Mashed, creamed or sliced carrots can make the meal

What’s up Doc? You should know what that phrase is telling you about today’s recipes, if you’re of the older generation (I’m thinking back to the 40’s or somewhere in there). You might see Bugs Bunny holding a carrot behind his back or Elmer Fudd, Road Runner, etc. doing their thing. We sure had a lot of laughs watching those cartoons, didn’t we. And of course it’s about carrots today. First a little information about how many carrots you need to make a certain amount for a recipe. Four medium carrots equal about 1 lb. One pound will serve 3-4 people, 1 lb. grated makes about 3 cups and 1 lb. cooked carrots, drained and mashed, makes about 1/3 cups. Incidentally, mashed carrots can be used interchangeably with pumpkin in a recipe calling for mashed pumpkin. Growing up on a farm, we grew just about every kind of vegetable there was. We had two milking cows that gave us all the milk and cream we wanted. Consequently, we ate a lot of creamed veggies. How good they tasted but how bad it was for our cholesterol count, was never thought about at that time. If you have not made creamed carrots you might want to try this recipe. After all, we don’t eat creamed veggies every day.

CREAMED CARROTS
5-6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced (about 1/4 inch thick)
1/2 t. sugar
3 T. water Milk - about 1/2 c.
1 T. flour Couple dashes of nutmeg, if you wish
2 T. butter or margarine
In a medium saucepan, combine first 3 ingredients; simmer, covered for about 15 minutes or until just tender. Drain juices into measuring cup. Add milk to make 3/4 c., mix with flour and nutmeg, shaking the mixture in a small jar with a tight fitting lid, until smooth. Add to carrots along with butter. Cook over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly. Simmer 1-2 minutes (stirring) if you wish, sprinkle a little fresh snipped parsley.
Makes four - five servings

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CARROT SOUFFLE
1 c. day old bread, torn into small pieces (remove crusts first)
1 c. milk
3 eggs, separated
1 c. cooked, mashed carrots
1 T. grated onion or minced very small
1 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
In a medium bowl, soak crumbs in milk for 10 minutes. Add yolks from eggs and next five ingredients. In a glass bowl, beat the three egg whites until stiff but not dry. Fold gently into carrot mixture. Turn into greased 1 qt. casserole (not a flat casserole dish, but a round one). Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until set. (To test it, carefully shake the dish a bit back and forth and it should not move in the middle...make sense?) Serve immediately.
Makes six servings.

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HONEY PORK AND CARROTS
1 lb. pork tenderloin, thinly sliced, cut in 1/2” strips
4 medium carrots, thinly sliced (cut in rounds)
3 T. butter or margarine
3 celery ribs, thinly sliced 1 small onion, thinly sliced
3 T. honey
1-2 t. liquid smoke - optional
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/4-1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. each, sage,
salt and pepper
In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry pork and carrots in butter for 5-6 minutes. Stir in rest of ingredients. Cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until veggies are tender, stirring occasionally. Serve with cooked brown or long grain white rice, (brown is better for us). Makes three - four servings.

Thought for the Day:
People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.