As you might know, Boston had its snowiest winter ever recorded this year. (The pile of snow removed from the streets in the South Boston “snow farm” did not melt until after Bastille Day in July!). That meant I was absolutely desperate to see some sign of spring and was thrilled at the chance to go to the Boston Flower Show in March. It was like heaven on earth. Green things! Food for the soul.
One of the booths was Hudson Valley Seed Company, which sells seeds for heirloom variety vegetables. One of the things I fell for was an art pack of Kaleidoscope Carrots – carrots in a rainbow of colors – purple, yellow, red and white, along with well, carrot orange.
Oh, the ambitions one has for the garden while it is still winter.
We planted them in our expanded garden in late May when it was finally safe. They have a 75-day growing season so we should have been able to harvest them in mid to late August, but the few we pulled up (despite their giant green tops) were tiny, so we left them in the ground longer. We finally harvested them for a dinner party this week. We pretty much had to since we were digging up the garden for the winter. Sadly, with only a few exceptions, they still did not look like the beautiful ideal we hoped for.
The kaleidoscope ideal. Sigh.
(One of the farmers at our local market said this was likely the result of not enough nitrogen and we need to fertilize better next year.) His vegetables are gorgeous so he ought to know. That and i think we didn’t thin them properly.
None the less they still had gorgeous color, and they tasted lovely – very mellow compared to store-bought carrots. We steamed them in the microwave until crisp-tender and just added a little bit of butter. Our friends thought they were beautiful – a feast for the eyes and the tummy.
Gluten-less living (shouldn't mean less living) 