Harvesting carrots took longer than I expected as a first-time grower, even when it says "easy to pull" right on the seed packet! You pull up the root vegetable to find it inundated with dirt and, well, roots. Far from the clean, peeled, consistently shaped and sized carrots you see bagged and ready at the grocery store or produce market. It occurs to me now that all the carrots I've been buying have been glamorized. Even more plentiful than the orange (or purple or white) "meat" is the carrot top. The ratio of carrot top to carrot flesh definitely requires some creative problem solving.

What to do with all these tops?

Tacos: Carrot top greens are my new favorite taco topping. I even ended up shredding some of the carrots themselves to throw in. It's a quick and easy way to add unexpected freshness and crunch to a weekly staple. Taco Tuesdays just got classy.

Carrot Top Pesto: Pesto is traditionally made with basil as its sole green. However, if you've ever munched a leaf you can attest, basil is not subtle. Unless you're planning to make a vat of pesto, you just don't need to add that much basil before the flavor becomes intense. Rounding out the pesto's composition with carrot greens, though, makes for a little magic.

Curry & Stir Fry: From Taco Tuesday to Stir Friday, it seems there's use for carrot tops every day of the week. Just chop 'em up and chuck 'em in.

Quiche: It's a no-brainer, especially for quiche lorraine.

Smoothies: Yes, smoothies. Hidden there amongst the naturally sweet strawberries, peaches and mangoes are vitamin treasure troves: greens! Greens with the mildest flavors make for the best smoothie additives. Spinach and carrot tops are hardly discernible there amongst the yummy stuff. For any finicky types, make sure to blend until invisible to the eye.

Carrot Top Pesto

¼ C. cashews or pine nuts, chopped

2 C. carrot tops, chopped

¼ C. basil leaves

2 garlic cloves

## lemon juice

⅓ C. parmesan cheese, grated

½ C. olive oil

1 tsp. Chili garlic sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Roast and chop nuts.

Do this in your food processor or blender, whatever's clever (I'm using a Nutribullet) blend all ingredients until pureed, adding olive oil gradually until the desired texture is achieved.

Pesto will brown from exposure. To keep it looking as fresh as it's tasting, add a layer of olive oil and then store in the refrigerator or freezer for up to two weeks.

Pesto is great as a dip for crackers, or over pasta.