SALES of vegetable seeds now outsell those of flowers, as amateur gardeners embrace the grow-your-own trend.

And the most popular home grown vegetable is the trusty carrot, which can be British grown for nearly 12 months of the year.

The British Carrot Growers’ Association has produced a new recipe to try with your garden produce mixing carrots with British cheddar.

Oaty Carrot AND Thyme Muffins Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 20-25minutes. Serves 12.

175g/6oz plain flour
50g/2oz porridge oats
7.5ml/1 1/2tsp baking powder
2.5ml/1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
10ml/2tsp mustard powder
5ml/1tsp dried thyme
salt and ground black pepper
225g/8oz carrots, washed, and coarsely grated
100g/4oz Mature Cheddar cheese, grated
100ml/4 floz vegetable oil
100ml/4 floz milk
2 large eggs
Line a 12 hole (45ml/3tbsp capacity) patty tin with paper cases. Mix the flour, oats, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, mustard and thyme together in a large bowl.

Season with plenty of ground black pepper and a good pinch of salt.

Stir in the carrots and three quarterss of the cheese.

Mix together the oil, milk and egg. Add to the dry ingredients and mix together briefly.

Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, sprinkle over the remaining cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until risen and golden brown on top.

Cool in the tin for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Best served slightly warm.

Recipe is suitable for freezing.

Place the cold muffins in a plastic bag and freeze for up to six months.