Are you a picky eater? Not necessarily in the food you like to eat, but more in the way you like your food to look? Do you only pick the best produce from the supermarket shelves, rejecting anything that may be misshapen or slightly bruised?
We often judge our fruit and vegetables on how they look. We expect our carrots to be straight, our apples to be shiny and tomatoes to be round. So what happens when fruit or vegetables don’t meet that criteria? They might be smaller or larger than average, the wrong shape, colour or damaged in other ways. They get rejected – by the farmer, the supermarket or the shopper. Despite outer imperfections, ‘ugly’ produce is just as nutritionally good as other produce. To waste this healthy, nutritious food is just plain wrong. As consumers, be aware that even if things look a little battered, they can still be delicious. Soft tomatoes are great for turning into sauce, bruised fruit can be stewed and limp carrots can be transformed into these delicious carrot cake cookies.
Carrot Cake Cookies
Ingredients
100g butter
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup white sugar
1 egg yolk
¾ cup high grade flour
1 teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup oats
¾ cup grated carrot, firmly packed
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C, fan forced.
Soften butter and use an electric beater to whisk butter, sugars and the egg yolk together. Set aside.
In another bowl sift flour, ginger and salt. Fold the dry ingredients in with the wet, followed by the oats and carrot. Mix well.
Spoon tablespoons of mixture onto two baking-paper lined trays (you should have about 20 cookies). Allow some space between each cookie, although they won’t spread far.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Recipe Julie Crean
