Thinkings from my brain part two

I am very lucky to be able to share though my work, in the scheme a local supermarket have for sharing some of their unsold food from the day before, which is collected by someone at work, and then shared out with families who use our facilities. Because I hate food going in the bin, if there's any left at the end of that day, I can often be seen taking home a motley collection of bits and pieces to share with my neighbours and cook for our dinner!

I think, so long as you can detach yourself from the idea of the perfect carrot, anyone can take a slightly sad carrot, wash and peel it, and give it new life in a meal.  It may be slightly sad and wanting, but it can still taste amazing!

For example, things I do with carrots who've seen better days...
*Throw into soup. My favourite recipe is a butternut squash, carrot and cumin recipe, but to be honest you can't go too far wrong just throwing things into a pan with some homemade stock, or just hot water and a stock cube. My only advice would be, don't go too big if you're being experimental (unless you have some willing friends or family who'll help you eat up a vat of soup) or have some pots handy for freezing in portions. If I were super amazing, I'd use glass to freeze portions in, as is it, I tend to use plastic pots which get used umpteen times before they're recycled, so that's something anyway.
*Risotto is another fairly easy recipe to throw random veg into. You can always serve with bacon or sausages if you need your meat in the meal.
*Roasted veg. Any number of root veg can be thrown into a bowl and tossed in a little oil and herbs, then roasted on an oven tray. If you use what you've got, then eat time it will taste a little different, but it will most probably be delicious!
* Grate into other dishes. Things like courgettes and carrots are so easy to grate into other things. Bolognase, chilli, omlette filling, sausage casserole....
*Put it in a pie! I make chicken and veg pie. I'm a working mum, so don't judge when I say I usually buy the pastry (reduced, if i see it!).  A little chicken can go a long way. I either use leftovers, or poach some breast or boneless thighs. You can make a white sauce easily, or to be honest, I quite often use a tin or two of chicken soup (some of those came from work too!). Use loads of veg, saute together, starting with the stuff that needs longer cooking, like onion, or chunks of carrot, or grate the carrot in, and it'll cook quicker.
*Use it in baking. Carrot cake, muffins, most recipes are very versatile. You'd be surprised what I've used up in muffins, unless you know me in person, in case you might not be surprised!
*Throw them (peeled) along with an onion/celery/some herbs or peppercorns and some chicken bones into a saucepan or slow cooker and make your own stock. Add a dash of acid like vinegar or lemon to draw the nutrients out of the bones. 

There you go, at least six different ways to use up slightly (or very) sad carrots. What ingredients would you like ideas for? I might just have some ideas to share...

* By very sad, I mean the ones that are actually going a bit black on the outside. If they're not total mush, you can actually use a decent peeler and scrape that stuff off and still use the carrot. Ok, it won't be as good for you nutritionally as a fresh grown one, but it's still probably better than other things you might choose to eat. I dare you to give it a go!