Carrots – Underground Wonders

Let me say this first thing; my favorite way to eat carrots is in cake. I love them other ways too – fresh and raw, cooked with butter and parsley, chopped up in salads, juiced, purreed and souped – but the best is carrot cake. Dump shredded carrots in with maple syrup, eggs, flour etc. (more precise directions follow in the form of the world’s best carrot cake recipe) and you can end up with something to celebrate, or celebrate with.

Carrots are really, really old. Cultivated carrots were selectively bred from wild carrots, Daucus carota, which are native to Europe and Southwestern Asia. The first carrots were actually prized for their leaves and seeds, not for the root. Archeologists have found carrot seeds in Switzerland and Germany that date back to 2000 to 3000 BC.

The modern carrot, which was purple, originated in Afghanistan in about the 10th century. It was brought to Colonial America in the 17th century.

Called one of the “World’s Healthiest Foods” carrots top the charts in health benefits. My Dad always told me that I could see in the dark if I ate carrots, which was not exactly true, but did result in my eating an impressive number of carrot – who wouldn’t want to see in the dark? What is true is that carrots are chock full of vitamin A, which will help prevent vision loss.

Carrots are fun to grow with kids as they germinate relatively quickly. It takes a little longer (70 – 80 days for many varieties) to actually get a carrot. Carrots need deep, loose, well drained, sandy soils. If grown in rich, rocky soils you’ll end up with hairy, misshapen roots.

Carrots now come in an impressive array of colors, shapes and sizes. In addition to orange, you can now get carrots in purple, red, white, yellow and black. You can get tiny carrots, smaller than your little finger, or carrots that have been crinkle cut, shredded or matchsticked.

I love what Thich Nhat Hanh had to say: “If you truly get in touch with a piece of carrot, you get in touch with the soil, the rain, the sunshine.” I’m hoping that it is true with getting in touch with a piece of carrot cake as well.

Carrot Cake

(This is a variation of a “vegan carrot cake” recipe that my daughter gave me years ago. I usually use real eggs but if you eat “vegan” you can always use an egg substitute. I also love to sweeten it with maple syrup and honey but you can substitute the same amount of brown and white sugar and it works splendidly.)

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup maple syrup (OR light brown sugar)

3/4 cup honey (OR white sugar)

3 eggs (OR egg substitute)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup light tasting olive oil (or other vegetable oil)

2 cups finely grated carrots

1 can (14 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup nuts and / or raisins (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients, except sugars
3. In a mixing bowl, mix maple syrup and honey (or sugars) eggs, and oil.
4. Add dry ingredients and blend well.
5. Add carrots, coconut and nuts and raisins, if using
6. Prepare three 8 inch round cake pans (or one 13″ x 9″ sheet pan). Pour batter into pans and bake 25 – 30 minutes for rounds, 40 minutes for sheet or until toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool before frosting.
7. Frost with cream cheese icing (Mix together 8 ounces cream cheese, 1/2 stick butter, 4 cups XXX sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 3 or more tablespoons milk.)