A case of mistaken identity

I've been eating carrot leaves for months.  Why? Well, my neighbour gave me a couple of "parsley" seedlings late last year and I companion planted them (or so I thought) next to the tomatoes and basil.  I should point out that this is the same neighbour who gave me the 'broad beans', which weren't actually Broad Beans per se, but beans that were long (or in his reasoning, 'broad').

I never went so far as to make tabbouleh, but I put the thin (and in my defense) parsley-like carrot leaves in my salads, sandwiches and other cooking. 

It was my aunt, who came to visit me in Hobart from London just recently, who quietly informed me that they were the tops of carrots.  Sure enough, I pulled one up:

It looks like an animated mandrake root... arms and legs and tenticles....

The good thing about this (admit it) amusing mistake is that I haven't the same level of reluctance to try root vegies.  I've always avoided planting root vegies because I had an idea that they were incredibly hard, but this accidental carrot growing suggests that perhaps I was wrong.  Happy times!