I enjoy cooking with things that remind me of home. Having grown up in New England, two of my favorites are sharp Vermont white cheddar and maple syrup. One of my favorite ways to prepare carrots, which I picked up from eating at fancy restaurants with my grandparents as a child, is a warm puree.

Ingredients:

• Carrots, boiled until tender (enough to feed your party)
• Pure maple syrup, to taste
• Cinnamon, to taste

Optional

• Nutmeg, to taste
• Cayenne pepper, to taste

Simply boil the carrots until they are soft enough to easily stick a fork into, throw them in a food processor and add cinnamon and maple syrup to taste. Nutmeg as well as cayenne pepper also go really well in here. Tread lightly when adding the syrup and the spices so you don’t mask the flavor of the carrots too much. I find our carrots from the farm to be particularly sweet anyway. I prepared this back in June as a side paired with our ripe sugar snap peas for a new take on peas and carrots, but I find this carrot puree to be a very versatile side that goes well with any sort of white fish or chicken. I’ve also used it in burritos with rice and beans in the same fashion that one might use a sweet potato.

Connor