Praised Vegetables

There has been much great writing lately about the local food movement and the societal evils of number two corn. During the summer, you can't swing a hoe without bumping up against odes to local heirloom tomatoes (and, as my mom likes to say, "I don't disagree"). But some veggies get short shrift. Yes, the blog is called The Weekly Meat, but I'd like to praise the orange root veggie we grow  from seed in our modest middle-urban backyard, because the difference between a fresh local carrot and the orange imposters we find in our grocer's produce aisle is like the difference between a Santarpio's grilled sausage pizza, and, well, Wonder bread with a slice of "pasteurized process cheese food product" on it.

Our carrots taste like carrots were meant to — sweet and crisp, but also rooty and earthy, with a hint of bitterness toward the top. Bagged, shipped-cross-country grocery store carrots taste like the idea of a carrot. They have the texture but not the soul.

This is all somewhat new to me. I'll admit to not fully appreciating (okay, not liking) too much in the way of vegetables until well into my sideburns years. Growing up, I made my mom's compulsory nightly iceberg lettuce salad palatable by drizzling over it not dressing but applesauce. But at some point (read: college), as my mind expanded, my stomach — realizing it could not remain trapped in puberty forever — grew up too.

I'm not a veggie freak, but I am a food freak, and these days (perusals of a certain daily specials menu aside) it's tough for me to eat well without also eating right. Not just well-balanced meals, but locally-grown, mostly in-season meals.

The following recipe* works just fine w/store-bought everything — hell, give it a shot today if you need a quick starter — but try it sometime with real carrots, local to your yard or a nearby farm. You won't be able to ignore the difference.

BK's Quick Carrot Soup

1 lb carrots, cut into large chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic (~Tblsp), chopped
1/2" nub of fresh ginger (~tsp), chopped
1 qt. chix stock (homemade or boxed)
1 dollop light sour cream (~1/3 C)
salt/pepper to taste
spice to taste (pinch of cumin or curry if you go in for that sort of thing)
fresh chive if you've got it

1. Add a splash of olive earl to a (>3 qt) soup pot and saute the onion for a few minutes. Add garlic and ginger and continue sauteeing for another minute or so. Then add carrots, and saute for ~5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Add stock to the pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat, and let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour (until the carrots are soft, but not mush).

3. In two batches, transfer the contents to a blender, add a dollop of sour cream, and blend until the soup is pureed. Add salt/pepper to taste, pinch of cumin or whatever tilts your kilt.

4. Top soup w/fresh cut chives if you've got em, and eat.

Serves 4

* I'm really not big on writing down (or following) recipes, so forgive me if this seems roughly remembered (it is).

Comments

[milena Nuti]

great looking carrots - proper what's up doc material

recipe sounds delicious too, will give it a go soon.

unfortunately don't think i can get carrots to grow in our windowboxes...