On the side, Spice Roasted Carrots

I am always attracted to fresh, bright orange carrots at the farmers market.  With their springy, leafy green tops and wispy roots still attached, they are worlds apart from their plastic-wrapped counterparts at the grocery store.  They might even still have a little dirt clinging to them, telling you they really came from the earth.  (As opposed to those perfectly shaped baby carrots; who knows where they really come from...) 

Freshly washed carrots from the farmers market. 

The carrots from the farmers market even taste better - they have a sweeter and more grassy taste, whereas I think the carrots from the grocery store just taste a little watery and dull.  And speaking of watery, it is funny how those plastic wrapped carrots are packed in water, but yet can be so dry.  The carrots from the farmers market are always fresh and full of life.  And if you like a little variety in your life, look no further than the farmers market to find red, purple, and yellow carrots.  

The carrots from the farmers market come in all sizes... including some mini ones.

Sometimes when I get these carrots I just bring them home and eat them raw with an easy veggie dip, or I slice them up for salads or slaws.  But recently, I have been really into roasting them with spices to enhance their sweet flavor.  

No need to peel them, these carrots are perfect and beautiful just sliced in half.

You can really toss vegetables with any spices you like, but I often try out some new or more exotic spice blends.  Spice things up, if you will.  (Ha!  A pun!)  

So for these spice roasted carrots, I decided to mix sweet and salty with a rich spice blend known as baharat.  Baharat is a Middle Eastern spice blend commonly used to season lamb, lentils, stews, and soups and there are several different varieties.  The one originating in Turkey also contains mint, but the most traditional Arabic or North African baharat spice blend contains black pepper, coriander, cloves, cassia bark, cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, and allspice.  Some blends also include chili pepper or paprika to give them a bit more ‘heat,’ but mine doesn't so I added some extra cayenne pepper to this recipe.  

Olive oil with sugar, salt, and spices to glaze the carrots.

A Recipe for Sweet Cherry Preserves

It is cherry season!  I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the first cherries at the farmers markets, and finally their happy red faces have appeared.  They are juicy, sweet, and voluptuous, with smooth shiny skin and soft flesh inside.  They are just absolutely perfect.  Some of them are even so red and ripe that they are almost a deep crimson violet color.  

Here in San Diego we get the common Bing variety of cherry, but we also get neon-colored and super sweet Rainier cherries, and as well as Lapin Cherries.  I buy them all.  I love them all.  I am an equal opportunity cherry eater.  

Now last year when cherry season rolled around, I didn't quite get my act together.  I bought lots and lots of cherries, and snacked on them.  Often.  Cherries are just the ideal size for popping in your mouth one at a time, and then of course, you can't eat just one.  They are sweet enough to feel like an indulgence, but they are also really healthy - a win-win in the snack world.  

But yet, there were those pesky pits... and that was when I realized something was missing from my life.  Specifically, I didn't have a cherry pitter, and clearly everyone should own a cherry pitter.  (Am I right friends?)  Now I should have used this as a good excuse to go shopping (as though I need an excuse), but because of aforementioned lack of getting-act-together, I lagged behind and the cherry season passed me by.     

Simple Oat and Brown Sugar Scones

I've had a lot on my mind lately.  Everyday when I open my eyes first thing in the morning, ideas start racing across my brain, rushing ahead, trying to reach the forefront first.  Sometimes it seems like I can barely remember those days of waking up in a pleasant fog, hearing the birds chirping outside. 


And yet...  Despite the whirling vortex that I sometimes am unable to calm, thoughts of good food and good times eating food always surface just above the turbulence.  Take these scones for instance.  Ever since seeing Isabelle's lovely blossom-shaped Lemon Ginger Scones, I have been dreaming of making my own.  Scones have outcompeted work, working out, and sometimes even sleep.  They have almost won out over the start of cherry season and Game of Thrones... but not quite.  (Please, I have my priorities people.)   I have made different versions of scones at least 4 times now in as many days.  You might think that sounds over the top, but when I decide to do something I do it right.      

Simple ingredients for simple scones.

At first I wanted scones with fruit in them.  As I mentioned, I am overjoyed with the start of cherry season, but I also had some lingering strawberries I needed to bake or eat before they kicked the bucket.  But then I abandoned both those ideas when I realized I would much rather eat a well-flavored non-fruit scone and slather it with fruit jam.  I wanted a simple scone, nothing fancy. 

Scone dough just after kneading together for just a minute.

Scone dough on a well-floured board.