You’re humming along by now, I’m sure. You’ve been up for hours, prepping.

So have I. This year we’re at my mom’s house for the Thanksgiving meal. The kitchen, that will soon be filled with smells so rich they’re almost visible, is newly painted a bamboo green that shifts according to the light. It’s a good space. A hub. This is where we’ll spend the day. This is where I’ll make roasted carrots for the second time this week.

A few days ago, I pulled four golden carrots out of the refrigerator, lopped off their tops and quartered them lengthwise, just like Sara at Sprouted Kitchen and Sarah at My New Roots, suggested you do with larger carrots in their posts on roasting them.

As I was checking out at the food co-op the other day, I commented to the checker that I couldn’t resist these glowing carrots, grown at Piece by Piece farm in Olympia. An employee who was helping me bag the groceries told me she’d seen their farm on the co-op’s bike tour.

“Their soil is so clean,” she said. “Everything that comes up is beautiful.”

I thought about that while I chopped and whisked. These carrots are just as clean, as just as good for you as they appear.

My recipe is a combination of the ones I found at the sites above. I used shallots rather than spring onions, tossing them in a ginger lime marinade and spreading the mixture all over the top. Since a few of the shallots cooked more quickly than the carrots, today I’ll slice the carrots thinly, possibly with a vegetable peeler. If you follow suit, reduce the time in the oven and cook them close to the end, just 10 or 15 minutes before you’re seated.

Wishing you a warm kitchen and a full, rich day!

Roasted Golden Carrots with Ginger, Lime and Shallots

 4 large golden (or otherwise beautiful) carrots, trimmed and
scrubbed but not peeled
¼ – ⅓ cup thinly sliced shallots
6 tablespoons grapeseed oil
½ teaspoon minced fresh ginger
juice of one lime
1 teaspoon lime zest
3-4 teaspoons light maple syrup
½ teaspoon sea salt

Move one of the oven racks to the center position and preheat the oven to 400°. Line a rimmed baking pan with parchment paper.

Cut carrots lengthwise into quarters and spread out on the baking pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, ginger, lime zest, lime juice and maple syrup. Add sliced shallots and stir well to coat.

Drizzle the mixture over the carrots, arranging shallots over the top.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until a fork inserted into the thicker end of one of the carrots gives slightly.

Serve immediately.