One of my favorite
things about living in Istanbul is the amazing variety of produce found at the
local markets. Unlike America, where farmer's markets tend to be more expensive,
Istanbul street markets are a location where you can score vegetables fresh from
the surrounding villages for a fraction of the price. Last week, I bought all
that I could carry home with me for about 7 USD. Pretty amazing! Well one the
favorite things I scored this week were some amazing purple carrots! They are a
beautiful deep purple on the outside and fade into a tie died looking purple
white on the inside. To show off their splendor I chose to whip up a “Crazy
Carrot Salad” for lunch.
Health Summary
The main thing I like about carrots is their subtle sweetness, even
when raw. Raw carrots are a great low calorie way to get some crunch into your
diet. Carrots are a particularly good swap for my blood sugars, instead of
crackers and chips, with snacks like Hummus. So, to my sugar conscious friends
out there, happy guilt free crunching… in purple, white OR orange!
MYTH Introduction
Origin: Mediterranean,
Southwest Asia
Myth: Buddhism
Symbolic
Significance: Blood
The Buddhist Myth of Mu Lien
In ancient Buddhist myth, the remarkable depth
of color of the purple carrot comes from the blood of Buddha Mu Lien’s fingers.
While alive, Mu Lien’s mother ate and killed with no regard to the life she
was consuming. She was then sent to the underworld after her death. While his
mother was indulgent, Mu Lien was a pious young man who was a
devout worshiper of God. He eventually became a Buddha and used his power
to enter the underworld to rescue his mother.
Unfortunately, the moment she came to the surface, she
quickly pulled some white carrots from the earth and devoured them. Mu
Lien, afraid that his mother would be condemned to damnation for the rest of
eternity, cut off his own finger and placed it into the earth. The blood from his finger seeped into the surrounding carrots and
hence, purple carrots were created.
Ancient Carrot Salad
2 purple carrots
2 orange carrots
2 cucumbers
4oz of Goat Cheese
Fresh Middle Eastern Orange Dressing
Juice of 1 orange
Juice of 1 Lemon
3 or 4 TBS of Tahini
Cayenne pepper to taste [optional]
Black pepper
1. Cut the cucumbers lengthwise into long thing slices
2. First peel the carrots and discard the skins. Continue peeling the carrots into long strips [looks like spaghetti]. Be sure to keep the purple and orange separated.
3. Assemble the salad by first putting down the cucumber slices and then layering the orange carrot strips and the purple carrot strips. Sprinkle with fresh goat cheese.
4. Dressing = Mix all ingredients together and serve on the side of the salad.
