Hey - Look what I made in camp!

The first artichoke of the season was "harvested" today.  Silly me, I planted only 6 plants.  I love artichokes -- the fruit of the plant as well as the leaf structure -- but they require so much room!  Tonight will be a feast of homegrown asparagus, artichokes, radish and snow peas with this yummy aioli sauce.  The recipe below is from Laura Calder.  Huge fan of her Food Channel show and her books. 

Ingredients

• For the aioli

• 1 egg yolk

• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

• 1 cup grapeseed oil

• 1 head garlic, roasted*

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Juice of 1 lemon

•

• For the artichokes

• 12 baby artichokes (poivrade variety, which are the tiny ones)

• 1 to 2 lemons

• Kosher salt

• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

To make the aioli: Beat the yolk with the vinegar and mustard in a bowl. Whisk in the oil, drop by drop, to make a thick mayonnaise. Squeeze the garlic out of the roasted cloves into the mayonnaise and whisk smooth. Season the aioli with salt, pepper, and lemon juice, to taste.

To prepare the artichokes: Trim the artichokes, rubbing with lemon as you go, until you are down to the core with a bit of stem attached. Halve. While you're trimming, bring a pot of water to the boil. Squeeze the juice of a lemon into it and salt it. Drop in the artichokes and cook until tender, about 10 minutes, depending on the size. Drain, and pat dry. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and brown the artichokes on all sides. Transfer to paper towel to drain. Serve with the aioli.

Cook's Note:

* To roast a head of garlic, wrap in foil and bake for an hour at 350 degrees F.

Inspirational film - "Man Named Pearl"

The iris are in bloom!

If Spring hasn't lifted your spirits -- the film "A Man Named Pearl" will do so.  Pearl Fryar is an incredible gardener and topiary artist.

Self-trained and wonderfully giving, the film captures his love of gardening, his artistic spirit, his desire to share his love of the natural world and his work with school children.  Another great plus is the love story shared by Pearl and his wife.  A must see.  It is available on Netflix or you can purchase it from Amazon.  Visit his website.



Gotta go plant beans.  Enjoying asparagus, escarole and French Breakfast radish from my garden for dinner tonight. Must admit I've never seen radish served for breakfast in France & my French beau, Roland, considers it an American invention.  However, he does enjoy sliced radish with a hefty dab of Normandy butter & fleur de sel on a baguette for an appetizer with a glass of white burgundy. Oh those French!

Trombetta di Albenga squash

Last year a fellow Master Gardener, Kathie Fitzpatrick, introduced me to this fantastic squash, Trombetta di Albenga. Love the name of this Italian heirloom.  Aptly named, the fruit of this plant is shaped like a trumpet. The taste and texture are akin to artichoke heart.  It grows to an amazing height of 6-8 feet. I've planted my seedlings, which I started indoors in February, next to a fence.  Hopefully, they will grow to look like those depicted in this Sunset magazine piece on vertical gardening. 

Tomatoes

It's a little early, but as an experiment I transplanted a couple of Sugar Sweetie Cherry tomato plants into raised beds this week.  I warmed the planting area for two weeks with black plastic and the transplants are protected by a wall-o-water. I started these early to photograph for a class I gave on indoor seed starting. In general, I wait to transplant until the night temperatures are in the mid-50s and the soil temperature is 65 degrees.  However, the wall-o-waters are designed to permit early planting.  Wish me luck! As a back-up, I started another group of seedlings in early March for transplanting in May. I recommend the following free publication for guidance on growing tomatoes in California: “Growing Tomatoes in the Home Garden,” ANR University of California, Davis Publication 8159.  

Spring is here - at last!

ChouChou exploring the lavender bed.

The Spanish lavender, California poppies & nasturtiums are in bloom. The roses are in bud & tonight's Meatless Monday diner will include a salad of lettuce & herbs from my garden as well as the first of the asparagus planted 3 years ago.  Jamie Oliver’s simple preparation with olive oil, lemon and parmesan will be just the ticket to celebrate Spring.