Dangling the Carrot.....

I've always loved them......I've heard your skin will actually turn orange if you eat too many of them, but I don't know that to be true.  I even think it has a name....carotenosis!  No, really!  Now that I'm on the Weight Watchers diet, I eat a lot of them.

The other day I saw a picture of some roasted carrots on Pinterest and I knew I had to have them!  I read the recipe, closed the browser and this is what happened.

I washed and trimmed the fresh carrots (Harris Teeter has the young ones....with the tops still on, which keeps them fresher!).

In a separate bowl I mixed fresh garlic (3 cloves...or so), fresh thyme leaves (ummm....at least 1 tablespoon..maybe more), lemon zest (half a lemon.....no juice!), olive oil and dijon mustard (I prefer the good stuff...Maille...about 1.5 tablespoons!).

Now it's time to get your hands dirty!  Dirty?  Ain't nothin' dirty about anything with garlic in it...and mustard...and herbs....nothin'!  Slap that stuff on top of the carrots.....

...and toss!

Then bake them at 400 degrees until they are baked golden brown....about 20 minutes.  Fresh chopped parsley.....voila!

Menu

Herb Crusted Pork Tenderloin

Cabbage Roasted with Garlic/Olive Oil

These danged carrots!!!

Nice glass of Chardonnay.....your choice!

WINE-ing and DINE-ing.....

We recently made a trip up to the cabin for a special open house at Chateau Morrissette....our fave place to go when up there! 

We had a wonderful time....they had an amazing spread of foods made with their wines....we also enjoyed trying out some of their newest wines.

The we headed over to the restaurant to relax, enjoy the views and to enjoy some of their amazing appetizers.  We typically grap a bottle or two of wine, some crackers and cheeses, then hang out on the veranda at the winery and sip, enjoying the views.

The dining at the restaurant is wonderful....and the wine is only slightly higher than buying it at the winery!  And the food is ahhhhhhh...mazing (yea...no pics....we were busy eating!)  I promise to get pics the next time we're up there!

Inside the restaurant is beautiful....

If the weather isn't so nice outside, the options for eating inside are awesome!  You can sit at a high top and have a glass of wine with some appetizers, or melt in to the sofa in front of a blazing fire!  There is also a huge dining room where they have all kids of great events, along with more intimate, cozy rooms that are beautiful!

There is also a beautiful terrace with the most beautiful view....but it was a bit windy the day were were there!

We were pretty stuffed, so we headed back to the cabin....we decided to have a pretty light dinner later on.....chicken with mango salso and baked zucchini and squash with red peppers and garlic.

We started off by making the salsa....we diced mango and green onions.  Then we added tomatoes, cilantro, and chili powder...

Meanwhile, we had a couple of bottles of Our Dog Blue chillin' in the freezer, the perfect pairing for our dinner!

Melinda was busy with our side dish, which was layered zucchini, squash, garlic and red peppers, salted and peppered and roasted in the oven.

Meanwhile, I grilled the chicken on my new grill pan.  They had been marinated in garlic, lime zest, salt, pepper and olive oil.

It was quite a colorful meal, but after a day of tastings (wine AND food), we needed something light.  It was the perfect way to end a perfect day in the Virginia mountains...with my two best friends!!

The only bad part was having to leave.....