teeny weenies & BIG FATTIES

Carrots are a favorite garden staple in our family. Although they take several months to grow from seed, they are well worth the wait: pulling the long, brightly colored root veggies from the ground is almost as good as finding buried treasure. In the summer, my kids enjoy them as cold, crunchy snacks perfect for outings to the park and beach. When winter arrives we look forward to chunky carrots rounding out our soups and stews. Luckily, in our climate, we can grow carrots year round. Succession planting ensures that we don't run out.

Picking the growing site is key to carrot success, though. In early spring I uncovered a spare patch of rather sandy dirt that was partially shaded by grapevines. Without much thought, I scattered carrot seeds in the soil, and we waited... waited... waited... waited... and waited some more. When my children couldn't wait another day longer (early summer), I finally conceded and let them pull them up. This is a photo what they gleaned.


As you can see, although they spent lots of time in the soil, these baby carrots... well... they never grew past babyhood. With boisterous belly laughs, my children declared them to be "teeny weenies." They finished sifting through the soil with their fingers, picking out the little gems, screaming "teeny weenie" with each new find. I'm sure the neighbors wondered what was going on. They're not much to look at, but these carrots did make a great side dish that evening.

When we built our raised beds, however, we also planted a twelve foot square section with carrots. That may seem like a lot of square footage devoted to just one root, and it is, but at the rate we go through them it seems like we can never have too many carrots. With the rich, loose soil and full sun, our results were much improved. Here are my children having a typical afternoon snack. The carrots are almost as long as the kids are tall, and they drag the treats around the house as they munch, a lá Bugs Bunny. I occasionally find a green and withered carrot top strewn under the dresser or discarded in a toy box, but I really don't care: what healthier after school snack could there be?

For these extra large, juicy carrots, my children have coined the phrase "BIG FATTIES." I realize this label is not PC, and I declare--for the record--that they did not learn that term from me. In this case, however, the name seems both appropriate... and apt.


There are a few notes I wanted to point out about our friends, the carrots. First, carrots are especially great to for your home garden because they can stay in the ground in mild climates for exactly as long--or as short a time--as you desire. They are not one of those fussy crops, like green beans or tomatoes, which need to be harvested on a specific day in their development. Carrots you can plant and leave alone. Pull them up early if you just can't wait. Or you can do as we do, and leave most of them in the ground until you need them.

As our summer gluts of tomatoes and cucumbers begin to dry up, I can rest assured knowing we'll have plenty of carrots to eat in the month of September while we eagerly await the maturity of our newly-planted fall crops. Unless you live in an area that receives lots of snow and ice, you can even leave your carrots in the ground throughout the winter (this is called overwintering). No need to freeze or store these babies... just leave them alone, and they'll still be there when you want them. How easy is that?

One final note on carrots, and this is a pet peeve of mine. There seems to be a universal belief out there that carrots need to be peeled before they are eaten, raw or cooked. That couldn't be farther from the truth! Much of a carrot's nutritional value and fiber are in its outer layers of skin. Peeling is done for cosmetic purposes only, which seems like a sad reason to slice off and throw away so much of what you've just grown (or purchased). If you're concerned about smudges of dirt left on your carrots, run them under hot water and give them a good scrubbing. That's all you need to do!

I'll leave you with my favorite recipe for carrots. This one is handed down from my grandmother. It's super easy and always pleasing, no matter the season.

Sunshine Carrots

Ingredients:
Fresh carrots, large or small, any color
Salted butter
Brown sugar

Remove tops and scrub carrots clean.
If carrots are very large, cut them into smaller pieces as desired (either lengthwise or into rounds).
Toss into boiling water in saucepan on the stove; cook until fork-tender, but not mushy.
Turn off heat. Drain water, keeping carrots in sauce pan.
Add a few pats of salted butter to the pan and stir gently until carrots are lightly coated, but not dripping.
Sprinkle a few spoonfuls of light brown sugar over the carrots. Turn heat to low and cook, stirring, until butter and sugar have melted together and formed a glaze.

Sunshine carrots make a great side to any beef or poultry dish.
They are also good reheated in the microwave the next day for lunch.
Enjoy!