Want to know a little secret? It’s a weird one: Keith doesn’t like cooked carrots, not because of the taste, but because he is convinced that they give him a stomachache. Sure, I could make rollicking fun of him (sometimes I do) but instead I always look for ways to use carrots raw so that he can enjoy them.

This year, our CSA farm has a plentiful carrot harvest (which is a good thing because the tomatoes got the blight). We always munch on carrot sticks, often dipped in hummus or nut butter, but we have so many that I’ve had to get a bit creative. I did cave and make a cooked carrot thingy with chick peas (I promise I’ll post it), but for the most part, I’ve been respectful to my husband’s weird carrot issues. After all, we have no mayonnaise in the house because of my mayophobia. What a marriage.

Tonight I created a carrot and snap pea salad that would go wonderfully with an Asian marinated chicken, the orange pan-glazed tempeh we tried not too long ago, or anything with that oriental flair. It did not go wonderfully with our rosemary lamb chops, but planning was not my strong point this evening.

Carrot and Snap Pea Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 large carrots, cut on the diagonal into very thin slices
• 2 cups snap peas, halved
• 1/2 cup chopped chives
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

For the dressing:

• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon tamari
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seed butter (but any nut butter will do)
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• crushed red pepper to taste

Whisk together the dressing ingredients and toss all other ingredients together with the dressing. Serve and enjoy.