Name: Maple Candied Carrots with Currants: #FallFest
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 lb carrots (peeled); 1 Tbsp olive oil; 2 Tbsp maple syrup; 1/4 cup dried currants

It's good to be flexible.

CMax (Carnivorous Maximus) and I are now one month into training Pakrika (Rika), our 13-week-old Labradoodle puppy, and it's clear that we have two different ideas of what a good puppy is. CMax is the stricter parent, opting for a long list of things little Rika must learn. I'm the easy mark with a far shorter list, and less exacting definition of what the commands mean. I humbly admit that when I want Rika to get off or get down, I only follow through with a firm “OFF!” most of the time. Every one in five times, I either won't notice or I'll be tired of saying “OFF!”, and you, sweet puppy, can have at it with shoes, and dragging pillows, towels, bath mats, and stray underwear from room to room.

CMax says “OFF!” and means it 100% of the time. End of story.

Paprika (Rika) at 13 weeks doing a little gardening for her human parents

I know, I know. You're thinking “He's right, Susan. Get with the program if you want an obedient puppy and good future dog companion.”

And you're right. At least on “OFF!”. That's a big one, right up there with “NO BITE!”, “COME!”, and “GO POTTY!”. But I don't have the interest, I admit, in being consistently firm on every single command in the fabulous dog training book we purchased. (BTW, If you live in the Bay Area, I HIGHLY recommend Mike – the author – and his classes.) So we've agreed to come up with a shorter list of commands we can mutually agree are priorities on which I will really, really, really try to achieve 100% consistency. CMax, for his part, has agreed to cut me some slack on the others. (For the record, just in case Mike aka Puppy Whisperer/Dog Trainer Extraordinaire is reading this, I completely agree that being consistent is the only way Rika will understand what we want.)

Now we just have to come up with that magic list. Since we are obviously training each other in addition to little Rika (does this compromising in marriage never end??), it's been good for us both to be flexibile.

Carrots at a Farmer's Market in a small Italian town, 2012

This little carrot recipe is very flexible too. It can be a side dish alongside a savory, meaty entree like CMax's dinner last night of ribs, or tossed with some cooked Beluga lentils and caramelized onions for a vegetarian entree. This is another great super-easy recipe for Thanksgiving, or any night of the week.

Cooking Tips:

Don't buy the slender baby carrots for this dish. Opt instead for fat medium length carrots.

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5 from 1 vote