Half-long carrots are the home gardener's perfect choice. The garden soil I have here in central New Hampshire is, after years of composting, about 8 inches deep, but the remnants of the last glacier in the form of small stones keep being pushed to the surface by the season's cycles of freezing and thawing. A longer carrot would develop split roots when it encountered these little rocks. These carrots grow 6-8 inches long and very fat. The last one I cooked, just one, gave us side dishes of carrots for two meals. I was concerned that over the long season the carrots would get tough and woody but this was not the case; after the first couple of frosts in the fall, they became very sweet and tasty. I think I will stagger the plantings a bit next year and harvest more at early stages. I got a few deformed carrots due to meetings with the aforementioned rocks, but c'est la vie. I had no problems with pests. The carrots lasted quite well in the cellar and I still have a large bag left in the refrigerator.
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| Two different varieties of half-long type carrots. Maybe the Danvers were a bit tastier in the long run, but the Sweet Treat Hybrids were a little better picked early. |
Most of the time, plain old carrots suit me just fine, and of course I add them to soups and stews. Occasionally I'll make a carrot cake. I looked in some vintage cookbooks for carrot recipes and found one that I'll share with you.
Scalloped vegetables were and are an old time favorite.
Scalloped carrots:
4 cups cooked mashed carrots.
1 1/3 cup of the cooking water
16 soda crackers crushed fine, either by rolling or in a food processocr
1 small onion, chopped fine
2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 tbs light cream or evaporated milk
salt and pepper to taste
Mix all the ingredients and pour into a greased casserole dish. Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes.
