Over the past few months, I’ve been able to have lunch a few times with my new buddy Gina of the fabulous blog Running to the Kitchen. I am very lucky Gina lives near me, and that she generously offered to guest post for me while I am away. Please welcome her and this gorgeous Coconut Roasted Carrot Salad to Healthy Green Kitchen!
This is a post I’m writing for Winnie with clenched teeth and a bit of a sneer on my face. Jealous doesn’t even do justice for how I feel about her little rendezvous in Peru right now. After reading the book “Three Weeks with My Brother” by Nicholas Sparks (the only one in his collection worth actually reading) where he and, well, his brother (shocker) travel around the world including Peru, I’ve had this fierce desire to hike every square inch of Machu Picchu. I tried to finagle my way into her suitcase with the bribe of my (almost 10 yr. old) Spanish degree but somehow it didn’t work. My verb conjugation isn’t what it used to be. So I’ll just curse her under my breath, live vicariously through her until my time comes and talk about carrot salad with you guys instead. Deal?
This is actually a salad I made exactly 2.5 weeks into my blog “career” (it’s totally not my career, but what else do you call it?). It’s a delicious recipe hiding behind some hideous pre-DSLR, pre-I sorta know what I’m doing with my camera pictures. Don’t believe me? Go see for yourself. Woah, right? I know…
So I felt bad for it and decided to give it a second chance. I mean who the heck is going to pin something that looks like that? And to be un-pinworthy these days is probably the highest offense in the world of food photos. Poor thing.
There’s a bunch of stuff going on in this salad…the sweetness from the roasted carrots, the crunch of the coconut flakes and the brightness of the mint to name a few. In the original recipe there’s feta too but I live with a man who takes his Greek heritage quite seriously and polishes off a BJ’s sized container of feta in about 2 days flat. So it’s scarce commodity around here and didn’t make it into this rendition. Regardless, this salad makes my mouth happy.
And now my eyes can be too, not having to look at underexposed close-ups of mush. Hope you guys enjoy!
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Bio: Gina Matsoukas is the author of the blog, Running to the Kitchen. She focuses on making healthy, whole food fun & approachable through her recipes and photography. You’ll find good food, a bit of fitness and a lot of sarcasm from her.
Blog: Running to the Kitchen
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/runningtothekitchen
Twitter: https://twitter.com/runtothekitchen
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/runtothekitchen/
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Recipe for Coconut Roasted Carrot Salad
Ingredients
- *2 lbs carrots
- *¼ cup sliced almonds
- *2 cloves garlic minced
- *2 tablespoons coconut oil
- *½ cup feta cheese optional
- *¼ cup dried cherries
- *¼ unsweetened shredded coconut
- *2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- *1.5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- *2 tablespoons honey
- *handful of fresh mint leaves thinly sliced
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- 2. Wash, trim and peel carrots (if not organic) and slice them diagonally into coins. Add carrots, along with garlic and almonds, to a large bowl.
- 3. Melt coconut oil and pour over carrot mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste and toss to combine.
- 4. Spread carrot mixture onto a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes, flipping/stirring a few times during roasting. While carrots are roasting, whisk together the olive oil, honey and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.
- 5. Once carrots are finished roasting, remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes on the baking sheet. Once cool, add carrot mixture to a large bowl with the feta (if using) and dried cherries. Pour the dressing into the bowl and toss to combine. Garnish with the mint leaves before serving.
