‘Vegetable Marathon’ – Event Announcement

Silpa of Anita’s kitchen who started a wonderful event called ‘Vegetable Marathon’ has sent it across to Seduce Your Tastebuds this month.Thanks Silpa for this wonderful opportunity!

Are you eager to know the ‘spotlight’ for this month?Then why not I start this announcement with bunch of proverbs, trivia and facts about the highlighted vegetable!!!

• Irena Chalmers said – “Eating ‘this vegetable’ a day is “like signing a life insurance policy”
• An Irish Proverb says- “Never bolt your door with ‘this boiled vegetable’.”
• Earlier this vegetable was grown as a medicine and not for food!
• The flowers of this vegetable is called-Birds nest,Bees nest and the Devils Plague!
• This is the first vegetable to be canned commercially!
• The Anglo-Saxons included this vegetable as a part of the drink that was taken to ward off devils and insanity!
• If you dream of this vegetable – it is believed to bring prosperity and health!
• This vegetable has the highest content of Beta carotene! and,
• Someone who says’ What’s up doc’ loves this veggie!!!

The last two surely gave away the answer to the riddle!Yes,the chosen vegetable for this month is the crunchy CARROT.

Carrot is the storehouse of B-Carotene which it is very essential for a good vision.By the way,did you know it is also used to treat conditions like Tonsillitis,digestive disorders and to rid intestinal parasites in folk medicine?It is loaded with nutrition and medicinal properties!

Carrot which is actually a member of the parsley family[Apiaceae or Umbelliferae] is cultivated in lovely colors ranging from black,purple,yellow,orange and white.It is said to have been under cultivation for several centuries .Read more on its history here.You already know about this wonder vegetable so I will go straight to the matter.

This month we are going to cook something with carrot as the main ingredient.It can be sweet,spicy,salted,baked,anything that fancies you.You have a whole variety of dishes to choose from.You can start with

• Baby food
• Juices / shakes
• Raitas
• Pickles
• Flavored rice
• Cakes / muffins or any kind of baked goodies
• Kheers / Payasams
• Halwas
• Soups
• Salads
• Snacks
• Jelly
• Main dishes /Side dishes
• Stir-fries etc

This list is sure long and tempting and if you have a recipe that falls under these or those that does not come under these categories,I invite you to share you creativity with us.

If you are looking for some inspiration,check out these links….

http://www.carrotrecipes.net/ http://southernfood.about.com/od/carrots/Carrot_Recipes.html http://food.sify.com/specials/carrot_recipes http://food.sulekha.com/recipes-with-ingredient-carrot.htmlhttp://www.carrotrecipe.net/http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/recipes.html
You already know the rules of the event,yet am posting it again for the benefit of the freshers.

1. Cook and post a Vegetarian or Vegan dish with Carrot as the main ingredient.Eggs are allowed in baked goodies only.Feel free to share all your thoughts and information on the chosen vegetable. Do you have an unforgettable incident related to this veggie?Then send it in too,we are eager to read it .
2. Link your post to this announcement and to Silpa’s event announcement page.Use of the logo spreads the message faster.
3. Send a mail to seduceurtastebuds@gmail.com with the subject -Vegetable Marathon,and the following details….

• You name
• Blog name
• Recipe
• Category in which it falls into [Like cake/desserts/main dish etc]
• URL of the dish
• A picture of your creation.

4. You can send in as many entries as you wish.Archives are also accepted.No need to repost the recipes,just add both the links to that post.Non bloggers are also welcome to participate.
5. Send in your entries by July 10th 2010.The colorful roundup will be published by the second week of July.

So friends let us cook some delicious treats with carrots and share it with the world.Eager to see your creations pour in 🙂

Happy cooking…