Nice and Simple: Grated Carrot and Mayo Salad

My mother went to what I jokingly called ‘housewifery school’ (something like today’s Domestic Science, I suppose) in her teens. Come to think of it, perhaps she was the original domestic goddess (unlike me), along with many of her generation.
When it came to stretching the food, she had all sorts of tricks up her sleeve, and was the mother of many a scrumptious invention. This is one of them. Why spend ridiculous money for a sandwich spread that can be made quickly and cheaply, whether you profess to be able to cook or not?
I cooked carrots and garden peas to go with my other half’s liver and onions yesterday, and reserved a carrot, and a generous helping of peas for my Grated Carrot Salad.

Grated Carrot and Mayo Salad

Grated carrot
Cooled cooked garden peas (tinned can be used)
Light mayonnaise, enough to make a nice mix (not too little!)

Combine the lot and heap onto a slice of toasted gluten free bread (I find it difficult to swallow shop bought gluten free bread unless it’s toasted first), and put the rest aside for again. It’s a nice addition to green salads, too.

I had the grated carrot salad for breakfast today. A nice, fresh start to my day.

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The carrots I buy - or we grow - are always orange. Sometimes of slightly different hues, but orange none-the-less. Yet, I read that carrots are usually orange, purple, red, white or yellow. Purple, red, white or yellow? I knew that these were the original colours, and that the orange coloured carrot was developed in Holland in the 17th century, but I have yet to see any other colour carrot being sold locally.

Did you know… that cooked carrots are more nutritious than raw (unless juiced)? This is because the body can’t break down the fibrous nature of the carrot.

The wild carrot probably originated in Far East – and only arrived in the UK in the mid 17th century (first sown in Beckington, Somerset). The old man that brought the first seeds (and remains unknown) probably didn’t know that he brought a goldmine of nutrients to our diets.
Carrots have lots of important vitamins and minerals, particularly the antioxidants Beta Carotene, Alpha Carotene, Phytochemicals and Glutathione, Calcium and Potassium, and vitamins A, B1, B2, C, and E ( also considered antioxidants), as well as a form of easily absorbable calcium and not forgetting Copper, Iron, Magnesium and Manganese, Phosphorous.and Sulphur.

Tip: By boiling carrots whole, then slicing them after cooling, you increase their anti-cancer properties by 25%.