"A CARROT A DAY..."

“A Carrot a Day….”

            To paraphrase a well known healthy adage, sometimes a carrot may be almost as good as an apple, especially if at this time of the year you suddenly come in possession of a lot of them. It has been a bumper crop for carrots in my garden!

            Taking one look at the bucket of carrots, my husband politely inquired if I was going to start a rabbit farm this fall or had I made acquaintance with some horses that need a vitamin supplement?   Alas, “No”, I had to reply, this was our own fall supply and was going to be stored in a cool part of the basement. Carrots keep well in a cool place for months and we tend to eat a lot of them both cooked and raw.

            As a healthy between meal snack or part of a raw vegetable plate they can’t be beat for providing vitamins and fiber, with the added benefit of not too many calories and a crunchy texture that makes you feel that you have been eating something of substance. Our grandchildren love them and I always keep a closed container in the refrigerator with peeled carrots cut in convenient stick lengths for easy snacking. Actually, clean regular carrots, cut in 2 inch pieces and carefully quartered lengthwise are easier to bite than the machined mini-carrots sold in bags.

            Cooked carrots are slightly sweet and add both good texture and flavoring to soups from chicken noodle to general vegetable to lentil and bean soups. The flavor is especially interesting when enhanced with a bit of orange or other flavorings like ginger.  One of my favorites is a carrot and ginger soup, which has a lovely color and some of the consistency of butternut squash soup so popular in the fall.

                                                Fall carrot and ginger soup

            Sautè 2 sliced leeks (white and pale green parts only) and one stalk celery with leaves in 2 Tblsp. butter in a 3 quart pot for 5 minutes, stir in 1 Tblsp. finely chopped fresh ginger for an additional minute. Add 3 cups sliced peeled carrots, 2-3 cups chicken or vegetable broth and a cored but unpeeled chopped apple, 1 tsp. salt, 1/8 tsp. pepper and enough water to cover all the vegetables. Bring to boil and cook on medium heat covered for 20 minutes. Allow to cool a bit and puree in a blender, adjusting to desired creaminess with additional broth or water. Reheat with 1Tblsp. white wine vinegar and serve sprinkled with shredded coconut.

I like to mix in chunks of carrot in a medley of roasted fall vegetables.  It is an easy and quickly prepared side dish for roasted or braised meats and has the advantage of  one pan preparation.

                                    Autumn vegetable roast

Peel and cube in large chunks: 3 medium potatoes, 2-3 carrots, 1 sweet potato, 1 seeded red pepper, 1 red onion cut in 6 to 8 wedges lengthwise, leaving the wedges attached at the root base. In small bowl combine 2 Tblsp. olive oil, 2 Tblsp. balsamic vinegar, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 tsp. chopped rosemary (optional). Toss the vegetables in small batches in the oil mix and spread on a sided large baking pan. Sprinkle with 1 tsp coarse salt and roast in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes, turning the vegetables once during baking.

For the ultimate carrot treat of course nothing beats a moist carrot cake that can truly be classified as an all time fall comfort food.  So, no rabbit farm for me, but we are certainly well supplied with carrots for all occasions.

             (I. Winicov Harrington lives in Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)