I’m not usually a big eater of carrots for the sake of eating carrots. Normally I put them in soups and stews but rarely do I make a carrot dish. Not sure why.

Don’t me wrong, I like them, especially when they are fresh and sweet and flavorful as they are when pulled out of the ground. They just never seem terribly exciting compared to the usual bounty we get around here.

Last week, the carrots at the farmers’ market looked so inviting that I had to pick up a bunch. Then, my roommate’s CSA box came with even more gorgeous carrots. Suddenly I found myself with quite a lot of carrots to prepare. Luckily I found this carrot salad with harissa, feta, and mint on Smitten Kitchen. It sounds utterly addictive. I can think of about a million ways to eat it – on a picnic, tucked into a sandwich on a roll, alongside lamb burgers, or over a bed of greens.

Remember last week, I mentioned I was going to save my duck fat for roasting potatoes? Well I did render and save about 1/3 of a cup of duck fat from the duck I cooked over the weekend. This recipe for Spanish Roasted Potato Salad from Food 52 seems like another perfect excuse to use it. Easy and impressive sounding. This one calls for olive oil, but duck fat can never hurt.

The cherries have been great this year and I’ve eaten so many that I’m now ready to actually consider doing something with them – other than popping one after another in my mouth. Here’s a savory take on cherry compote from Simply Recipes to try.

Happy Cooking!

Image: Stevendepolo

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