Freak of Nature or Food Stuff?

Freak of nature or food stuff? I found these funky-looking carrots at a farmers' market near Minakami. Aren't they weird? I have never seen anything to top this, even at Vermont and Indiana's most organic produce stalls! Vegetables like these seem even stranger in Japan where grocery shops only sell perfectly round tomatoes, uniformly red strawberries and entirely unblemished apples. But this fetish for perfection is balanced by a fascination with aberrations that only Mother Nature could author. These carrots are right up there with gnarled pines trees, wonky wood grain and rocks with unusual characteristics. Even orthodontia is fairly new here. I am sure a good peeler and a paring knife could ready these orange tentacles for a nabe or stew but there is definitely something off-putting about their form that strays so far from the norm.

On a more savory note, the farmers' market also featured eight different varieties of white rice. I am not sure my unsophisticated palette could distinguish one from the other but the new harvest, locally grown rice we bought from 'the mushroom lady' near our house was sublime. The white, glistening grains were a totally different taste experience from the usual, supermarket fare. I have never had rice that was so light, fluffy and flavorful. No adornment necessary.