#21. Spicy Nutmeg Carrots & #22. Carrot and Spinach Butter Mash

TWO DELICIOUS RECIPES!! And healthy, too--if you skimp on the butter just a tad. 

I happened to have a pound and a half of carrots leftover from the stupid "raw soup" recipe that called for a single carrot. Another of the carrots shriveled so badly that I had to compost it, so the clock was ticking to use up the rest. I decided to try two different carrot-based recipes and compare them. It was a bit of a toss up as to which is better! The Spicy Nutmeg Carrots was at least a B+ dish, but could have been an A- if I'd put it over cooked asparagus as the recipe suggested (I didn't have any asparagus). The Carrot and Spinach Butter Mash was an A- or an A, even though I used half the amount of butter called for in the recipe. 

I found the recipe for Spicy Nutmeg Carrots when I was reaching for the my McCormick-brand nutmeg one day and saw this recipe printed on the side of the tiny jar:

"Mix 2 tbsp. butter, melted, 1/4 tsp. each Ground Nutmeg and Garlic Salt, and 1/8 tsp. Ground Red Pepper. Toss with 1 package (16 oz.) baby carrots, cooked. Or serve over cooked asparagus and other vegetables."

Ah! I just noticed it says carrots or other vegetables. Anyway, I only used a little less than 3/4 pound of carrots, chopped into baby carrot-sized sticks, but even if I'd used the full amount, I think there would have been too much butter--it pooled in the bottom of the bowl. I didn't have any ground red pepper, so I just crushed some McCormick-brand Red Pepper Flakes in between the unglazed bottoms of two mini-souffle dishes. The carrots turned out mildly hot and very flavorful. Also pretty:

The Carrot and Spinach Butter Mash recipe comes from my Williams Sonoma Easy Vegetarian book (which is proving to be remarkably reliable so far). It called for a pound of carrots and 6 tablespoons of butter. I used just under 3/4 pound of carrots and 3 tablespoons of butter, which proved to be just the right ratio. Also, I used about half as much baby spinach (the book called for 8 oz.).

I'll just describe the recipe. Cook the carrots in "lightly salted" water until tender. Then drain the water out of the pot and set the pot back on the burner for the excess moisture to steam off. Then mash the carrots with the butter and salt and pepper, and mix in the spinach while the carrots are still warm so that the spinach wilts slightly. This recipe also turned out kind of pretty:

If that looks "too healthy" to you... trust me. I am, admittedly, a big fan of baby spinach, which added an interesting texture to the mashed carrots, and also a fan of nutmeg, which I consider underrated. But I can hardly stand carrots. The fact that I not only enjoyed both of these recipes, but actually consumed all of the food in one sitting (a pound and a half of carrots!!) should tell you how good they are. Plus, they were quick and easy to make and didn't leave a big mess.

A- for both