Carrots, Carrots, Carrot Tops?

I have always found carrots to be boring and lacking of flavor, unless of course they were covered in ranch dressing. (I will save my proclivity for all things ranch and mayonnaise for another post though.) That was until I discovered using fresh carrots in season and roasting them. All you do is lop off the tops and clean the carrots. Next, put them on a baking sheet and toss with olive oil , salt and pepper. (If you have it on hand some chopped fresh thyme is nice too.) Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes depending on size of carrots to desired doneness. I personally like them to cook longer about (35 minutes) because then they start to caramelize, but it is really a matter of preference. The carrots will be soft & tender, sweet & savory! My favorite way to serve these is as a side dish to roasted chicken. My weeknight roasted chicken is simple and easy to do with a baby on your hip or the phone at your ear. First off, I don’t do the whole roasted chicken. (This eliminates the mess and cleanup of the giant roasting pan.) Instead, I use a package or two of the split half breasts with rib meat. Economical at $2-4 a package depending on store sales. Note: Foster Farms is my go-to brand. No, they are not organic and free range BUT they are fresh, hormone and antibiotic free. Plus they are a good company that employs a lot of people in Oregon and California. I always buy Foster Farms because it makes me feel that I am indirectly supporting friends and family. Okay, I will now get off my stump post and continue about the chicken..... Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take the breasts, wash and clean, pat VERY dry. Place on baking sheet. (Line with foil for easier cleanup.) Liberally season with Kosher salt and pepper. I also like to sprinkle with fresh thyme. Put enough salt that you can actually see the salt crystals on the skin. (This is what makes the skin so tasty, and lets be honest, isn’t that the reason we make roast chicken in the first place?) Some people like to put a pat of butter under the skin , but if you are like me and watching your hubby’s cholesterol don’t do this…..Plus, I feel this can create steam, which you don’t want if you like really crisp skin! Anyway, roast chicken at 400 degrees for 45 minutes and enjoy your weeknight chicken! As for the aforementioned carrot tops….I always thought carrot top greens were just fodder for the likes of Bugs Bunny, and well it turns out I was right. I searched around on the internet looking for recipes using carrot greens and found surprisingly few. (That should have been my biggest sign!) Even with this foreshadowing, I decided to experiment cooking with them anyway. I sautéed finely minced celery, yellow onion , and garlic in olive oil until translucent. I then added the greens and a little chicken broth until wilted down and then seasoned with salt and pepper. Okay, so the taste was not bad, fresh & herby tasting kind of like parsley BUT the texture was terrible, scratchy and chewy. Maybe you could get rid of that texture by boiling them for 2 + hours or more but next time I would let the clerk at the market cut the tops off for you or take them home and feed them to your rabbit………….