Cooking with Garden Blessings of Bountiful Carrot Harvest

Blog Post by L Maui Gardener
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Year round growing in Hawaii means year round harvest. When the garden blesses me with a bountiful harvest of yummy carrots, I get cooking. Here are three of my favorite carrot recipes.

Carrot Nut BreadThis recipe makes the most delicious, sweet, moist carrot bread! The house will smell delightful for hours!

Ingredients

2 cups grated carrots (I like to put 3 cups)

3 cups all purpose flour (I like to use half wheat and half white)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3 large eggs

2 cups granulated sugar (I prefer turbinado)

1 cup vegetable oil (I prefer oliver oil)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk (I use soy milk)

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (great with cashews too!)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two medium loaf pans by greasing and dusting with flour or lining with parchment paper.

1. Grate and measure the carrots and set aside.

2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

3. Whip the eggs together in a medium bowl. Stir the sugar in and then add the oil, extract, and milk.

4. Make a depression in the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture along with the carrots and nuts. Mix with a spatula until combined.

5. Divide the batter between the two loaf pans. Bake on the top shelf of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until the loaves test done when a toothpick is inserted in the middle of the loaves. Remove the loaves from the pans and cool on wire racks.

Carrot Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 1/2 cups sliced carrots
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Steam carrots until tender.
2. In a blender or food processor, combine cooked carrots and 3/4 cup broth. Blend until smooth. Set aside.
3. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, parsley, basil, and ground red pepper. Add half-and-half cream all at once. Cook and stir until slightly thickened and bubbly. Stir in carrot mixture and remaining broth. Season with salt and black pepper. Thin with milk or water if needed.

Carrot Salad Recipes

There are many ways to make carrot salad. One of my favorites is to simply whip up a batch of homemade french dressing and mix it into grated carrots and raisins. Store bought dressing works fine too if you want to whip up a quick salad.

Another quick and easy recipe is to add enough mayonnaise to grated carrots to coat them well and then sprinkle in cider vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, and raisins. I don't really follow a recipe, but if I had to guess at the amounts, this would be my approximation:

2 cups grated carrots (use the food processor to grate them)
2 - 3 heaping tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Pinch of black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup raisins

Enjoy until next time!
L Maui Gardener

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