What's to love about carrots? Everything

There are moments in life when our preconceptions are wiped clean by a single bite of food.

For me, the day I pulled a slender carrot from the dirt, brushed it off and took a bite was such a moment. As I snapped off a chunk, sweet juices with hints of fruitiness and a kick of mild black pepper flooded in. The crisp flesh had none of the bitterness or woodiness of the carrots I'd been eating all winter. Like all vegetables, carrots have a shining moment, and that moment is fleeting.

Carrots are a workhorse in the kitchen. Open my vegetable drawer on any given day and you'll find a bag of carrots, patiently waiting to be thrown into a soup or salad. But spring brings the first bunches of ultra-fresh, finger-sized carrots to stores, ready to make you fall in love with carrots all over again. We'll have to wait a minute for the local carrots to pop up at farmers markets, but California carrots make for a tasty dress rehearsal.

Let's take a minute to appreciate the humble carrot, glorious and colorful as it is.

The vegetable's colorful past

We know it as a weed, but Queen Anne's lace is the wild grandmother of carrots and can still crossbreed with garden carrots.

Carrot cultivation tracks back to around 3000 B.C. in Iran and Afghanistan, and its popularity quickly spread. Early carrots were valued more for their seeds and leaves than the root. They're a close relative to parsley and cilantro; carrot tops can be used in place of parsley, so don't throw them away.

Those first carrots were purple or yellow, not orange. There's a colorful story crediting the Dutch with creating orange carrots in the 16th century as a tribute to their ruling family, the House of Orange, but it's only a lively bit of fiction. The House of Orange did give the orange carrot some "branding" and class by naming it the "royal vegetable," but orange carrots started appearing in Spanish and Italian paintings in the 15th century. The Dutch bred some delicious varieties and helped popularize the orange carrot via their fleets of merchant ships.

In the United States, before World War I, carrots were grown more to feed animals than humans. Europeans were encouraged to grow and cook with carrots to stay nourished during wartime, and after both world wars, American soldiers came home with a taste for the vegetable.

Fast-forward to 1986, when California farmer Mike Yurosek had more undersized carrots than he could sell to soup companies. He worked with processing and packaging experts to come up with what we call "baby carrots," which are regular carrots cut and machine-sanded to make them into stubs. In the intervening years, growers developed a carrot variety that grows to the perfect length and width to be cut into thirds, and now "baby carrots" make up 70% of carrot sales in the U.S.

A nutritional powerhouse

You probably think of carrots as being good for your eyes, and you're right.

Orange carrots are loaded with beta carotene, which the body converts to vitamin A, and has been shown to help prevent macular degeneration. Carrots are excellent sources of potassium, antioxidants and fiber, and have respectable amounts of vitamins K, C and D. Carrot consumption is associated with better heart health, lowered inflammation, brain health, good skin and increased immunity.

All that fiber makes it harder to absorb nutrients from raw carrots than cooked, and studies show that beta carotene is more concentrated and available in cooked carrots. On the other hand, cooking slightly reduces their vitamin C content, so it's good to eat carrots both cooked and raw. Juiced carrots have had the fiber removed, so it's a concentrated and easy-to-absorb way to consume their nutrients.

Go ahead, grow your own

Ready to get your hands dirty? Now's the time to start selecting seeds and breaking soil to experience the freshest, sweetest carrots from your own garden.

Before you plant, take a look at the many varieties to find the one that fits your needs. Because of our growing zone (Zone 4), you may have better luck choosing carrots with shorter growing times, like the Sugarsnax, or varieties that produce round or finger-sized carrots. If you like colorful carrots, try a rainbow mix.

Carrots need loose, well-turned soil. The seeds can take 10 days or more to germinate, so keep them moist as they sprout. Carrots taste best when grown in cool weather, so if you plant a fast-growing variety as soon as the danger of frost has passed, or as a midsummer replacement crop, you'll have sweet success.

Serves 4.

This dish makes slender carrots with their tops into a showpiece dish, roasted until tender and drizzled with tangy yogurt. When you buy your bunched carrots, cut the tops off, leaving an inch of stem attached to the carrots, and store the tops in a glass of water in the refrigerator, like a green bouquet. Otherwise, the tops will drain the water from the carrots as they "breathe" in the fridge, making them limp and less sweet. From Robin Asbell.

For the carrots:

• 1 lb. young carrots with tops, or slender regular carrots

• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

• 2 tsp. fresh lemon zest

• 1/2 tsp. paprika

• 1/2 tsp. salt

For the sauce:

• 1/2 c. plain, full-fat yogurt

• 1 tbsp. lemon juice

• 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 clove garlic, pressed

• 1/4 tsp. coarse salt

• 2 tbsp. water

• 1/4 c. carrot leaves or fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions

Scrub the young carrots and drain. Cut the tops off, leaving about 2 inches of stem intact on each carrot. Rinse the greens and reserve 1/4 cup for garnish, and use the remaining as you would parsley. Peel the carrots, very lightly, and use a paring knife to trim away any dirt from the carrot tops; rinse any grit from the stems. Pat dry.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the trimmed carrots on a sheet pan, and drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with lemon zest, paprika and salt, then toss to coat. Roast the carrots, shaking the pan to roll them around a bit at the halfway mark, for a total of 30 minutes. The carrots are done when the tips are darkened and the carrots are very soft when pierced with a knife. (To use regular carrots, peel and slice lengthwise in quarters to make thin strips.)

While the carrots roast, make the sauce. In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and salt and stir to mix. Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons cold water to make the sauce pourable.

Chop the reserved carrot leaves or parsley.

To serve, arrange the carrots on a platter, drizzle with yogurt mixture and sprinkle with carrot leaves or parsley. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 4 to 6.

When the heat is on, it's time for light, chilled soups like this one. The recipe is pared down to keep the carrot flavor at the fore, with just a hint of butter and a crackle of warming ginger to accent the sweetness. Swirl in tangy yogurt and sprinkle with crunchy toasted almonds for more textures and flavors. From Robin Asbell.

• 3 tbsp. unsalted butter

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 2 lb. carrots, peeled

• 3 ribs celery, chopped

• 2 tbsp. fresh ginger, coarsely chopped

• 4 c. water

• 1 tsp. salt

• 2 tbsp. honey

• 3/4 c. slivered almonds

• 3/4 c. plain Greek yogurt, thinned with water if needed

Directions

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion; stir and sauté, reducing the heat to medium-low as it starts to sizzle. Stir occasionally until the onions are soft and golden, about 10 minutes.

While the onions cook, peel and chop the carrots into chunks. When the onions are soft, add the carrots, celery and ginger, stir, and add the water and salt. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook for 10 minutes. Test the carrots by piercing with a paring knife, and when they are very soft, remove from heat.

Transfer the carrot mixture to a blender and add the honey. Cover tightly and use a folded towel to hold down the lid as you blend. Blend on high until very smooth and creamy. Transfer to a storage container and let cool; refrigerate until cold.

Toast the almonds by placing a sauté pan over medium heat and heat for a minute, then add the almonds. Stir frequently until the nuts start to turn golden and smell toasty. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

To serve, place 1 cup of carrot soup in each bowl, swirl in 2 tablespoons of yogurt and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of almonds. Serve immediately.

Makes 12.

Can cupcakes be classified as a vegetable? Let's not kid ourselves and just enjoy the moist, maple-laced cupcake as the treat that it is. These cupcakes follow the current style of generous swirls of frosting, but if you are more of a frosting conservative, make half a batch and spread it more thinly, or even skip the frosting altogether. From Robin Asbell.

For the cupcakes:

• Oil or shortening for pan

• 1 1/2 c. flour

• 3/4 c. sugar

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1 tsp. baking powder

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 3 large eggs

• 1/2 c. pure maple syrup

• 3/4 c. canola oil

• 2 c. shredded carrot

• 1/4 c. raisins

• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts

For the frosting:

• 8 oz. cream cheese

• 1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter

• 1 tsp. vanilla

• 5 c. powdered sugar

Directions

To prepare the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners, and rub oil on the top surface of the pan, so the edges of the cupcake tops won't stick.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and whisk to combine.

In a medium bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, then add the maple syrup and oil and whisk until smooth. Stir in the carrots, raisins and walnuts, then scrape into the flour mixture. Stir just until mixed.

Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on racks. When the cupcakes are completely cooled, make frosting.

To prepare the frosting: Leave the cream cheese and butter at room temperature until soft. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Scrape down the bowl and beat until there are no lumps left. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar and mix on low speed until combined, then raise the speed and whip until fluffy.

Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. Pipe in a circular motion, ending with a high point in the center of each cupcake. Continue until all the cupcakes are frosted. Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Robin Asbell is a local chef, cooking instructor and author of "Big Vegan" and "Plant-Based Meats." Find her at robinasbell.com.