with a bit of a bite.
3. Remove the carrots from the pot and boil the remaining water until it almost disappears. Remove from the heat and add the maple syrup and butter, swirling it in until it melts, forming a bit of a sauce. Add the carrots and dill, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
4. Eat them up!

Fresh, Wild, Caribou

Caribou has been difficult to find these past few years but I bought some at Northern Fancy Meats the other day so I could cook it up for my brother, who was visiting from Ontario. It's a bit pricey but sooooo delicious! And Chris, your dad wanted me to point out to you that caribou contains less fat and calories than beef and is a great source of protein and other nutrients.

This is how I prepared it.

Caribou Loin with a Red Wine, Red Currant 

Dark Chocolate Reduction

6 pieces caribou loin, about 4 oz each

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp butter

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 tbsp shallots, minced

1 cup cabernet sauvignon

1 tbsp red currant jelly

1 oz dark chocolate

1 tbsp unsalted cold butter, cut into cubes

Salt and pepper to taste

Pat the caribou loin dry with a paper towel. Season both sides with salt and pepper

Heat a medium size pan, add the olive oil, and add the caribou when the oil is hot. Cook for about 4 minutes or until nicely browned. Turn the caribou, add the butter and thyme sprigs and cook another 3 or 4 minutes, basting occasionally with the butter. When they are cooked about medium rare, remove them from the pan and cover loosely with foil. Let them rest for 5 minutes.

Add the shallots to the hot pan and sauté lightly. Deglaze the pan with the cabernet sauvignon and reduce the wine to 1/2 cup (half of the original amount) then reduce the heat to low.

Add red currant jelly and chocolate and whisk in until it melts. Whisk the cubes of cold butter into the sauce a bit at a time, blending the butter in smoothly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Place a bit of sauce on the plate, place goat cheese mashed potatoes on top of the sauce and carrots beside the potatoes. Slice a piece of caribou and place it on the potatoes.

Eat it up!

Serves 6

Peach of a Jam!

Nothing beats biting into an Ontario peach, just off the tree. Perfectly ripe, bursting with flavour, oozing juice down your chin, you can only experience that in the summer, and only when those peaches are ready to give in and become whatever it is that you want them to be.
This jam recipe captures a bit of that taste and feeling, helping you to put it on the pantry shelf so you can recapture those summer moments throughout the year to come.

Amaretto Peach Craisin Jam

4 cups peaches, peeled and sliced

¼ cup lemon juice

7 ½ cups sugar

2 pouches liquid pectin

1 tbsp butter

1 cup craisins, or dried cranberries

½ cup Amaretto

1. Mix the craisins and Amaretto together and set them aside.
2. Place the peaches and lemon juice in a large pot and crush them, leaving some chunks of fruit. Mix in the sugar and butter and bring to a boil, stirring regularly until the jam comes to a complete boil. Boil hard for one minute. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam or impurities that float to the top. Add the craisins and Amaretto and mix them in. Let the jam sit for about 5 minutes.
3. Place clean jars on a tray and place them in a 250F oven for 5 minutes to sterilize them. Place lids in a pot of boiling water to sterilize them.
4. Pour the jam into the sterilized jars leaving about ½ inch space at the top. Put the lids on and tighten them a bit. Set them aside so the jars seal and the jam sets, usually overnight.

Makes 10 250 ml jars