Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Refrigerator pickled carrots & growing carrots

Gardening has made me love carrots.

It's true. I was wishy washy on them before. Eh, they're okay, crunch, crunch, but I lacked motivation to eat them. But now that I have discovered how easy they are to grow, I love them!

Along with okra, I deem them Easiest Garden Veggie I Have Tried So Far. Both okra and carrots survived extreme heat, drought and hail. Carrots even withstand cold. I didn't harvest these guys until mid-November (I kind of forgot about them and they did fine!). You don't have to baby these two veggies at all and they provide produce that lasts a long time.

Look how many there were! And that was after harvesting two batches before.


Hahaha! This guy cracked me up. We named him Patrick because he resembles a certain sponge's sidekick. We kept him on the counter like this until he withered away.

Their seeds are so tiny, it's amazing how big they get. I've roasted them, steamed and honeyed them, put them in soup and eaten them raw, Brady's favorite method.

It was time to pickle. We've pickled green tomatoes and okra as well and it's an awesome way to preserve veggies.

I used this recipe to the letter. We like our pickled stuff to be sweet, with just white vinegar and not too many spices. This recipe was perfect and I doubled it. The doubled recipe made 8 jars and they are delicious and tender-crisp. We eat them with every meal of the day.

 


33 comments:

  1. I don't have a garden and I don't have the yard for one, so I have to buy my carrots at the farmers market. I've never had a pickled carrot, though.

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    1. I guess a lot of people haven't. It has a unique texture and taste.

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  2. i'll take a jar please. These look yummy and so fresh must try them

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    1. LOL, I'm about to make another batch, I'd love to share!

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  3. I've never had a pickled carrot, but those look delicious!

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  4. I've never heard of a pickled carrot either, but I bet they are good! I love "Patrick!" So funny!

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    1. Theresa, I've only ever had them at Mexican restaurants but there were a lot of recipes online. Patrick gave us entertainment for several weeks, ha!

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  5. wow.. these are so yum! And the carrots looks so healthy ! Great job here you :)

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  6. I've never had a pickled carrot, but now I want to try some!

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    1. They are better than I even imagined! Light, crispy, tangy and healthy!

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  7. Although they look yummy I've noticed lately that whenever I eat carrots I start feeling nauseous. I love carrots but now can't eat them. :(

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    1. Awww, I'm sorry to hear that! Same thing happened to me with mushrooms around age 30 or so. And then onions at age 40. Bummer.

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  8. I have a garden but don't grow carrots because they always seem to get wormy. I really like them though.

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    1. Maybe it depends on climate and soil type? I've had such luck with them.

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  9. I love carrots but I bet that the ones you grew yourself are way better. I wish I could learn to grow a garden and do all this stuff. Yum!

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    1. Brady swears that the ones from the store don't taste near as good :) And let me tell you, I am no green thumb! If I can do it, you can!

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  10. I don't lie pickled anything, but I wish I did. They look really good!

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    1. It is a convenient way of preserving things. Brady is not a fan of pickled stuff either, he just wants the carrots plain and raw.

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  11. The recipe for these looks so simple! I am going to pin this and hopefully try them sometime soon. We just got a whole bunch of carrots, so this is perfect timing! :)

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    1. Thanks for pinning! And let me know how it turns out if you try it.

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  12. I've never heard of refrigerator pickled carrots. They sound very interesting. And Patrick, lol. Thanks for sharing at the hop, Steph. :)

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    1. Thanks Becca. Yes, Patrick was a hoot, LOL. I can't believe a carrot grew that way. And yes, this are interesting but GOOD!

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  13. I so so wish I had room for a vegetable garden. And thanks to one huge maple tree in our small backyard, I probably wouldn't get enough sun to even grow a proper garden. I still remember sneaking into my grandma's garden, digging up carrots, brushing the dirt off, and eating them right there. Pretty sure she knew what us grandkids were up to: she must have "harvested" empty holes often. ha but she never said anything.

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    1. Maybe you could do a small container garden? I just love it. How cute about your grandma! That is a nice memory. The first year we grew them, Brady and I were so excited something grew we ate them all when they were baby carrots, ha! This year we had more patience.

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  14. I have never tried this but it looks very good. I will have to try this soon! Loved the funny looking carrot!

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  15. I have never seen pickled carrots. Looks yummy! LOL at the carrot that looks like a little man...

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    1. I guess a lot of people haven't, but they really are good. I know, I can't believe it grew that way! Some people get veggies like Jesus or Mary, mine looks like Spongebob's friend, ha!

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  16. Your Patrick carrot is so amazing. It is unique. It looks like korean ginseng.

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  17. Ok, so THIS is my type of gardening I need to do. If carrots are hard to mess up, then that's my kind of plant. Haha!

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    1. LOL, mine too! I love stuff that practically grows itself. I'm no green thumb, that's for sure but I just absolutely love it!

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