Carrot and Jalapeno Salad

Growing up we had a huge garden. I think I took it for granted when I was younger - I wasn't that interested in vegetables and it really only seemed cool when we ended up with the odd zucchini that grew to the size of a small baseball bat. Now that I'm older and love to cook, I'd love nothing more than the garden we used to have. Unfortunately, our tiny backyard doesn't get any sun so I'm stuck farming on my front balcony. We've had some success with potted tomato plants but this year I added a pepper pot. We have more jalapenos than we know what to do with. So I've branched out beyond the salsa and guac and found this recipe. I was really skeptical about it (I'm not a huge carrot lover) but the ingredients seemed interesting so I gave it a shot. LOVE it!! It's modified from a recipe out of the Herbfarm Cookbook - a wedding present from my old roommie and dear friend Per. This is delicious and healthy - a great lunch salad. Don't be worried though - the salad isn't spicy, as long as you de-seed and devein your peppers.

**Be warned - when chopping your jalapenos - wear gloves. No matter how hard you try, you WILL put your finger in your eye and deeply regret it. I skipped the gloves when making this the last time and my finger tips burned for days!

4-5 large carrots - sliced using a rolling cut (very small wedges). Note - if using larger carrots, you might want to blanch the cut carrots to soften them up a little. Fresh from the farm smaller carrots are a little more tender and sweet and don't really need the quick boil.

2-5 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
1 lime - zest and juice
2 TB olive oil
2 tsp honey
2 TB chopped cilantro
2 TB chopped mint
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 cup cold cooked brown rice (optional - I think it gives this salad a little more umph)
1/2 tsp salt

1.Combine all of the ingredients and let marinate for at least an hour. This salad gets better with time!!