Carrots

"Carrots are my favorite vegetable of all the vegetables in my garden. I like them in salads, vegetable stew or vegetable casseroles. My favorite dish is Carrots Au gratin. I even like them plain, all by themselves for just a munchin' bunch of good crunchin' bunny snackin'. My son-in-law Brick, he loves them too! Carries them around in his top pocket all the time. Sometimes when I'm working so hard, as of course I do, gardens are a lot of work, he drops by, snaps his carrot in half, and we just savor, I mean enjoy, in a big bunny hopping way, the moment.

Carrots grow, like most things, from tiny seeds planted in the ground. You have to plant them in rows and place them a bunny paw and one half to two bunny paws apart. They like rich soil made up of sand or mud. Now, Grammaw doesn't care much for mud but, let me tell you the grandchildren and I sure do. Let's face it mud is a wonderful thing to those bunnies and kids who don't mind getting a little dirty.

It takes about 100 days to grow a crop. They are a hardy vegetable. They live through winters which are not too cold, not a problem to us on Sunrise Island©, I may add, and hot summers which can be a problem here. They are rich in Carotene which is full of goodness like Vitamin A, B1, B2, and more. Carotene is good for eyesight. So, it is important to grow, eat and protect this precious food for every critter.

Which reminds me, you gotta beware of carrot caterpillars, they are not a bunnies best friend. I guess they do something useful in the world though, every living thing does. I just don't know what it is. Grammaw says every living thing is a thread in her tapestry and every thread matters to the design. So, I'll have to go to the Library in Basket Burrows and find out about these critters along with leaf hoppers, nematodes and carrot rustfly. All dangers to my precious carrot crop.

That's all for now Kids gotta get back to my garden."

Bye,

Grampaw

Carrots Augratin
is made by taking three cups of diced carrots, or more if you have a big family like us, and boiling them for ten minutes. Combine six soda crackers, one teaspoon of onion salt, one quarter cup of chopped green peppers and an eighth of a teaspoon of pepper. Alternate layers of carrots and crumb mixture in greased baking dish. Pour two tablespoons of melted butter on top and sprinkle with one half cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese and bake for fifteen to twenty minutes. (Serves Six)

This recipe supplied courtesy of Mrs. Jane Juszkiewicz,
Cooking Bunny Extraodinaire!