Brown Sugar Carrots

I made these awhile ago but didn't have a chance to post it due to computer problems and then I forgot about them. This past week tho I decided to open a jar of them and see how they turned out. They were awesome. I didn't use the ginger in the recipe because without it, it was very much like the candied carrots I would make from scratch. You certainly can do that if you wish.

Carrots were really cheap a few weeks ago so I bought several lbs. and then the next day they went even cheaper, so I bought more. And yes peeling and cutting them up takes time. But I do this when I have an empty day. And so I peeled them all and saved all the skins and ends  in a plastic bag to put in my freezer. I use these when I make stock so nothing gets wasted.

This is a nice recipe but when you open it, its very thin, its not a thick syrup. While you certainly could eat the carrots just like that, they taste nice, I wanted more. And so what I did with this after opening is.......drain all the juices in a pan and turn the heat up high to reduce it. You could do that till its syrupy but I was in a hurry. So i let it reduce then got antsy. So I added a pat or so of butter an another 2tb. of brown sugar. Once it got thick, I added the carrots. The juices from the carrots will thin it down a bit again, so turn up the heat and cook till thick. If you have the time to reduce tho and dont want to add more brown sugar, I would still add a pat of butter to it. It seems to add much to the taste.

These were heavenly and Ill be making a bunch to keep on hand. I like that its packed raw. I did mine in pt. jars because theres only two of us here. It was more than enough. But if your family is larger, I would do the qt. jar. I will say I had leftover syrup after we ate the carrots. It was almost candy like, I hated to toss it away. And since the carrots are cooked in the jar, all the good vitamins and such are in the syrup too. And so I saved it to stir into my yogurt the next day with some fruit. OMgosh it was good!

Brown Sugar Carrots
7 pounds carrots
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups water
1 cup orange juice
2 pieces of crystallized ginger (omit if you do not like ginger)

Wash and peel carrots, then rinse again. Cut carrots into 3 inch pieces. Slice thicker ends in half lengthwise. Combine brown sugar, water and orange juice (and ginger if using) in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Keep syrup hot. Pack carrots tightly into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headspace.(I stood the carrots up in the bottom of the jar and squeezed in as many as I could, then I topped them with the rest, squeezing more in. They do shrink after cooking so its important to do this.)  Ladle hot syrup over carrots, leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles with plastic or wooden spatula. Process pints and quarts 30 minutes at 10 pounds pressure in a pressure canner.
 
*I will say I didn't measure my carrot lbs. I did have quite a bit. But I did make this amt. of syrup and near the end was running out a bit, so I added more orange juice and heated it back up. They came out fine. I got 6pts from mine.

SEA'S CARROT CAKE

Ive had a request for my carrot cake. Ive had others ask too so I guess its about time I posted the one I use. This recipe is from the Silver Palate Cookbook. I just love that cookbook and use it for many things. I just tweak things to make them my own.


SEA'S CARROT CAKE serves 10-12

3c. unbleached all purpose flour
3c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tb. baking soda
1 tb. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 corn oil (I always use vegetable oil)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tb. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. shelled walnuts, chopped (sometimes I do half pecans too)
1 1/2 c. shredded coconut ( I like unsweetened when I can find it)
1 1/2 c. pureed cooked carrots (I shred mine fine and add to the cake mix)
3/4 c. drained crushed pineapple
1/4 c. finely chopped candied ginger (my secret ingredient)
Cream Cheese Frosting (follows)
Powdered Sugar for dusting top (opt.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 2 9in. layer cake pans ( I use a bundt pan or a 13 x9 in. pan) lined with waxed paper. (easier to remove from pan but doesn't work with bundt pan if its ridged.)

Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Add oil, eggs, and vanilla. (If you do not have a good rich vanilla extract, add a bit extra.) Beat well. Fold in walnuts, coconut, carrots, ginger and pineapple. Pour batter into the prepared pans. Set on middle rack of the oven and bake for 30-35min. until edges have pulled away from sides and a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. (Bundt pan and other sizes might have to bake a bit longer....test them)

Cool on a rack for 3hrs. Fill cake and frost sides with cream cheese frosting. Dust with powdered sugar. (I frost just the top of a 13 x 9 pan or the outside of the bundt cake, I don't make a filling. You could split the bundt cake tho if you wish and fill).

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 oz. cream cheese, at rm. temp.
6 tb. sweet butter, at rm. temp. (sweet butter is unsalted)
3 c. confectioners sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Juice of 1/2 lemon (opt.)

Cream together cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl. Slowly sift in confectioners sugar and continue beating until fully incorporated. Mixture should be free of lumps. Stir in vanilla and lemon juice if you use it. Makes enough frosting for a 2 layer cake.

The Zucchini Bakery

Well its that time of year where everything in the garden is bursting out and you try to figure out what to do with it all. I don't have a garden this year but I have had one almost every year for the last 35. I remember going on a trip once a few yrs back. I had two zucchini plants , that's all. When I came back and checked out my garden I found 3 HUGEEEEEEEEEE and I do mean huge zucchini. When I picked them to bring in the house I could barely carry all 3. They had to have been 3ft long and as fat as a cantaloupe around. I almost tossed them in the garbage. Then I thought no .....zucchini bread! So I took the first one, peeled it, shredded it to get it ready for zucchini bread. It made 10 loaves from that one zucchini!!! I sent some to work with my ex, and we ate some but I gave the rest away. How much of that stuff can you eat? I did end up tossing away the other zucchini considering I still had a few cups left of shredded from the first one that I froze. So in honor of that I thought Id post a few more kinds of zucchini bread types to help give you ideas to use it all up.

Zucchini Dill Muffins

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tsp. fresh minced dill, OR 1/2 teaspoon dill weed

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup butter -- melted

2 large eggs

2/3 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup shredded zucchini

Heat oven to 400°. Grease muffin tins or line with 12 baking cups. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup, level off. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and dill. Mix well. In medium bowl combine milk, butter, and eggs. Stir in ricotta cheese and zucchini, beat well. Add to dry ingredients, stirring until just moistened (batter will be stiff).Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan and serve warm with lots of fresh butter! These are great with a nice luncheon salad.

Carrot, zucchini and dill muffins

2 cups self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 tablespoons caster sugar

1/2 cup finely grated carrot

1/2 cup finely grated zucchini, squeezed between your hands to remove excess moisture

1/2 cup coarsely grated Swiss cheese

2 tablespoons dill, chopped

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup extra light olive oil

2 eggs

2 teaspoons sea salt flakes

Preheat oven to 400°. Lightly grease a 12 x 1/3-cup capacity muffin pan. Sift flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Stir in sugar, carrot, zucchini, cheese and dill. Whisk milk, oil and eggs together in a jug. Add to dry ingredients. Use a large metal spoon to stir until just combined. Divide mixture evenly between muffin holes. Sprinkle tops with sea salt. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Stand for 5 minutes in pan before turning onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 12

Zucchini-Lemon Muffins

2 c All-purpose flour

1/2 c Sugar

1 tb Baking powder

2 ts Grated lemon rind

1/4 ts Salt

1/4 ts Ground nutmeg

1 c Coarsely shredded zucchini

3/4 c Skim milk

3 tb Vegetable oil

1 Egg
Vegetable cooking spray

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl, and make a well in center of mixture. Combine zucchini, milk, oil, and egg; stir well. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Divide batter evenly among 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from pans immediately, and let cool on a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.

Zucchini Cranberry Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

2/3 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple

1 1/2 cups whole cranberry sauce

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup walnuts

Sift dry ingredients together. Beat eggs. Blend in sugar, oil and vanilla. Fold in zucchini, pineapple and cranberries. Add wet ingredients to dry. Mix just until blended. Fold in nuts/raisins. Pour into muffin cups and bake at 375 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

Blueberry Zucchini Bread

3 eggs lightly beaten

1 cup vegetable oil

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2-1/4 cups white sugar

2 cups shredded zucchini

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon (you can use up to a Tablespoon. It just depends how much cinnamon flavor you want)

1 pint fresh blueberries, coat with some flour before adding to mixture (can use frozen blueberries for this bread, cheaper and works just fine. Quickly mix in 1 tsp. of flour with the measured out blueberries before you fold them into the batter so they won’t all sink to the bottom)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease 4 mini-loaf pans. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini. Beat in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Gently fold in the blueberries. Transfer to the prepared mini ­loaf pans. Bake 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Do not eat the same day you bake it. It is much better if it is wrapped after it cools and then let sit on the counter for a day or two to mellow. Can also make one full loaf and then used the rest of the batter to make muffins. It freezes well too.

Zucchini Chip Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1-3/4 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups shredded zucchini

1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup chopped pecans

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, milk and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; gradually add to creamed mixture. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Top with pecans. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in muffin comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: about 2 dozen.