Because 2 days is never enough.

Yes, yes, yes… it’s not local. And as far as I can tell, it’s never local. In fact, nearly 100% of commercial artichoke is grown in California, with about 80% coming from Monterey County. This is why I never have them. This is why I practically forgot they existed.

That is, until Karl rented a car for a race and I made him drive me to Fairway in Red Hook. I was still experiencing rapture from our cheese and beer selections when I clapped eyes on the artichokes.

Growing up in California we used to eat them all the time. We had them growing in our yard and we usually prepared them whole and skimmed butter dipped leaves with our teeth. My favorite part was the heart, naturally. My dad told me that the spiky fuzzy section that covered the heart was called the choke, called that because if you eat it, you choke on it. I took that advice strangely literally and I remember the dire meticulousness with which I would remove every last trace of the choke before I would eat the heart.

I prepared the artichokes with anticipation, wondering if they would measure up to my childhood memories. I also wondered what visionary human first ate an artichoke and how they could possibly found it’s spiky outside inviting. I made veggie broth and used to to make an artichoke risotto. It is with mixed emotions that I report that the artichokes were everything I remember and more. Every bite was amazing to me, which is kind of sad because they are so rare out here. Then again, when I was a kid, I would read about the olden days, when children would be thrilled to get oranges for Christmas. Maybe there’s something to be said for special, uncommon treats.

Artichoke Risotto

2 large artichokes, trimmed, quartered, and sliced thin lengthwise

1 cup Arborio rice

4-5 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, diced

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup dry white wine or cooking sherry

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup Parmesan

Set broth to simmer in a large pot

Heat the olive oil in a skillet and sauté the artichokes until golden and tender. Set half of them aside and chop the other half.

Melt the butter in dutch over and sauté the onions until softened, add the garlic and chopped artichoke halfway through. Add the ride and cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes. Pour in the wine and simmer until it has been absorbed.

Add hot stock to the rice in increments of 1/2 cup, stirring as it is absorbed until the risotto reaches the desired consistency. About 2 1/2 to 4 cups. Add 1/4-1/2 cup grated Parmesan. Salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with the remaining artichokes (heated if necessary) and grated Parmesan cheese.

We teamed up with Hardy to create a menu out of the goodies from the Prospect Park farmer’s market and the West Harlem CSA. Mindy and Erik’s first Brooklyn dinner party was a smashing success, with delicious food, great company, and at least one exciting new discovery.

The menu included Hardy’s fresh pea and bib lettuce soup, recipe courtesy of Ma Stecker, two home-made pizzas (using the whole wheat dough recipe from Barbara Kingsolver’s fantastic new book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle”), a salad, and Mindy’s famous apple pie.

I brought over some treats from last Thursday’s CSA share, including garlic scapes. To be honest, I’d never tasted a scape before I dug a huge pile of them out of the box at the CSA pick up. I’d seen them at the farmer’s market, but wasn’t sure what one would actually DO with a vegetable that looks a bit like a green electrical cord.

Raw scapes taste like garlic with a little bit of green onion mixed in. The night before the dinner party, I had sauteed them like garlic, which was fine, but after cooking them, the flavor was exceptionally mild. Mindy and I put our heads together and decided to make some garlic scape pesto for the pizzas. Let me tell you, this was a revelation. Now, just about every day, I get an email from Hardy heralding the new meals she has created using her scape pesto.

I’m hoping for a summer full of new recipes, unfamiliar vegetables, and dinner parties.

Garden Fresh Pea Soup

• 1 pound peas, shelled
• 1 small head of bib lettuce
• 1 spring green onion, chopped
• 1 sprig mint (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons water

Make a nest of the lettuce in the bottom of the pan. Put the onion or mint (one or the other), the salt, butter and peas into the lettuce. Add the water, cover and gently boil until the peas are tender. Depending on the quality and freshness this may take anywhere from 5-20 minutes. Taste and season with extra salt, and perhaps a pinch of sugar (if needed). Serve with the lettuce and liquids in the pan.

[Notes: You can also add a strip or 2 of thick cut bacon cut into 1" pieces to the simmering pile. You can add less water since the lettuce gives it off. When you think the peas are done, lift all the goodies out of the pan and taste the broth. You'll certainly want to add pepper and salt and 1/2 cup of light cream or half and half.]

Pizza #1: Tomato sauce mixed with garlic scape pesto, mozzarella, onions, basil
Pizza #2: Garlic scape pesto, mozzarella, tomato

Garlic Scape Pesto:

• 1 cup chopped garlic scapes (maybe 10 scapes depending on the size)
• 1/3 cup walnuts (or pinenuts)
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Add scapes and nuts to food processer and blend until smooth.
Drizzle in the olive oil a bit at a time, blending as you go.
Add cheese, salt, pepper, blend one last time.

Urban living, especially in New York City, has its limits. My dreams of a backyard where I can grow my own herbs and veggies will certainly have to wait. I also have to put the lemon tree on hold. Sigh.

Erik and I recently visited what we have nicknamed our “country home” in Connecticut. Erik’s sister Amy and her husband Daniel have settled into a cute neighborhood in Middletown where they have a backyard and a plot in a community garden, just a few blocks away. They showed us a spare sunny room in their house that was filled with tomato plants and various types of herbs, which will be going into the ground soon enough. Erik and I were jealous.

Although I can’t turn my apartment into a greenhouse, I can use my purchasing power to select food that is grown close to home – my larger backyard, in a more metaphorical sense. Jess and I have been excited to see the farmer’s markets here kick into gear the past couple of weeks (although Jess can’t say the same for the CSA), starting with the appearance of asparagus. There is nothing more exciting than buying whatever the farmers have on display and planning a week’s worth of meals around the bounty.

Two nights ago I made a meal from mostly local ingredients — risotto with chicken and peas. Here’s the run down:

• Chicken – organic from New Jersey
• Peas – from the farmer’s market
• Onion – from the farmer’s market
• Stock – homemade from the chicken carcass

The arborio rice was not local, however, but I guess that’s to be expected since I don’t live in Italy.

Risotto with Fresh Peas

1 1/2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup diced onion
1 cups arborio rice
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 cups simmering homemade stock (chicken or veggie)
1/2 cup dry white wine to replace 1 cup stock (optional)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tbs olive oil
a few handfuls of freshly shelled peas
cooked chicken (optional)

Heat olive oil in a large saute pan. Saute onion until soft. Add rice, and using a wooden spoon, turn frequently until all grains are coated with oil. Add salt. Continue to stir rice while it is cooking. Keep stock simmering in a saucepan. Add hot stock 1/2 cup at a time. As each bit of stock is absorbed, add more. Save about 1/4 cup stock to add just before serving. In about 20 minutes, rice grains should be al dente, with a soft outside, but a firm center.

Either steam the fresh peas or boil for 2-3 minutes and drain. Add 1/2 tbs olive oil, reserved 1/4 cup stock to risotto and combine. Then add cooked peas, (optional chicken) and Parmesan. Taste for seasoning and add fresh black pepper if desired.

Yield about 2 3/4 cups.

(Note: Makes enough for 2 people plus leftovers. This can easily be doubled to serve more people.)

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My dream came true and Mindy and Erik finally moved to Brooklyn last week. I can’t tell you how many times I have cursed the distance to their old neighborhood. This grumbling was particularly pronounced when Mindy would call to tell me about some delicious dessert she was baking or when I was taking a never-ending late night train ride home.

I had imagined that once Mindy got to Brooklyn, that our separate powers of creation would increase exponentially and 3Day Weekend would take over the world. Or something like that. Well, guess what? I think I may have been right.

On their first weekend in the borough, Mindy and I joined forces to create the most perfect post-bike ride, sunny-summery day treat. Mindy’s homemade vanilla almond ice cream and my rhubarb ginger compote really could take over the world.

Karl and I had some friends over tonight and we finished off the compote with some vanilla ice cream that Tyler brought over. It was in a carton and it tasted good enough; everyone liked it. But I felt sorry for them because they didn’t get to try the power couple of fruity dairy goodness we had the day before.

Rhubarb-Ginger Compote

About a pound of rhubarb (in season right now at a farmer’s market near you!) chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup water

1/4 cup honey (I used a bit less, because I like a tart final product, you can also use sugar)

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger (or more if you like it to have some zing)

Bring the water to a boil and add the rhubarb. Boil for 5-7 minutes until the rhubarb has started to break down. Add the honey and ginger and cook for another 5 minutes. Allow compote to cool in the refrigerator a couple hours before eating. With a bit less honey or sugar, could be an interesting sauce for a dinner dish (fish or meat?).

Quick Vanilla Almond Ice Cream

1 cup cold organic milk (I used 2%)
a little less than 3/4 granulated sugar
2 cups cold organic heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsalted roasted sliced almonds

Add milk and sugar to a medium bowl and use a hand mixer or whisk to combine them until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in heavy cream and vanilla. Pour mixture into an ice cream maker and let it do it’s thing. Add the almonds in when the ice cream maker only has 5 minutes left.

Top with fresh fruit compote (like rhubarb ginger!).

Journalist Kara Zuaro has published a collection of favorite recipes from Indie bands such as Death Cab for Cutie, Belle and Sebastian, Interpol, the Decemberists, Camera Obscura, My Morning Jacket, and nearly 100 others in “I Like Food, Food Tastes Good: In the Kitchen with Your Favorite Bands.”

For example, Devendra Banhart’s contribution is for Africanas Ricas:

“RIGHT ON!!!!!!
here is my favorite recipe for:
AFRICANAS RICAS!
you shall require!
many bananas!
a box of graham crackers!!!
two eggs!!!
SOUR CREAM!!
HONEY!”

As you can see Zuaro has left the musicians’ wording and instructions intact despite the fact that the recipes are thoroughly tested.

The book release is tomorrow in New York followed by a happy hour at Manhattan’s Hi Fi bar (where the Hold Steady’s Galen Polivka is a bartender) on Wednesday, April 25. There will also be an in-store performance release party at the Brooklyn Barnes & Noble on May 17.

Additional info can be found on the cookbook’s MySpace page.

I made this dish once before when Jess and Karl were over for dinner, but the consistency was a bit off so I knew I’d have to give it another try at some point. This time I used a can of Westbrae organic soybeans since I had one lying around (and since I had no other form of soybeans in the kitchen). The taste was fine, but the color was more on the brown side, like chickpea hummus, than on the green side like soybean hummus made from fresh beans. I served it with crostini (also known as baguette slices drizzled in olive oil and broiled for a few minutes in the oven), but it would definitely go well with sesame or rice crackers.

Soybean Hummus

3 large cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups cooked soybeans
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice from half a lemon
salt to taste
2 tablespoons water or vegetable broth

1. Broil garlic cloves for 5 to 10 minutes in the oven, or until they just begin to brown and can be pierced easily with a fork.
2. In a food processor, combine garlic, soybeans, tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and parsley. Blend until smooth, adding salt to taste and water or broth to reach desired consistency.

I went a little crazy with zucchini this weekend, making both a sweet recipe and a savory recipe.

For breakfast, I made the infamous savory zucchini feta pancakes from Erik’s sister, Carrie. Her recipe is below. They were great topped with my fresh batch of homemade yogurt.

Zucchini Feta Pancakes

Ingredients
4 eggs (yolks optional)
4 packed cups coarsely grated zucchini (about 4 7-inch zucchinis)
1 cup finely crumbled feta cheese
½ cup finely minced scallions (or red onion)
1 tablespoon dry dill (optional)
Salt to taste (optional)
Black pepper to taste
1/3 cup flour
Oil (for frying)
Yogurt (for topping)

1. Separate egg yolks and white. Beat the egg whites in a small bowl until stiff.
2. Combine zucchini, egg yolks (optional), feta, scallions, seasonings, and flour in a large bowl. Mix well.
3. Fold the egg whites into the zucchini mixture.
4. Heat a little oil in a heavy skillet. When it is very hot, add spoonfuls of batter, and fry on both sides until golden, and crisp.
5. Serve topped with yogurt.

Serves 4.

Next I made sweet zucchini and orange marmalade tea cake from my new Tartine cookbook (given to me by Carolyn). I am already a big fan of zucchini bread and I was intrigued by the addition of marmalade in this recipe. We just sliced into it and it is divine! It makes a massive loaf though, so we might need help polishing it off. Next time I make it I’ll have to throw a tea party.

We had a holiday party on Saturday and I thought it turned out to be good fun. I decided to keep the food relatively simple because we were expecting about 25 people. On the menu:

1. Spinach Dip
I always get so many compliments on my spinach dip and I am always sorry to admit that it I just follow the recipe on the Knorr veggie soup mix box. It says water chestnuts are optional, but I believe they are essential. Anyway, this stuff is like crack, but upon reading the ingredients on the box and finding MSG, I think I discovered why. I’d love to find another, more natural recipe, but I’m skeptical that it would be as tasty.

2. Fresh Salsa
I tried something new with the salsa this time.

Ingredients:
6 vine ripened tomatoes, chopped
1 yellow onion chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of cilantro
1 tablespoon coriander
1 tablespoon cumin
juice of 1 or two limes (I’m not sure because I couldn’t find fresh limes and had to use a generous squirt of lime juice from a bottle)

Combine onions and garlic in a medium frying pan and sauté for 2-3 minutes, onions should still be white. Add jalapeño, coriander, and cumin and cook another minute. Remove from heat and combine with tomatoes, cilantro, and lime juice. Let stand, covered, in the fridge for two hours before serving.

3. Fondue
My dad gave Karl a fondue pot for Christmas last year and he has emailed me about once a month since, asking if we’ve used it yet. The last time he emailed, he wrote, “I guess it was a kind of stupid gift.” Naturally, that broke my heart some, and I realized that we HAD to use that thing before we went home for Christmas this year. So, I added it to the party menu. But, it turns out it wasn’t a stupid gift at all! People were raving about the fondue and we went through a full pound of cheese.

I used a half pound of Gruyere and a half pound of Emmenthaler, both from Sahadi’s. Karl picked up a cheap Pinot Grigio, which the salesclerk made him promise he wouldn’t drink. I tasted it, it’s a fair promise to extract. Flour, nutmeg, mmm.

4. Sugar and Gingerbread cookies
These were both from the Betty Crocker cookbook and we both very good. We didn’t have ground cloves, so Karl diligently smashed up whole cloves and I actually think the larger chucks of clove improved the gingerbread recipe. Doug and Kelly did a great job decorating the cookies.

5. Mulled wine
This was tasty and festive. I didn’t really follow a recipe, just dumped dried orange peel, juniper berries, star anise, cloves, cardamom pods, black pepper, and cinnamon in a cheese cloth with some red wine.

6. Mindy’s Pumpkin Pie: with amaretto whipped cream!

7. Christina’s chocolate chip cookies

After all the running around and fretting and choosing, I finally put together all my holiday gifts in time to distribute a few of them at our holiday party.

The Goods:

1. Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate
I found big bags of ancho chilies and boxes of my favorite Ibarra Mexican chocolate at a big grocery store at 135th and Broadway, right near my office. The neighborhood is largely Dominican and the supermarket has all kinds of great ingredients. Each set included a disk of chocolate, a clear bag with the chili and a cinnamon stick and instructions to make this delectable, spicy, sweet delight.

For Spicy Mexican Hot Chocolate:
4 cups milk
1 ancho chili
1 cinnamon stick
1 disk Mexican chocolate

Heat milk, chili pieces, and cinnamon in medium saucepan until just steaming. Remove from heat and let steep, covered, for 10 minutes. Add chocolate, mixing until melted (I used my wooden spoon to mash up the chocolate in an attempt to accelerate the melting process, one recipe I saw recommended using a blender).
Strain.
Enjoy.

2. Mulling Sachets
See “Mulling It Over: II” for description of the mulling sachets. I put these single serving mulling sachets in metal tins from the container store. I only made four or five of them because a few sources indicated they wouldn’t be very popular. But then I picked up some cider and tried it out the other night. Yum. I had one friend who chose the sachets over the chocolate and I think he’ll be pleased (even though I do so love that Mexican chocolate).

3. Holiday CDs
I’ve been slowing teaching myself Illustrator over the past year or so by choosing projects that make me use it. This time, I used the drawing functions more than I have in the past to make a wintry tree with a bird in it for the cd cover. I learned a lot of new functions and tricks (although my big breakthrough definitely came with the valentine’s card I made last February). I still have some issues with PDF files. I don’t have a color printer at home, so I need to print from a PDF at Kinko’s or Staples. Alyce came to the rescue for part of that problem, but I still ended up printing out 25 copies before I realized that when I converted to a PDF, the image was resized. All my covers were too small. I almost wept when Karl said, “That’s not going to fit in a cd case.”
Enter the spray mount and the colored paper.
And ack! This morning I just realized there was a typo in the song list.
We’ll I’m still figuring it all out.

4. Unfortunately, the pottery I made to go along with the holiday beverages was still in the kiln on Saturday, so I won’t have that until tonight.

15 bags of Mexican hot chocolate, 4 tins of mulling sachets, 25 holiday cds, 5 ceramic mugs, and a partridge in a pear tree.

I’m worried about making my gifts in time for the holidays. This is complicated by the fact that much of what I want to make is food-related and can’t be made too far in advance. In order to stave off a panic attack, I’ve started with a few items that are not time sensitive such as herbal tea mixes and mulled wine sachets.

Mindy’s Variation on Mulled Wine
2 cinnamon sticks
1 whole nutmeg
1 handful allspice berries
1/2 orange zest (or 1 handful dried orange peel)
1/2 cup sugar (or sugar to taste)
Magnum of red wine (equivalent of 2 standard bottles)

Mulling Sachet
Fold a piece of cheesecloth in half and cut an 8-inch round. Place the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and orange into the center and tie with kitchen twine.

Mulled Wine
Add the wine to a saucepan along with the mulling sachet and sugar. Simmer on low heat. Ladle wine into mugs or remove sachet and serve.

These sachets also work well in apple cider (about 1 1/2 liters).