This spring, I decided to swallow my doubts and get a community garden plot.
Hopefully, in future seasons, this will enable me to try out some forgotten historic vegetable cultivars. For now, I’m starting simple with a patch of hot peppers. Seeing how I can’t expect a harvest until late summer, imagine my surprise when I found edible vegetables waiting in the garden. It seems that someone abandoned some carrots last year and they over-wintered. While they could have been better cared for, I found plenty of useable ‘carrot meat’ and greens.
The purple tops on some of the larger carrot roots hinted at the varied and colorful history of the carrot. Some historians believe that carrots in antiquity were primarily white, yellow, or purple. The myth goes that orange carrots were bred by the Dutch to honor William of Orange, but that has little evidence behind it. Carrot historians aren’t really promoting that story any longer, although the Dutch did cultivate orange carrots. Unlike many vegetables that have been bred for appearances, carrots haven’t suffered much nutritionally as a result. The preference for deep orange carrots has come along with an increase in Vitamin A content.
The popularity of carrots has been pretty consistent throughout time. In 18th century Annapolis, carrots were grown by the likes of middle-class silversmith William Faris, as well as wealthy planters like Charles Carroll. Carroll is said to have been proud of his carrots, despite the fact that a visitor from England declared that Chesapeake region carrots were “in general, almost tasteless, and nothing like those in England.”
One of the great things about carrots is that they make the transition from savory to sweet foods with little controversy. The same sweetness that made carrot pudding a popular European dish later lent itself to carrot cake and the occasional carrot fruit juice blend.
This carrot bread is a somewhat less sweet snack reminiscent of carrot cake, minus all the icing. The recipe first appeared in a Hints from Heloise column in 1961. It had been mailed in by a reader, “Mrs. W. P. C.,” who said it had been her mother’s recipe “from Holland.” Heloise tested out the recipe and adored it. The bread was “without a doubt delux!… It tasted like orange and nut bread… I left another loaf plain. Great! It was moist and good,” declared Heloise after baking three variations.
With one and a half cups of oil, it had better be moist! If I were to make it again I might cut back on that a bit. I enjoyed the bread though.
I got the recipe from the 1993 edition of “Queen Anne Goes to the Kitchen.” It had been contributed by Jane Hollingsworth Voshell of Centreville. Although the Hollingsworth name implies deep Maryland lineage, I couldn’t find much on her other than she lived from 1914-1998.
Since my foray into community garden has already reaped rewards, I am feeling pretty optimistic. I doubt I’ll be finding free vegetables all the time but it was a pretty good welcome basket.
Recipe:
- 2 Cups sifted flour
- 2 Teaspoon baking soda
- 2 Teaspoon cinnamon
- .5 Teaspoon salt
- 1.5 Cup sugar
- 1.5 Cups vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 Cups grated carrot
- 1 Cup nutmeats or raisins, if desired
Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir in sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed in an electric mixer until well blended. Fold in grated carrots and nuts/raisins. Turn into two greased and floured 9 x 5-inch loaf pans or a large ring pan and bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour, or until bread tests done.
Recipe adapted from “Queen Anne Goes to the Kitchen”, contributed by Jane Hollingsworth Voshell
