Sweet Carrots

Amidst all the hullabaloo of this busy, noisy world, all the struggle to get through the day’s lists, all the striving to make a name for yourself and get ahead (of what? of who?), all the partaking of the roaring stream of texts and e-mails and Facebook posts and entertainment, sometimes the greatest pleasure comes down to simply this— the taste and crunch of a sweet fresh carrot.

 

In the vegetable world, there are many members who you can mostly count on. The difference between any two zucchinis, heads of cabbage, peppers, onions, in my experience is relatively small. But I find a yawning gap between the incarnations of three different vegetables, so that the gift of a fresh, tasty, sweet and succulent one is like an offering from the Gods. My list?

 

• Tomatoes— Those pale, anemic excuses for tomatoes that sometimes find themselves in grocery stores can’t hold a candle to the ruby, red, juicy ones fresh off the vine. Extra credit if they’re the “early girls” variety.

 

• Corn— Growing up in New Jersey, there was some statewide pride in our corn, rivaled by my wife’s home state of Michigan. Sweet corn should live up to its name and not try to get by disguised as its starch cousin. In the past few decades, the corn that appears in California has narrowed the gap between the authentic and the passable. Don’t know how or why, but I’m happy.

 

• And then carrots. Still a mystery, as I’ve not found a consistency in any of my local grocery stores. Seems to be the luck of the draw, though lately (shh! don’t tell) if I buy loose carrots in a bin, I snap off a small bite to taste before buying. (With my clean fingers, just to be clear.) And this last batch was the jackpot. I grabbed one before my afternoon walk and believe that its deep sweetness with nothing added (not even salt) was enough to make me a better human being. Or at least a happier one.

 

I’m sure there’s more to say about celery, cucumbers, avocados and more, but I’ll stop here with this little homage to the carrot. Long may it prosper!