Here’s some food fun that was created at the 2014 Roots Conference held by the Culinary Vegetable Institute.

In Project Carrot, gifted chefs took a look at the under-utilized yet extremely versatile carrot, creating everything from cocktails to Carrot Rigatoni with Carrot Bolognese.

While this photo looks like pasta, it is trompe l’oeil: What looks like carrot fettucine is actually made of long strands of blanched carrots. The “English peas” are an emulsion of English peas (a technique that essentially adds oil to pea purée so that it keeps the round shape).

To create this dish requires some culinary chops. But if your kitchen techniques are less than professional level, you can still make your own version of “Carrots and Peas”—with actual carrot pasta and green peas.

Start with some Barilla Veggie Pasta, made from puréed carrots and tomatoes (each serving has 20% of your daily requirement of vegetables). Serve it with a green pea pasta sauce an a scattering of green peas (they’re not yet in season, so go for frozen rather than canned).

If you prefer, you can make a version of the Carrot Bolognese Sauce, adding five chopped carrots to the popular tomato sauce with ground beef. Here’s a recipe.

You can also use a classic tomato-based sauce, a carrot sauce (substitute carrots for peas in the green pea sauce recipe) or a simple dressing of butter or olive oil. Just scatter those peas on top!

The Culinary Vegetable Institute (CVI), located in Milan, Ohio, is devoted to sustainable agriculture and building strong relationship between farmer and chef, is a premier venue for the finest in culinary experiences including dinners, wine tasting, weddings, events and functions. The combination of our commitment to

Here are the other creations from Project Carrot.
  

[1] Banana bread with chocolate chips and nuts. We highly recommend the optional chocolate glaze in the recipe (not shown) (photo © Lulu Durand | iStock Photo).

[2] Don’t want chocolate chips or nuts? How about blueberries? Here’s the recipe from Driscoll’s (photo © Driscoll’s).

[3] Fancy banana bread: baked in a rectangular pan, topped with ice cream and a candy garnish (photo © Good Food Montford | Charlotte, North Carolina).

[4] Make banana bread with overripe bananas. These are just beginning to get ripe enough. The splotchier, the better (photo © Baking Library | Blogspot).

February 23rd is National Banana Bread Day.

You’d think we could get a decent piece of banana bread in this town, but it’s surprisingly tough. Most of what we purchase at specialty food stores has only a nodding acquaintance with bananas. With no banana punch but a high level of spices, it could be zucchini bread.

One does do better at bakeries; but alas, bakeries are fast becoming extinct here due to low margins and astounding rents. So since today is National Banana Bread Day, grab the bananas and a loaf pan and start baking.
 
 
HOW TO GET MORE BANANA FLAVOR

One reason that some recipes fall short on banana flavor is that the recipe requires overripe bananas. When they’re brown and splotchy and unappealing, that’s when you want to bake. The more brown/overripe, the sweeter the banana flavor.

A trick for always having the perfect ripeness on hand: Buy the bananas before you need them. (If you’re lucky, you’ll find overripe ones that have been marked down.)

Once they become overripe, peel them, wrap them tightly and freeze them. They thaw quickly at room temperature when you’re ready to bake.

We always bake a double batch and put the second one in the freezer; we slice it frozen and cut slices as needed for ourselves, work colleagues, friends and neighbors.

This recipe was adapted from one by Charles Masters for the Food Network. We also love this chocolate chip banana cake recipe from Chef Pichet Ong.
 
 
RECIPE: BANANA BREAD

Ingredients For the Bread

 
For The Glaze

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan.

2. COMBINE the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add the chocolate chips.

3. WHISK the eggs, melted butter, sour cream, vanilla, and orange zest in a medium bowl. Stir in the mashed banana, then fold the mixture into the flour mixture until just combined.

4. ADD the batter to the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes in the pan on a rack, then turn the bread out onto the rack to cool completely.

5. MAKE the glaze: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, milk, vanilla and salt in a bowl. Pour over the cooled banana bread and let set, 15 to 20 minutes.

There is a transition between sweet breads and lower-sugar cakes that are baked in loaf pans, such as carrot bread and banana bread.

What’s the difference between a banana bread and a banana cake? The obvious difference is that the bread is baked in a loaf pan while the cake is baked in a round, square, or rectangular cake pan.

A less obvious distinction is that the bread style of cake, as a quickbread*, is leavened with baking soda instead of yeast, which makes them quicker to rise.

In general, loaf cakes or “breads” also have a denser crumb, a rougher texture and often less sugar than their cake counterparts.

While the origin of the “bread” style of cake is unknown, food historians believe that it was originated in the 18th century with housewives experimenting with pearl ash. The powder was used as leavening in quick breads from around 1740, long before the invention of baking powder.

Banana bread became common in American cookbooks in the 1930s, with the popularization of baking soda and baking powder, and very popular in the 1960s, when variations with simple inclusions (nuts, chocolate morsels) created simple but delicious snack cakes.
 
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*Other quickbread examples include biscuits, cornbread, muffins, scones and soda bread.
 
 

[1] Cherry cheesecake with chocolate accents (photo and recipe © Betty Crocker).

[2] Use chocolate chips or a chopped chocolate bar to make the glaze (photo © Bella Baker [now closed]).

[3] Make your own cherry filling with fresh or frozen cherries, or canned cherries in water. The recipe is below (photo © Oregon Specialty Fruit).

Prep time for this Betty Crocker recipe is just 35 minutes, plus another 5 hours and 50 minutes for baking and chilling.

You can make this recipe ahead of time and freeze it. To do so, first bake the cheesecake; cool and glaze. Freeze it until the glaze is set. Then wrap it tightly and freeze it for up to 1 month. Before serving, unwrap and thaw the cheesecake in the fridge for 4 to 6 hours.

If you want to make your own cherry pie filling, the recipe is below.

Make it again on April 23rd, National Cherry Cheesecake Day.
 
 
RECIPE #1: CHERRY CHEESECAKE WITH CHOCOLATE GLAZE

Ingredients For 16 Servings

Ingredients For The Crust

 
For The Filling

 
For The Glaze

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 325°F. In medium bowl, combine the crust ingredients; mix well. Press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of an ungreased 10-inch springform pan.

2. BEAT the cream cheese in large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the sugar and almond extract until smooth. Add 1/2 cup whipping cream; blend well.

3. SPOON 3-1/2 cups of the cream cheese mixture into crust-lined pan, spreading evenly. Carefully spoon 1 cup of the pie filling evenly overthe cream cheese layer (reserve remaining pie filling for the topping). Spoon the remaining cream cheese mixture evenly over the pie filling.

4. BAKE for 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes or until the center is set. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 1 hour.

5. MAKE the glaze: In 1-quart saucepan, heat 1/2 cup whipping cream to boiling over medium-high heat. Remove from heat. Stir in the chocolate chips until melted.

6. LINE a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Remove the side of the spring-form pan. Place the cheesecake on the paper-lined cookie sheet. Spread the glaze over the cooled cheesecake, allowing some to flow down the side.

7. REFRIGERATE at least 3 hours or overnight. Serve topped with the remaining pie filling.

Some brands of pie filling are distinctly better than others. A safe bet is to pick up an organic brand. The extra cost is worth it.

For a luxury experience, we use a jar of sour cherry pie filling from Chukar Cherries (it’s $14.95).

But if your discriminating palate doesn’t like any canned cherry filling, it’s easy to make your own with just 20 minutes of prep time, and 1 hour 10 minutes of cook time.
 

RECIPE #2: CHERRY PIE FILLING

Ingredients For An 8-Inch Pie

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the cherries in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cover and simmer. After the cherries lose considerable juice (several minutes—stir occasionally), remove from the heat.

2. COMBINE in a small bowl the sugar and cornstarch. Pour into the hot cherries and combine thoroughly. Add the almond extract and stir. Return the mixture to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently.

3. REMOVE from the heat and let cool. If the filling is too thick, add a little water. It it’s too thin, add a bit more cornstarch.
  

Cherry home fries. Photo courtesy ChooseCherries.com.

Both birthdays used to be bank, government, and school holidays. In 1971, both presidential holidays were shifted to the third Monday in February and combined as the vague Presidents Day, to allow federal employees a three-day weekend. Hmpf.

It’s tough to tie a food story to Lincoln, who ate only “incidentally.” He grew up poor without an excess of food. As an adult, he was so focused on work, it was tough to get him to eat at all. When he did eat, he nibbled simply, on apples, nuts, cheese, and crackers.

Although he never chopped down the apocryphal cherry tree, George Washington grew up the son of a wealthy planter, with all the victuals he could desire. While he was no foodie, he did in fact love cherries and other fruits from the groves of Mount Vernon.

So we’re keeping up with the tradition of cherry recipes, starting with an unusual one:

Prep time is 10 minutes, and cook time is 20 minutes.
 
 
RECIPE: CHERRY HOME FRIES

Ingredients For 2 Cups

 
Preparation

1. SAUTÉ the cherries and onions over low to medium heat for 15 minutes, or until the onions become a deep brown. While onions and tart cherries are cooking…

2. BOIL the potatoes in salted water until fork tender. Drain.

3. ADD the potatoes to the skillet with the cherries and onions. Add extra oil if needed. Sauté for 5 minutes on high until the potatoes are crisp.

4. SEASON with salt, pepper, and chiles to taste.
 
 

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Mushrooms offer flavorful excitement, and are a cook’s delight: They absorb a lot of flavor quickly, and can be prepared in so many ways. For starters, consider:

Mushroom salad atop a bed of baby arugula. Photo courtesy Olio e Piú | New York City.

Today’s tip requires no cooking; that is, no heat. It’s marinated mushrooms, also known as mushroom salad: delicious as an appetizer, a side, a sandwich topper or as part of an antipasto.

You can add other raw vegetables; we’ve provided options below.

Marinated mushrooms can be made with any mushroom (here are the different mushroom types). Unless you’ve got deep pockets, go for the least expensive, which are typically white button mushrooms. Smaller are better, since you’ll be cutting them up.

Of course, you an use any mushroom: cremini, oyster, portabello, shiitake or a mixture. We’ve even used enoki mushrooms for an exotic garnish.

The only given is that the mushrooms be fresh. Those that are beginning to brown or wither are best used in a cooked dish.

RECIPE: RAW MUSHROOM SALAD

1. CLEAN the mushrooms and pat dry. Place in a colander over a bowl and sprinkle with the sea salt. Toss to coat thoroughly. Let stand for about 30 minutes so the salt can remove excess water from the mushrooms. Brush any remaining salt from the mushrooms.

2. COMBINE the marinade ingredients in a bowl: olive oil, vinegar, garlic, lemon zest, pepper and herbs. Toss the mushrooms in the marinade to coat. (We don’t add salt at this stage because of the residue salt from the mushrooms.)

3. COVER the bowl refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

4. SERVE as desired. We enjoy it atop a bed of greens or in a lettuce cup.

Variation

Try this recipe for Marinated Mushrooms with Walnut and Tahini Yogurt from Kristin Collier of the blog ColliersMarket.com.