by Malia Kirby L.Ac.
Here in Boulder—or I suppose I should now say the metro area due to the recent opening down in Denver—there’s a “community” of restaurants that fall underneath one umbrella of The Kitchen (http://thekitchencommunity.com/) that Hubbs and I have enjoyed over the years, partly due to their food and partly due to their philosophy of connecting people together through food and the enjoyment of eating. While I could easily wax poetic over their preference for purchasing their ingredients from local farmers, ranchers, vintners, and brewers, their commitment to environmentally sound practices (including using their waste cooking oil to power vehicles), or their 501c3 non-profit providing kids with learning gardens in schools, my main purpose in talking about The Kitchen today is my absolute favorite side dish of organic cumin carrots at Next Door, the community pub.
You know how some people could sit down and manage to eat an entire bag of potato chips in one sitting? If I could get a big bag of these carrots (soup bowl, bucket, whatever), that would be me, no television required. I’ll admit it, we’ve eaten lunch there a number of times, just so I can get my carrot fix.
Cumin Carrots
Serves 4 as a side dish
1/3 c water
2 T olive oil
1 t honey
1 small sprig fresh thyme
2 t toasted and ground cumin seeds
Pinch cayenne
1 ½ lbs carrots, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
Fleur de sel, for sprinkling
In a small bowl, whisk the water, olive oil, honey, cumin, and cayenne together, then pour over the baby carrots in a large skillet. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly caramelized and tender, approximately 20 minutes. Discard the thyme sprig and serve the carrots warm, with fleur de sel to taste if desired.
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