Carrot Loaf

I recently posted about a fun retro cookbook I picked up at a charity book sale. It was published in 1972 by the folks at Southern Living magazine.The cookbook is full of simple and delightful vegetable recipes that were "created and perfected by homemakers from Maryland to Texas." and credit is given to the homemaker who contributed each recipe.

This recipe for "Carrot Loaf" was contributed by Sara Hancock of Florence, Alabama. She combines cooked mashed carrots with bread crumbs, chopped peanuts, and a few other ingredients. Then she spreads it in a shallow dish to bake. Simple!Sara Hancock, Florence, Alabama might have used her own home grown peanuts when she made carrot loaf. But I shelled some spicy hot seasoned peanuts to make mine...... and from now on I will always use these nuts to make this because the spicy crunch of those nuts was really tasty in this recipe!

Let's address two little issues before I share her recipe...

Firstly, I know it doesn't look like a "loaf." But "Carrot Loaf" is what Sara Hancock, Florence, Alabama named it, so "Carrot Loaf" it is. She suggests baking it in "greased molds or (a) shallow dish" and then "remove from molds or cut in squares to serve." So maybe if you use small molds it will look more like a "loaf." Secondly, when I first ate it, warm out of the oven, it was tasty (very tasty) but I didn't like the texture. The carrot part was too light, too fluffy. I put the remainder in the fridge and thought I probably wouldn't blog about it.

But I found that the texture had firmed when I cut some chilled pieces to go alongside a cup of Roasted Tomato Vegetable soup" the next day. And now I can tell you that "Carrot Loaf" is a really great finger food to serve with a cup of soup!CARROT LOAF

(From The Vegetables Cookbook, Southern Living Library, 1972, recipe contributed by Sara Hancock, Florence, Alabama)

1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 1/2 cups mashed cooked carrots
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon finely chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoon butter (I used melted butter)
3/4 cup chopped peanuts (I used spicy hot seasoned peanuts)

Combine the crumbs and carrots. Beat the eggs and milk together. Add the egg mixture and remaining ingredients to the carrots. Turn into greased molds or shallow dish and set in a pan of water. (I used a greased 7 x 11 pan and set it in a 9 x 11 pan of water.) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (I suggest placing it in the fridge overnight and serving it chilled.) Remove from molds or cut in squares to serve. 8 servings.