Christmas Carrots

Our favorite Christmas tradition

Spring awakens in the garden, soil cool and damp, ready for seeds. A carrot seed is so small, a whisper of the produce to come. Carefully seeded into neat rows, tucked in to grow, the Christmas carrots begin. 

As summer wains the carrots send out thick lush tops with vibrant orange roots peaking out of the earth. I check around the top edge to see how big and plump they are growing. My mind then wanders to the final harvest months away on Christmas Day. Keep growing little carrots

.The maple leaves have fallen and there is a chill settling in - the soil again is damp and cool and our carrots need a tucking in. I cover the bed in a thick layer of straw - about six to eight inches - dense and deep. A row cover or burlap sack is tucked in over, held down on the edges with logs or bricks, a perfect parcel to open on Christmas Day.

Winter settles in. The first heavy snow coats the world in white, covering our carrots in a thick blanket. The mound is still visible from the kitchen window as I plan and dream of harvest day.

The day is finally here. We wake early, the anticipation of Christmas gets us out of our beds. I open the curtain to see the garden still dark, waiting for our visit. We enjoy time under the tree, Christmas readings and gifts abound, a warm sticky cinnamon roll munched slowly as we gaze out at the waking garden. Gifts opened and bellies full, we pull on snow boots and coats over our pajamas. Trudging out to the garden, crunching through the thick snow, we begin to untuck the garden gift.

As we dig beneath the straw, the garden dirt appears. Soft and loamy, it feels out of place in this frozen snowy world. As the straw is moved aside, stark and green against the snow are the still fresh carrot tops. Ice and frost cling to the leaves, beautifully preserved. We grasp the green top and gently pull, revealing a vibrant orange root. The smell of fresh pulled carrot is intoxicating, sharp and earthy, sweet and fresh. We pull and pull, filling our basket with carrots. What a joy it is to pull each, we exclaim and ooo and ahh, like we opened the gift we always wanted from under the tree. The carrots have grown larger in the fall, and crisper and sweeter from the winter cold, their starches turning to sugar as the temps dropped. Once all of the carrots have been pulled, we tuck our soil back in to wait until spring, and make our way indoors. 

Indoors we make cocoa and toast, and de thaw around the Christmas tree, enjoying toast dunked into cocoa, a simple treat for a happy winter gardener. We dream and plan of the dinner ahead - roasted carrots with carrot top gremolata. 

Washing each carrot reveals its intense color, yellows, purples, and oranges all fading to a vibrant green top. If the tops are still fresh and not frozen (if frozen, parsley works beautifully), I wash and finely chop them, add two strips of finely chopped lemon peel, a good drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste - a perfect gremolata to top our roasted carrots.

Once scrubbed I cut each into long, 1/2 inch thick strips. I arrange them on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. I roast them on the top half of the oven at 400 for 30 minutes or so, checking for tenderness and browning. Once fork tender with a bit of color, the carrots are ready for Christmas dinner. We tuck in to a meal of short ribs, mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and gremolata. What a perfect Christmas Day.