© J.N. Urbanski

My last radio show of the year on WIOX focused on favorite winter recipes from colleagues, neighbors and friends working in the food industry. Jeanette Bronée is a nutritionist and health coach, based part-time in the Central Catskills, who has appeared on my show a number of times in the past few years inspiring listeners to take charge of their health. She’s author of Eat To Feel Full. A small book with a big message, it’s “a beginner’s guide to self-nourishment, offering a combination of food knowledge, insights into the habits that block our efforts to transform, and practical techniques for developing a mindful, healthy relationship with food”. She picked a recipe that’s sweet and spicy, more like a dessert than a side dish with roasted whole carrots and sweet prunes. We used unsulphured apricots instead of prunes because you can really substitute any fruit that you wish and added a half cup of wine to the recipe. We served it with a small side of braised, local venison. As Jeanette said on a previous radio show, she eats meat “like a condiment” and, excepting the occasional post-hike burger, we’ve been taking her advice ever since. This roasted vegetable dish is luscious: sweet and filling, perfect with seasonal game.

Roasted Carrots & Prunes

10 medium sized carrots
7 medium sized, dried prunes, or dried apricots
1/4 cup of raisins
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon or two sticks cinnamon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons of oil
1/2 cup of white wine

Preheat the oven to 425F. Toss the ingredients except the wine in a large pyrex dish. Pour the wine over the medley and roast for no longer than 45 minutes.