RECIPE: Bourbon-Roasted Carrots
Mom always said to eat your veggies. . .maybe you would have if she made them this good!
Now that we offer the EarthBox® Root & Veg gardening system (a perfect gift for Mom!), we're here with a delicious roasted carrot recipe that’s perfect for Mother’s Day.
This is Why You Should "Carrot" All
This month we bring you the most amazing roasted, glazed carrots in the history of mankind – or at least we think so! We think you’ll agree after you have your first taste of one of these delectable little bites. For starters, there’s bourbon. Second of all, there’s bourbon. Have we mentioned that there’s bourbon?? Throw in some real maple syrup, savory herbs, a twist of freshly ground black pepper – and we think these tasty morsels will find their way onto your upcoming Mother’s Day brunch menu. Yes, they REALLY are that good!.
RECIPE: Bourbon-Roasted Carrots
For all of our recipes, we will try to list suitable substitutions for vegetarian/vegan, and/or gluten-free diets if applicable.
Serves approximately 6 people
What You'll Need:
- 1 lb. fresh carrots
- ½ cup 100% real maple syrup, plus additional for garnish
- ½ cup bourbon
- 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
- Pinch of ground cardamom or cinnamon
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 Tbsp. butter (vegans/vegetarians substitute with margarine), melted
- Salt & Pepper
- Fresh sage leaves, cut into thin strips / Fresh thyme leaves
Let's Get Cooking:
- Preheat oven to 425°. Wash and peel carrots, and remove tops (either completely, or just trimming down). You’ll want to the cut carrots so that you wind up with long, thin pieces. Place in a glass baking dish.
- In a small saucepan, combine the bourbon, maple syrup, brown sugar, and cardamom (or cinnamon). Heat until sugar is dissolved, ingredients are well-incorporated, and the mixture is slightly thickened. Be sure not to boil or overcook the mixture.
- Pour mixture over carrots and add in olive oil and butter. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix thoroughly, spreading the carrots out evenly in the baking dish.
- Place in oven for 25 minutes, uncovered. Remove from oven and stir/turn gently, checking for doneness. Place back in oven until carrots are slightly browned/ caramelized and liquid has mostly cooked off (approximately 20-30 minutes).
- When done roasting, remove from pan, lightly drizzle some maple syrup and sprinkle sage or thyme leaves over top.
Suggestion: for those who enjoy a combination of sweet and savory, cook some bacon until crispy and crumble over top of roasted carrots.
Enjoy!
Tell us: what's your favorite carrot recipe?
If I plant a blueberry bush in the Root and Veg Earthbox, what is the method and schedule to replenish fertilizer? What about replacing the plastic cap as it inevitably wears out? How would one do this without disturbing the plant too much or making a huge hole in the next plastic cap to fit down over the bush?
I’d love to also know the same for planting blackberry bushes in the EarthBox Original?
You'd follow our instructions for the initial set up, except do not add dolomite to the blueberry bush. When you have to replace the cover, the only way for these plants is to create a big hole in the cover and then tape it back up after you have it in place. We'd recommend adding another pound of our 7-7-7 fertilizer (or another equivalent, slow-release fertilizer) every 3-4 months. That generally lasts 1 growing season, which for the majority of crops grown in the EarthBox is no more than 120 days. Blueberries and blackberries are one of the few perennials that can be successfully grown in the EarthBox.
Which size is best for blueberries the orginal size? Or the deep root n veggie size?
Can nursery recommended acidic soil/ Azelia soil be used in earthboxes for blueberries?
You can grow blueberries in either of those EarthBox sizes, though we recommend the Root & Veg since its depth is more conducive to the plant. You can forgo using dolomite with blueberries, but ensure the pH is somewhere between 4.5-5.5. We still recommend following our growing media recommendations listed here: https://earthbox.com/learning-center/recommended-growing-media
I have my SEASCAPE Day-neutral strawberry seeds in hand. These will be planted indoors, in a grow tent, under LED quantum panels in the EarthBox. I have never planted strawberries of any kind, so Im eager to get this party started. Will provide updates. Too bad we can't attach pics.
~Kbore
NEWS FLASH from Kbore about Seascape seeds: Hybrid strawberry seeds are NOT true to the variety, if they sprout at all. I may have seascape seeds in hand (rip-off) but they will not produce the same plant as the seed donor. To grow the true variety, you must have live/ dormant plant starts from that variety.
On the subject of plant starts, it's too hot to ship live plants in the middle of July (in Zone 6A where I live), so don't expect to buy strawberry seedlings mail-order: It's not going to happen.
Looks like mid-September-ish for me. As the late Tom Petty wrote: " Waiting is the hardest part".
~Kbore