Awe Carrot Dogs, I was amazed the first time that I tried these a few years ago when I was looking for something I could bring for me to eat at an Octoberfest. I brought a few extra and people were amazed. Now, I bring these with me to any barbecue. I love my carrot dog topped with mustard, saurkraut and pickles jalapeños. This year, I am also making a heart healthy version of Beans and Franks for the Pumpkin Festival at our community garden. I use mini carrots using the same marinade and cooking technique below and add them to my wonderful InstaPot baked beans. The recipe for the beans is later in this blog.
So let's get to making some carrot dogs. These do take a little bit of prep, time wise since they need to be marinaded for a few hours. First, you need to cut and shape the carrot like a hot dog, I use a vegetable peeler on the end to round it a little. I like to find fairly large carrots for this recipe. Then, you need to boil them in water for about 10 - 15 minutes until it is fork tender. Next, make the quick marinade and put it in a container with the carrots and let them marinade for about 3 - 20 hours. If marinading the mini carrots, only marinate for 3 - 4 hours.
Then, cook them in a pan or on a grill. I bring them to room temperature first since we are just heating them up and putting some grill marks on them. Here is the recipe.:
Carrot Dogs
Servings: 4 servings
Source: www.pcrm.org
INGREDIENTS
4 carrots, cut to fit the buns
1/4 cup rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar and a dash of salt)
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
black pepper (to taste)
4 hot dog buns, toasted
DIRECTIONS
Boil water in a pot large enough for all the carrots. Lower the heat to medium and add the carrots. Cook until just fork-tender—you want them to have a snap when you bite into them. Remove from pot and run under cold water.
In a container with a tight-fitting lid, combine vinegar, water, soy sauce, garlic powder, liquid smoke, and optional black pepper to taste to make the marinade. Tighten the lid and shake until well-mixed.
Place the carrots in a container in which they can lie flat. Pour the marinade over them and marinate at least 3-4 hours, up to 24. The longer they marinate, the more vinegar flavor they take on.If the carrots are very thin, keep the time short.
To serve, put the carrots in a 350 F oven, or in a grill pan on a hot grill, until heated through, 10-15 minutes. You can also cook these in your slow cooker or pan in the marinade. You need to check on them so they do not get mushy, so it is not a set-it-and-walk-away affair. Cook until a fork just goes through the carrot but it is still slightly firm.
Serve in a toasted hot dog bun or wrapped in a lettuce or collard leaf, and pile on your favorite toppings, including mustard, relish, tomatoes, onions, sprouts, purple cabbage, and peppers or if doing the mini carrots, cut them up and add them to the bean recipe below once the beans are prepared.
Now to the baked beans. I love this recipe for vegan baked beans. Doing them in an InstaPot saves a lot of time.
From the picture, you can see that I made my carrots and cut them into small pieces and folded them into the finished baked beans.
Baked Beans Delight (InstaPot or Pressure Cooker)
Servings: 6 to 8 servings
Inspired by: Simple Veganista
INGREDIENTS
1 medium onion, diced
3 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 cups vegetable broth
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons mustard
3 Tablespoons Molasses
1 1b. dried pinto beans (soaked for 8 hours)*
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
3 bay leaves
DIRECTIONS
Using an InstaPot. Press the Sauté setting on your Instant Pot and add a couple Tablespoons of water. When hot, add onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until golden. Add more water if the onions start to stick. Add the smoked paprika and garlic powder, cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant, stirring frequently. Then, add the tomato paste and let is caramelize for a few minutes.
Add the remaining liquid ingredients, plus 1/4 cup water and stir. Add beans and put the bay leaves on top, so they are easy to find when done. Attach the lid, Pressure Cook for 40 minutes at sea level altitude (50 minutes at 5,000 altitude) and let is set once the heat is off (keep warm) for another 30 to 60 minutes. (You are letting the steam release naturally.) Carefully open. Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. Transfer beans to a serving dish. These are great reheated the next day too!
'Our Health is Our Wealth'. Treat your family right and add more plants to their plate.