Two birds

  An oft heard cry is that finding inspiration can be a chore. It's totally understandable, especially if you need to put some food on the table and you don't have the time to sit down with your feet up, clutching a glass of something delicious in one hand and an ideas filled cookbook to flick through in the other.

  This evening I had made some quinoa to use as part of tonight's meal. As I stared at a pile of it in a sieve, I could feel a little sigh as I now needed to find a way of adding flavour. In a flash of inspiration, I suddenly started making a glazed carrot recipe. I've often suspected I was a genius and this idea seemed to be an indication that it might be true. Let me explain.

  The glazed carrot recipe is a winner. It's easy and super tasty but what hadn't occurred to me until tonight is that I can use it, and many similar recipes, as an ingredient to, in this case, add a little something to a pile of quinoa. The genius is that this method can be applied to loads of dishes.​​​​​​​

  This method isn't totally new. If you think of stir fried rice, for example, that is basically a load of rice mixed with lots of other ingredients. The dish would work just as well without the rice, (though you would have to change the name). You've probably got the picture by now but if it's not clear, let me know. While I wait for you to write, I'll tell you the glazed carrot recipe. I should mention that to make it work with the quinoa, I cut the carrot a lot smaller than usual.

  Cut the carrots into smallish, bite sized pieces and dump them in a pan. Add a splash of water and a big knob of butter or a generous splash of olive oil. Add some sweetness. You can use loads of things for this but to give you an idea of some of the things I've used successfully, brown sugar, honey, date syrup, maple and agave have all worked well. Add seasoning and bring to a low boil.

  The method is this, as the water evaporates, it steams the carrots. At the same time, the fat and sweetener melt together to create the glaze. With a bit of practice, the carrots will be cooked by the time the water has evaporated. For the first couple of times I suggest putting just a little water in and adding a little more then allowing it to evaporate. If you put too much in and you need to wait for it to boil away, you may overcook the carrots. When you've mastered it, use it to flavour your rice or quinoa and don't be shy about adding a little extra flavour; I finished mine with lemon zest and spring onions.

Kirk out

RevoltingFood.com