Making Pesto

Nancy and I made pesto yesterday. I brought basil from my yard, pine nuts (a big big bag was $8 at Sam's Club) and wonderful hardneck garlic from Jerry's. She supplied her famous extra virgin olive oil and some very good cheeses: a pecorino romano and a lovely sharp parmesan.

oil and vinegar

Steamed cakes

Baby Artichokes

A recent Chicago Trib Good Eating article talked about baby artichokes.

It said, "Did you know? Baby artichokes aren't immature globe artichokes;
they're just smaller artichokes that grow nearer the ground instead of at
the very top of the plant. They range from walnut- to egg-sized. They lack
the thistlelike "choke" nestled in the tender heart near the base.
Otherwise, they are just the same as larger artichokes."

The article goes on to say that baby artichokes "are available year-round
but are at their peak in March, April and May, according to information
from Baroda Farms, an artichoke grower in California's Lompoc Valley. All
artichokes may be "frost-kissed," or slightly bronzed, but the brown
patches on the leaves disappear in cooking and are actually said to
contribute flavor to the vegetable, according to another artichoke grower,
Ocean Mist of Castroville, Calif. To tell if an artichoke is fresh or tired
and old, rub the leaves together. If they squeak, the artichoke is fresh."

I then noticed an interesting potato-baby-artichoke-soup recipe in the
current MSL issue(April 06). Can't find it online but it prompted me to
explore.

So I decided I had to get some of these new-to-me ingredients and found
some really nice looking ones at Carrot Top in Northbrook. Off Willow Road
west of Waukeegan sort of across the side street from the Target Greatland
store. Here is a picture with an egg for size reference.



Carrot Top is a very quirky little store that has some suprisingly
wonderful hard-to-find-otherwise produce. It is the only place I have ever
seen a real Budda's Hand. At the time I thought the Budda's Hand was
outrageously priced at $9 but have come to learn that this rarity can
command up to $100 in price. I did not buy the Hand at the time because I
did not know what to do with it - and still don't - but what an interesting
and amazing thing to pick up and marvel at. That is the kind of place that
Carrot Top is. (But btw, no yuzu.)

Carrot Top
1430 Paddock Drive
Northbrook, IL
(847) 729-1450

Have you ever cooked baby artichokes this small? I was thinking a simple
braise and then bread crumb topping like a gratin. Or a saute with
asparagus and cipoline onions or something similarly springy.

btw, has anyone seen any fiddle heads anywhere? A source in the NW or N
suburbs or N side of city would be closest but I will travel if I must.
This is the season for them, isn't it?

Mitsuwa Shopping Spree

I had a great time shopping at Mitsuwa, formerly Yaohan the other day! Here is a picture of my haul with some thoughts.



Starting in the upper left corner,

• Big bottle of Gekkeikan sake, strictly for cooking
• Stack of tofus, extra firm, on sale for 99 cents each! You can’t go wrong.
• Tiny can of wasabi powder sitting on..
• Two jars of picked ginger, one red, one pink
• BIG bag of panko. Why spend $2.50 on that tiny box of Dynasty brand of panko which is the only brand that Jewel or Dom’s seems to carry when you can get a huge sack (400 g) for the same price at a Asian market, I ask myself?
• Lovely, lovely rice crackers
• Mirin for cooking. Could anyone explain the difference between sake and mirin as they are generally used in Asian cooking? They seem interchangeable to me. Am I missing the point?
• Wonderful frozen-fresh udon noodles
• Frozen edamame both in shells and
• … shelled. Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food (issue #30, March 2006) has a nice article about how to edamame: edamame spread with rice crackers, brown rice and edamame that looks sooo much better than it sounds, and an edamame corn chowder with bacon. The article made me take the plunge here, my first edamame.
• Dried soba noodles
• Fresh wonton wrappers – Everyday Food Issue #31 (April 2006) has an article on wonton wrappers: wontons for soup, pot stickers, baked wonton cups (in a mini-muffin tin) that are then filled with a cream cheese – chutney mixture or any other yummy thing you can think of, wonton crackers baked with sesame and fennel seeds and served with a green curry dip.
• Wasabi paste in a tube
• Big bag of pork gyoza pot stickers
• Fresh yakisoba with sauce packets. I just love this stuff!

By the way, I think the $3 plate of yakisoba from the food court at Mitsuwa is one of the great food bargains in that area. It is a very healthy portion of steaming hot noodles, veggies (mostly cabbage), some onion, a tiny amount of ground pork and some good spices. I used to work near Yahohan years ago and would get weekly cravings for this dish. The entire food court there, imho, is worth exploring systematically over several lunches.

Lastly, there is an interesting sounding recipe for edamame dumplings with an easy dipping sauce in the new Cooking Light (April 2006). A sort of mashed, spiced filling in wonton wrappers.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Lovely lasagna and salad tonight!

In my defense, the lasagna is stuffed with fresh spinach and mushrooms and lots of good tomatoes. So what if it is ooey gooey with ricotta and mozzarella!

Pork tenderloin with dried cherry port wine sauce

I can't believe I did not take a picture of last night's dinner. I made:
medallions of pork tenderloin with a ruby port wine and dried cherry pan sauce
red cabbage with apple cider vinegar, fresh lemon juice and raisins
and
mashed Yukon Gold potatoes with goat cheese and sage.

Molto squisito!