First BBQ of the Season, Scalloped Carrots, and Local Pears

?Ahhhh...Spring has finally arrived. It is slowly starting to get warmer and we have been so excited to have our first BBQ of the season. I know that there are many people who BBQ all 12 months of the year, but I really didn't want to go outside onto the deck to shovel out my barbeque and then stand outside in the blowing snow just for some steaks or burgers. Besides, I think the wait just makes the first few BBQ's of the year that much more special.

On our menu: sausages on a bun, raw greenhouse peppers and tomatoes, and a side of scalloped carrots. Yes, scalloped carrots. I recently started following yet another great Ontario blog called 'The Seasonal Family' - see http://www.seasonalfamily.com/ . All of the recipes I've seen so far are great and I hope to try many of them. On this day, I tried their recipe for scalloped carrots.

Here is my recipe (adapted from theirs):
4 carrots3 tbsp butter1 1/2 tbsp flour1 cup skim milksalt, pepper1/2 cup shredded tomato basil harvarti1/4 cup shredded mild cheddarUsing a food processor's slicing blade thinly slice the carrots and put them into a pie plate.

In a pan, melt the butter and then add the flour, whisking until well-combined. Add the milk and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the harvarti and whisk until melted. Once melted, spread it over the carrots and then sprinkle the remaining cheese. Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes.

The dish was delicious. It was so nice to have a new recipe using carrots. I am so tired of eating root vegetables. I'm looking very forward to eating some asparagus, green beans and broccoli. Mmmm....broccoli!