Got Carrots?!

What to make for Mother’s Day?  One solution is a delicious Carrot Cake.  I can faithfully report that this recipe is the most moist carrot cake I’ve ever made – and it makes for a great father-child activity, too.

I’ve been on a mission to find out more about carrots.  I’ve been raving about the ones grown locally in PR.  A few places around the world celebrate The Carrot.  There is a Medieval Festival in Scotland dedicated to Carrots and St. Michael.  It is called St. Michael’s Carrots – The Feast of St. Michael’s. Of the ancient world overseas he was the patron saint of fisherman and horseman.  Much of the day was spent racing the horses along the sands, and pieces of sun-dried seaweed were used in place of whips to spur on the horses, which were ridden without saddles or bridles by their barefoot jockeys. In many parts of the world St. Michael is the patron saint of police officers including warriors and soldiers especially fighter pilots and paratroopers.  His feast is celebrated on Sept 29th.

There’s feasting and dancing; and special cakes are made for the occasion.  On the afternoon of the Sunday preceding the Feast, women and girls gather St. Michaels’s wild carrots.  Triangular holes are dug with a three-pronged mattock.  The Anglo-Saxons included carrots as an ingredient in the medicinal drink against the devil and insanity.

But Holtville, California dubs itself “The Carrot Capital of the World”. More than 103 years ago, a hardy group of pioneers found their way to the desert of California’s Imperial Valley where they helped settle a new imperial irrigation district off the Colorado River. From the sand and silt of the desert they coaxed fields of broccoli, carrots, lettuce and onions.

 The British developed high-carotene carrots during World War II in order to enhance the night vision of their pilots (via massive consumption).  If people realized the true nutritional value of carrots they would eat double what they eat now.  The British eat about 13lbs a year.

Carrots were first grown as a medicine not a food.  Carrots were the first vegetable to be canned commercially; they are a member of the parsley family, such as celery, parsnip, fennel, dill and coriander. Carrots are now available in purple, white, red, maroon and yellow colors.

A plant compound found in carrots, peppers, celery, olive oil, peppermint, rosemary and chamomile helps reduce age-related inflammation in the brain and memory deficits, according to a new study conducted using lab-mice.

Carrots have the highest content of beta carotene (Vitamin A) of all vegetables. Vitamin A helps improve vision, lowers the risk of prostate cancer, and keep the skin & tissue healthy.  Beta-carotene food sources of Vitamin A are deep in color, like sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, squash, spinach and mangoes.

The longest carrot ever recorded was 16 feet, 10½ inches (1996).  The heaviest carrot ever recorded in the world was 18.985 pounds, in the US (1998).

Grimmway Farms in CA process 10 million pounds of baby carrots per week.  Baby carrots are cut from a special type of carrot that grows slim. They are cut into 2 inch pieces from full-grown, young carrots.    Baby carrots are not peeled but rather buffed and polished by other carrots in their tumbler.  The tops are made into juice and animal feed.  The dry coating that appears on your carrots occasionally after sitting in your fridge can be revived by dipping them into iced water for a few minutes.  Since they are buffed, they’ve lost their outer coating and the whiteness is due to dehydration.

From personal experience, I believe the best tasting carrots are from places closer to the sea - [like Ireland and PR]  they have an explosive taste.   Since carrots are a root crop, they grow best in soils that are light and that drain well.  My soil is too rich and heavy in Woodbury and I’ve never grown a good carrot there.  However, for a better crop you could add chopped leaves and builders sand to amend the soil.  There are varieties that grow well in containers and heavy soils like the Thumbelina (golf ball-type carrots) and the Chantenays.

"Eh... What's up, doc?" 

Just curious, have you ever seen wild rabbits rob your garden of your carrots? Or is this just Bugs Bunny’s game?!  I believed that thief for years.

FOOD DUDE

George Washington supposedly was served a carrot tea cake in lower Manhattan on Nov. 25, 1783.  Recipes were not commonly published until the 1920s.  In 1930, a carrot cake recipe was printed in a Chicago Daily News cookbook, but the cake itself didn't catch on until the 1950s.

The Carrot Museum (yes, there really is one) credits Viola Schlicting of Texas with making the first modern carrot cake, basing her creation on a German carrot bread recipe.  Food historians think the carrot cake evolved from popular baked or steamed carrot puddings of England and Europe.

Here’s my version of a very moist and very delicious cake.  Happy Mother's Day!

                                      Super-Moist Carrot Cake

                                    With Cream Cheese Frosting

4 cups peeled and grated carrots

2 cups all-purpose flour

1.5 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground coves

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 large eggs

1 cup canola oil (I’ve used vegetable oil  -whatever is in your kitchen is fine)

I cup coconut (shredded coconut sold in bags is just fine)

1 cup of crushed pineapple (fresh or from a can is fine)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 recipe cream cheese frosting (recipe will follow)

Note: (You could add 1.5 cups coarsely chopped walnuts (optional) & 1 cup dark raisins (optional).  I like to add just the pineapple and coconut depending on the season we are in for one reason, omitting the raisins and nuts.  And depending on what ingredients you are using - too many ingredients drag cakes down soemwhat – I like to eat a very moist, yet airy cake.  You can use all of the ingredients listed, use some (nuts and fruits, that is) or mix them up.  Hope this makes sense.)

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease well and lightly flour two or 3, 9 inch round pans and set aside.
2. In a bowl, combine the carrots, pineapple, coconut, and if using – the walnuts and raisins.
3. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves,  baking powder, baking soda & salt.
4. In a third bowl, combine the eggs, oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla, and whisk until well blended.
5. Slowly fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture and stir to blend just until all the dry ingredients are moist and incorporated.  Do not over mix.  Fold in the carrot mixture and stir just until combined.
6. Divide the batter evenly between the pans and bake for approx. 25 to 35 minutes, until the cakes are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean.  Remove from the pans and continue to cool on a baking rack.
7. Once the cakes have cooled completely, use a long, serrated knife to slice off the rounded top portion of each cake to make a flat, even surface. 
8. Place one of the layers cut side down on the cake plate.  Top with about one-third of the frosting and spread evenly to cover the top of the cake layer.  Place the next layer, cut side down, on top of the frosting and spread the top of the cake with about one half of the remaining frosting.  Use the remaining frosting to cover the sides of the cake.
9. Serve into portions and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.  This cake keeps well for several days.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

2 sticks (1 cup) softened unsalted butter

Two 8oz packages softened cream cheese

5 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons grated orange zest or lemon zest

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1.  In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until light and smooth.  Add the confectioners’ sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition until smooth.  Add the orange or lemon zest and vanilla and continue to beat on high speed about 1 minute to make the frosting light and fluffy.
2. Makes about 5 cups

If you are in a rush, I think you can purchase a can of cream cheese frosting at the supermarket.