Doris and Jilly Cook » carrots

Spring Loaded Carrot Kimchi

dorisandjilly — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 13:05:56 +0000

Last weekend I pulled up the carrots I had left to overwinter at my community garden. The boards on the raised bed were rotten, and my billy goat had offered to build me a new frame so I could put in my spring seeds. While I was grateful, that meant that I had to rip out everything still in the ground, ready or not. The carrots were a pleasant surprise. When I last checked on them a few weeks ago, they looked small, sad, lonely, and frozen. Turns out a few days of sunshine and warmer weather perked them right up.

We’ve eaten about half of the big ones already, in a slaw, a roasted carrot and beet salad, and as aromatics in yet another lentil stew. The little guys, being too delicate to cook, have found their way into a kimchi. We’re still finding daikon radish at our local farmer’s market, and carrots and radish are a natural pair. This is a quick kimchi that needs only a couple of days instead of the usual three or four to get just the right amount of tang. It’s tasty, too—I’m tempted to buy up all the daikon I can find to have enough to enjoy all summer.

Carrot Daikon Kimchi

Approx. 1/2 lb. carrots, cut into matchsticks (quartered lengthwise if small)
Approx. 1/2 lb. daikon radish, sliced thin (I used the 4 mm blade on my food processor)
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2″ quarter ginger root, shredded
1 dried hot pepper
Scallions, if you have them
4 1/2 T kosher salt
6 c. water

1) Dissolve the salt in the water to make a brine.

2) Combine all the vegetables in a quart-sized, wide-mouthed sterilized jar. You may think they won’t fit, but push.

3) Pour the brine over the vegetables. Remove the air bubbles and convince the vegetables to stay submerged using whatever technique you’d like (I find that a jelly jar filled with brine makes an excellent weight).

4) Put your jar on a saucer (to catch spillover) and let it ferment for 2 to 4 days, depending on your preference, in cool, dark place. You should start seeing bubbles (indicating fermentation) within 12 to 24 hours. Kimchis are happiest when fermenting at 50 to 60°F, but note that the cooler your room, the longer the fermentation will take. Stored in the refrigerator, this will keep at least a month, possibly much longer.

February Can Jam: CARROTS!

dorisandjilly — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:58:31 +0000

(Photo from Chris Campbell’s Flickr photostream)

Attention all canjammers! The focus of the February Tigress Can Jam is CARROTS.

Got that?

Yes, carrots.

The Tigress and I made this choice with both excitement and trepidation. The excitement because vegetables are new territory for many water-bath canners; the trepidation because carrots are a low-acid food, and therefore come with certain rules. So. Let’s be clear. No matter what you find on the internets, you absolutely have to add acid to carrots to make them safe to can. In fact, a lot of acid. So much acid, in fact, that the Tigress and I strongly encourage you—nay, insist!—that you start off with a published recipe, and tweak from there. (If you have a home pH meter and/or are a master food preserver, you get a free pass.) Think pickles, relishes, and chutneys. Once you’ve found a recipe you like, feel free to tinker with the spices, the balance of salt and sugar, the exact combination of vegetables, etc. HOWEVER, be sure that you are not reducing the proportion of acid to the food.

Let’s give an entirely hypothetical (as in, don’t try this at home) example. Say you have a recipe that includes 5 cups of carrots, 2 cups of cauliflower, a handful of herbs, 1 T of salt, 1/4 c. of sugar, and 3 cups of vinegar. It would be fine to reduce the cauliflower to 1 cup and add 1 cup of peppers, throw in some mustard seeds, and add more sugar. It would not be OK, though, to just add a cup of peppers without adding more vinegar, because then you’ve lowered the acid content (that is, raised the pH).

Um, if this is at all confusing, that means you should stick with the recipe.

Have fun, be careful, and remember to post your fabulous creations between Sunday, February 14 and midnight, Friday, February 19.

Happy canjamming!

Carrot and Red Cabbage Salad

dorisgoat — Wed, 13 May 2009 15:34:08 +0000

This is a classic, “Hmmm, there’s nothing to eat in my house. But I want a salad. What to do?” kind of dish. You’ll note that I don’t call it “slaw,” because in my mind, “slaw” contains green cabbage and lots of mayonnaise. Since this is based on a vinaigrette and whatever happens to be in the refrigerator, it feels more like a salad to me. It’s fast, easy, and infinitely variable.

Carrot and Red Cabbage Salad

1/4 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
2 carrots, shredded
1 or 2 scallions, or to taste
handful of herbs (your choice), chopped
juice of one lemon, or 2 T mild vinegar, like rice wine or white wine vinegar
2 T or so olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine everything. Let it sit for half an hour or so, then adjust the flavorings to suit. Then eat.

Carrot and Red Cabbage Salad, Thai-style

Add a hot pepper, chopped, and a cucumber. Instead of lemon juice and olive oil, douse the whole thing with about 1/4 c of nouc nam (fish sauce) and a splash of rice vinegar. Of course, if you do this, it’s no longer vegetarian.

This would be even faster with a mandoline, but I fear for my fingers and therefore stick to knives.

Carrot Yogurt Salad

dorisgoat — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 13:30:02 +0000

Put this one in the tastier-than-it-looks category. We have an overabundance of carrots, thanks to the CSA, and an ample supply of yogurt, thanks to the trusty yogurt machine. Thus, carrot yogurt salad.

Carrot Yogurt Salad

5 or 6 large carrots, or as many as you feel like using
a cup of yogurt, more or less
2 or 3 T olive oil, depending on how you like it
lemon juice
salt
1 clove garlic
cilantro or parsley, for color (it helps—that’s what’s missing in the photograph)

Crush the garlic, or, better yet, mash it in a mortar and pestle with some salt. Stir the garlic, salt, lemon juice, and olive oil into the yogurt. (If your yogurt’s particularly runny, you might want to drain it first). Meanwhile, shred the carrots, either by hand or in a food processor, depending on how you feel about washing dishes. Then mix it all up. Add the herbs. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes before adjusting for salt, lemon juice, etc.

Voila! An orange treat.

(Note that I’ve tagged this as gluten free, but that’s only because it’s my own yogurt and I know where it’s been. If you’re using commercial yogurt, double-check the label.)