Carrot Harvest Cuisine

Carrots are one of the most fun vegetables to grow in the garden. I love the nice bright orange color. I love that they will keep FOREVER. Okay… Maybe that is an exaggeration, but it does keep for quite some time. Or, I may like carrots so much because it is a veggie you can pretty much plant it and forget about it. Call it “easy-peasy.” Call it a little laziness on my part. But most of all, call it sweet and delicious!

The Big Mistake

When carrots grow, you may see these big bushy carrot tops. Some people may take this as a sign to pick the carrots, but DO NOT DO IT! Those beautiful carrot tops are just the beginning. I have made the mistake of pulling them up too early. All I had was a lot of carrot tops with an itty bitty carrot. Now, I plant carrots in the Spring. I let them grow well into Fall, and then I pick them. Usually it takes a couple months from planting carrots to harvest, so if you want a good rotation of carrots, plant rows of seeds two or three weeks apart in the Spring.

What To Make?

When it comes to making culinary dishes using carrots, the choices are endless. From “The Big Carrot Harvest of 2021,” I had a large basket full of carrots, so I grated ever single one. This gave me about 12 cups of grated carrots, which I froze most of it into 2 cup bags for later use.

This season there were two recipes from the Food Network that I wanted to try using the carrots from the garden – Carrot Cake Scones with Cream Cheese Glaze and Carrot Cake Cupcakes. Both of these recipes are a must try! For the carrot cake scones, I followed the recipe as written. I have never had a scone with carrots before, so I could not wait to try this recipe. The carrot cake scones will not disappoint. This is a great breakfast or tea time snack.

As for the carrot cake cupcakes, I altered the recipe slightly. No offense to Ina Garten, because I absolutely love her, but I did take a few liberties with her recipe. I did not use walnuts or raisins. Instead I used 3/4 of a can of crushed pineapple (drained of all juice). I could have use the entire can, but I snacked on some of it. What?! I could not help myself. The pineapple was calling to me.

When it came to Ina’s frosting, I did not change a thing from her recipe. Her butter cream cheese frosting is SO GOOD! You cannot mess with perfection. Also, if you do not want the frosting, then omit it. It will be just as good without it. And, you do not need to make cupcakes if you do not want to. You can make personal size cakes, one big cake, or little mini cupcakes. Baking time may vary, but definitely cook until you test the cake with a toothpick and it comes out clean. These cupcakes are super moist and sweet. You will love it!

Do not wait. Give both of these recipes a try. You will have a new found love for carrots.