After three years of living in Chicago, I finally managed to make it to the Green City Market for the first time yesterday and had a wonderful experience - I will definitely be making this a regular Saturday stop from now on! After only about 45 minutes of shopping, I had a handful of wonderful goodies including an array of salad greens (dandelion and beet greens), baby radishes, beautiful red and purple carrots, buttery oyster mushrooms, fresh cheese curds and the juiciest strawberries I have ever tasted.
Yesterday for lunch, I used the greens, radishes, and carrots to make a salad. When I was prepping the carrots I cut off the green tops and *almost* threw them in the trash by habit, but was overtaken by a faint aroma that was very reminiscent of parsley and decided that rather than throwing them away as usual, I would try to find some sort of way to utilize them. After some quick internet research, I learned that carrot tops are indeed edible and very nutritious and according to carrotmuseum.co.uk, are loaded with protein, minerals and vitamins. Unfortunately, there aren't many recipes online so I decided to make something and cross my fingers.
Fast forward to this morning - I offered to make my husband breakfast, but when he learned I was going to be experimenting with carrot greens, he very politely said he'd do his own thing... oh well, more for me. I ended up sauteing the greens with bacon, onions, and garlic, and serving them with a side of scrambled eggs and a strawberry smoothie. Overall, they were very delicious, and I'll definitely be experimenting with them again and thinking twice before I throw away my scraps!
Sauteed Carrot Tops (serves 1)
1 1/2 cups carrots tops (I pulled the leaves off the stem parts)
1 piece of bacon chopped into small pieces
1 minced garlic clove
1/8 cup chopped onion
1/2 jalapeno chopped (optional)
In a saute pan over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until lightly browned. Add the onions, garlic, and jalapenos and cook until onions are soft (3-5 minutes). Add the carrot tops and cook until slightly wilted (1-2 minutes).
Strawberry Almond Smoothie (serves 1)
1/3 cup vanilla greek yogurt
1/2 cup strawberries cut in half
1/2 banana
Handful blueberries
1/4 cup almonds
3-5 large ice cubes
I tbls agave nectar (or honey)
Put all ingredients in blender and puree until desired consistency.
