Vegetables aplenty this evening...

I needed to get some carrots used that had been lounging around in the refrigerator - so we made these Maple-Tangerine Carrot Coins to have along side of tonight's dinner. You don't have to make a trip to the store if you have everything on hand except for the fresh tangerines - oranges would work just as well, but the tangerines do add a special note if you pick some up.

The carrots are sliced thinly enough so they don't take too long to cook, but thick enough so they still have a slight bite to them. They are cooked in a mixture of the fresh tangy juice, broth, sweet pure maple syrup, a dash of cinnamon and a touch of butter for flavor. After a couple minutes of cooking them covered, the lid is then removed so the liquids have a chance to reduce and create a thin glaze to coat the carrots. Sweet and tender, yet not mushy, these gleaming coins made for an excellent and quick side.

One of the vegetables in tonight's recipe for Teriyaki Pork and Vegetables with Whole Wheat Noodles was suppose to be mushrooms, however, since they would have been quite visible in this dish, I decided I might as well replace them with broccoli as Jeff would have thumbed his nose at it. Now, you know he has eaten mushrooms more than a few times now, but it was only because he couldn't see them! It is not that big of a deal though - I'm just happy that we have both really expanded our list of foods we now eat since starting this site... we've come a long way from chicken tenders and pizza!

While you wait for some whole wheat spaghetti to cook, nutty toasted sesame oil is first heated in a large skillet. Chopped red bell peppers, along with the white part of a few green onions, thinly sliced pork and broccoli florets are added to the hot oil - this will quickly cook the sliced pork and allow the vegetables to become crisp-tender. Salty teriyaki sauce, a little of the pasta cooking water and chili garlic sauce are tossed in, along with the cooked pasta, into the skillet. With a robust flavor from the sesame oil, the dish is complimented well by the slightly sweet, yet savory teriyaki. The chili garlic sauce added a nice kick without being too spicy - if you wanted to use the mushrooms as originally called for, you'll need about 3 1/2 ounces worth of sliced shiitake mushrooms.

Recipes
Maple-Tangerine Carrot Coins
Teriyaki Pork and Vegetables with Whole Wheat Noodles