The Noble Carrot

Why noble? Well, in spite of the fact that they are always around and rarely made to feel special, you never hear a carrot complain. Such is the lot of one who is always on the scene, there when you need them, and easy to keep in the recesses of your refrigerator.

One of the main players in any culinary life, carrots are good for cooking and equally good for eating as-is. They can be a regular addition to your non-cook cooking repertoire.

Wash (a little scrub with a brush may help) or peel, and you have something to eat… very basic and very good. Add a little peanut butter and your carrot is almost a meal. We can postpone the many ways to cook carrots until the weather cools down (it’s very hot here in Brooklyn). In the mean time, you can either prepare them as you need them or prepare them a few at a time so that, like a loyal and devoted pal, you have someone waiting for you unconditionally. Store pre-prepared carrots in the fridge in some sort of closed container.

Carrot shopping? Look for firm brightly colored carrots that are not sprouting. Raw carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, potassium and fiber. They may not make your hair curly (didn’t your mother always tell you that?), but they are good for your eyesight (she wasn’t kidding with that one).


Just as a footnote, the bags of ‘baby carrots’ that are always at the supermarket, are actually big carrots really really whittled down. The sometimes-white looking surface just means that they are a tiny bit dried out… but still edible, so don’t make this an excuse not to ‘eat your carrots’!