Cumin Roasted Carrots

The date is March 16, 2020. The United States is in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Restaurants on the continent are shutting down. Schools are closing. My university has already closed and will be online for the rest of the month and into April. Boy 3 is a senior at Reed College in Portland, Oregon. They have closed for the rest of the semester. As parents we are worried that they will cancel graduation. But more we are worried about our child who is so far away and although I keep urging him to come home, he is adamant that he is fine where he is at.

Amidst that, hoarders have been panic buying and it is difficult to see these empty shelves and wonder about those students and families who already are worried about food scarcity. How will we feed students who rely on free/reduced lunch and breakfast provided by the DOE schools, or even my college students who get free food and snacks by our student affairs board? I just can see these hoarded cans of food just sitting in individual pantries and not being used until the cans rust, implode, and get thrown away by family members who are trying to "spark joy."

We all have purgers in our family (I am one). It is up to us to model less food waste in these times of scarcity.

I am starting with a simple roasted carrots recipe because I bought fancy carrots a few weeks ago and did not do anything with them. I like the smell of the cumin as the carrots are roasting because it smells like dinner.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. rainbow carrots, cleaned, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 tsp Hawaiian sea salt
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425 and prepare a large sheet tray with parchment paper
• Toss the carrots with oil and seasoning
• Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes (a fork in the largest part of the carrot will let you know when it is done)