The beauty in growing your own vegetables or getting them from a local community supported agriculture (CSA) group or farmers market, is that you get to try vegetables and varieties of vegetables that you never imagined. For example, check out these sexy carrots that I grew. Ya, that’s right, they are sexy. Vibrant and multi-colored! Ultimate food porn in my book. It’s hard to find carrots this gorgeous in a typical grocery store.

I grew these yellow, purple, and white carrots in my tiny garden that is located on the side of my house in the only patch of lawn that gets sun. The rainbow of colors affirms the awesome amount of antioxidants and minerals that are in these puppies. They are so sweet that eating them straight from the garden is a pure treat and nearly desert. If you don’t have space for a raised bed, you could probably even grow these carrots in containers on your patio. Just make sure that the container is tall enough so that the carrots can develop a root structure. Otherwise, they will be stubby. Womp womp.

The May issue of Bon Appetit features a very flexible recipe for roasted spring vegetables. This recipe inspired me to roast up these fresh carrots instead of gnawing on all of them raw. I also had some fresh spring onions, dinosaur kale, and baby bella mushrooms that were needing to be used up. The result was phenomenal. The roasting process brings out the natural sweetness in the carrots especially. And side note…if you have never roasted kale, Go DO IT NOW. It turns out crunchy like chips. Combined with a good dose of sea salt, kale chips taste like you just landed on healthy heaven.

Try purchasing carrots with the tops still attached. They are fresher and sweeter. And don’t throw away those carrot tops!!!! Wash, chop, and use them in salads and soups or in a carrot green pesto.

I doubt there is anything that can’t be improved by roasting.

Roasted Spring Vegetables (adapted from Bon Appetit)

Yield: 2 servings

Prep/Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of fresh spring vegetables (carrots, spring onions, kale, radishes, asparagus, peas, mushrooms)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 unpeeled garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon fresh herbs (such as thyme, rosemary, parsley, or basil)
• kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Spray a roasting pan with nonstick spray or drizzle with olive oil.
2. Remove greens from carrots and reserve for another use. Place carrots, garlic, onions, mushrooms, and whatever other vegetables you have on hand in a medium bowl. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle herbs, salt, and pepper on vegetables and stir to coat. Spread vegetables in a single layer on the prepared rimmed roasting pan.
3. Roast in preheated oven, stirring halfway through the cooking process, for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are golden brown, tender, and slightly charred in a few areas.
4. Remove from oven and serve immediately.