By April arrived warm. The crocuses came up by Wednesday — three Tuesday, a constellation by Friday, the white and purple cups in Helen's 1985 bed. The bees came out Thursday on the warmest afternoon, working the crocus cups, the south side of the house briefly humming with their attention. I sat on the porch for half an hour and watched.
Made a salmon Saturday — baked in foil with butter and lemon and dill, served with new potatoes from the bag at the Co-op. The salmon is one of the dishes I have rediscovered in widowhood (Helen would not eat it) and is a small unexpected pleasure.
Bill called Sunday with his spring report. The Connecticut crocuses are up too. He has begun his garden planning. We talked for an hour about pea varieties and tomato cultivars. Bill at sixty-six is one of the most engaged gardeners I have come to know through the blog and the standing Sunday call has become one of the small reliable structures of the week.
The blog post on the Helen-wouldn't-eat-this dishes pulled the kind of comments I expected — readers writing in to share their own widow- or widower-discovered foods, the small expansions of menu that outlive the marriage. The thread became a small civilized exchange of dishes that one spouse had refused and that the surviving spouse had come to. I read every comment.
The salmon that Saturday was everything I wanted it to be — the lemon and dill doing their quiet work, the new potatoes needing nothing but a little butter and salt. I have been pairing these simple spring suppers with whatever vegetable the Co-op has on offer, and this week it was carrots, finished in the pan with butter and a good squeeze of lemon. It turns out that lemon, which I had been putting on the salmon all along, does the same generous work on a carrot — a small discovery that felt in keeping with the whole of the week.
Lemon-Glazed Carrots
Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into 1/4-inch coins
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon honey or light brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Blanch the carrots. Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the sliced carrots and cook for 4–5 minutes, until just tender but still holding their shape. Drain and set aside.
- Make the glaze. In a wide skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and honey (or brown sugar). Let the mixture bubble gently for about 1 minute, stirring to combine.
- Glaze the carrots. Add the drained carrots to the skillet. Toss to coat evenly in the glaze and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the carrots are glazed and the liquid has reduced slightly.
- Season and serve. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving dish and scatter with fresh parsley if using. Serve warm alongside baked salmon or as a simple vegetable side.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 95 | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 11g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 175mg