Spring Carrots and Asparagus with Soy/Miso/ Butter Glaze
Cut up some carrots (preferable multi-colored) into batons. Put them in a pot, and add just enough water to barely cover them. Whisk in about a tablespoon of miso paste, a couple tablespoons of soy sauce, and a couple tablespoons of unsalted butter.
Crank the heat up to 11, and boil the water away (after about 10 or 15 minutes, check the carrots- if they are getting too soft, and the water still has a way to go, scoop the carrots into a temporary bowl and let the water continue to boil, until it's 90% gone.
While the carrots are cooking, cut up some asparagus (if it's thick, peel it first) into 1-2 inch lengths.
When the water is 90% gone, add the asparagus, and stir to coat the vegetables. When the water is totally gone, taste the glaze, and adjust the seasoning (kosher salt is probably easier to control than more soy sauce). Depending on the sweetness of the carrots, you may want a quick squeeze of lemon or lime. Or maybe they are perfect as is. Well, once you add some finely chopped mint, basil or parsley, they'll be perfect.
Then sit back, and watch your THREE YEAR OLD scarf them down.*
(*Before beginning to cook the carrots, you may want to make your three year old run around for an hour, deny the pre-dinner snack, then promise that she can have 2 Thin Mints if she eats her carrots...)
