Asparagus, Fava Bean & Pea Shoot Salad

The last of the asparagus, fava beans & pea shoots combined to make a delicious salad.  Just blanch the asparagus and fava beans, toss with olive oil, sea salt, freshly grated pepper & pecorino cheese & the juice of a lemon.  Finish with some zested lemon and Voila, the perfect meatless Monday dish.

At present, the veggies are taking a back seat to the flowers - iris, roses, foxglove, nasturiums, lilies, catmint and sweet peas are all in bloom.

Asparagus

"You know, when you get your first asparagus, or your first acorn squash, or your first really good tomato of the season, those are the moments that define the cook's year. I get more excited by that than anything else." Mario Batali

Whether merely roasted & drizzled with truffle oil or prepared in a risotto, nothing beats asparagus fresh from your garden.
  

As with planting trees or raspberries, you must be optimistic that you will be gardening in the same spot for many a year because you really shouldn’t harvest asparagus for the first 3 years.  However, it is well worth the wait.  


Five years ago -- at the prompting of my college roomie, Rebecca --  I planted two year old Jersey Knight.  For the last two years I have dined for 6 weeks on delicious asparagus.   UC Davis has a great publication on growing asparagus.  Click on this link.


Enjoy Spring's bounty.

Recipe: Asparagus Risotto 

Adapted from Mario BataliTime: 45 minutes

1 pound asparagus, peeled, trimmed and cut into one-inch-long pieces, tips reserved
4 to 6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons butter
1/3 medium red onion, diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Salt to taste
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese.

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add half the asparagus stalks and cook until quite soft, at least 5 minutes. Rinse quickly under cold water. Put cooked asparagus in a blender or food processor and add just enough water to allow machine to puree until smooth; set aside.

2. Put stock in a medium saucepan over low heat. Put oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a large, deep nonstick skillet over medium heat. When it is hot, add onion, stirring occasionally until it softens, 3 to 5 minutes.

3. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add white wine, stir, and let liquid bubble away. Add a large pinch of salt. Add warmed stock, 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring occasionally. Each time stock has just about evaporated, add more.

4. After about 15 minutes, add remaining asparagus pieces and tips, continuing to add stock when necessary. In 5 minutes, begin tasting rice. You want it to be tender but with a bit of crunch; it could take as long as 30 minutes total to reach this stage. When it does, stir in 1/2 cup asparagus puree. Remove skillet from heat, add remaining butter and stir briskly. Add Parmesan and stir briskly, then taste and adjust seasoning. Risotto should be slightly soupy. Serve immediately.

Yield: 3 to 4 servings.

Ode to the Artichoke

The tender-hearted

artichoke

dressed up as a warrior,erect, it built itself

a little dome,

it kept itself

impregnable

beneath

its armoured leaves…

                                Pablo Neruda

I look forward to devouring some tender-hearted artichokes later this year and to ensure an ample supply I am adding another half dozen plants.   Following the lead of gardeners like Rosalind Creasy and Ivette Soler, I am interplanting the new plants with flowers.

Also, found this great article on growing artichokes in California published by the University of California. 

Edible Landscaping

Last week I attended the Master Gardener California Smart Landscaping Conference in Chico, California.  The best part of the Conference -- which included information about growing native plants, composting and attracting beneficial insects -- was the presentation by Rosalind Creasy, author of the recently published "Edible Landscaping" and many other books.  Creasy is passionate about her goal to replace unproductive, water guzzeling lawns with productive edible plants.  Her new book includes over 300 photographs illustrating her ideas for moving edibles out of the traditional rows in the backyard into prominence in the front yard, emphasizing color and design, as well as productivity. 

 

My weekend goal is recreate this bed of succulents,

lettuce and painted lattice work: 

A Brandywine from the fog belt at last - but was it worth it?

In retrospect it does seem silly to try to grow Brandywine tomatoes in the fog belt of the Richmond Annex; far more sensible to stick with cherry and plum tomatoes suitable for this area.  UC Davis has done exhaustive trials of what tomatoes grow best in each region of California (http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/pdf/8159.pdf) and therefore, despite finally producing a Brandywine from seed, I have concluded that it isn’t worth the time and expense to try to battle the elements.  I can walk to an organic market and my bi-weekly Farmer’s Market where I can purchase my favorite heirlooms (Brandywine, Black Crimson and Pineapple Tomatoes).   From now on I will stick to growing Sun Gold and Sweet Cherry 100s, which performed great despite a cool summer and an admittedly neglectful gardener.   


My experience growing the Brandywine is akin to that described by William Alexander in his witty and informative book: "The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden"

NPR provides an interesting podcast of an interview with William Alexander at http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5360768.

The $64 Tomato

William Alexander

Best Price $0.01
or Buy New $10.93

With only a dozen of these sought after beauties I am not fussing with any elaborate recipes - just sliced tomatoes, fresh basil, Burrata cheese & a sprinkling of black olives.  

Provence in California - Georgeanne Brennan

Goat Cheese Souffles, Tomato & Blue Cheese Tart and Stacks of Grilled Eggplant, Peppers & Mozarella

Noted author Georgeanne Brennan gives cooking classes at her home in Provence and in California.  My fellow Master Gardener, Kathie Fitzpatrick, and I attended one of her California classes this week.  Lucky for us, the menu was a celebration of yummy tomato dishes. 

We began by gathering herbs and vegetables from her large garden.  In addition to the above pictured dishes, we made pizzas topped with homemade sausage, fresh tomatoes & basil which were baked in the outdoor pizza oven as well as chicken provencal and ratatouille confit made in a Tajine.

Our morning of toil was rewarded with a delicious repast in the garden complete with a light rose from Provence.

In sum, a good time was had by all!

Pablo Neruda & Tomatoes

The tomato displays its remarkable amplitude and abundance, no pit, no husk, no leaves or thorns, the tomato offers its gift of fiery color and cool completeness.  

- Pablo Neruda

Happily, I am now enjoying the amplitude & abundance of the luscious cherry tomatoes started from seed earlier this year as well as lots of basil.  

Today I am makng a roasted tomato & basil soup adapted from an Ina Garten recipe:

Ingredients

• 3-4 pounds ripe cherry tomatoes

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon sea salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

• 2 cups minced yellow onions 

• 6 minced cloves of garlic 

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 4 cups fresh shredded Basil leaves

• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

• 1 quart chicken stock

Directions

 Toss the tomatoes with 1/4 cup olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread the tomatoes in 1 layer on a baking sheet and roast in a 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes collapse.

Saute the onions & garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions begin to caramelize.   Add the basil, thyme, chicken stock and oven-roasted tomatoes with their accumulated liquid. Bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes.  Blend with an immersion blender.  Garnish with basil pesto (see 4/23/11 post). 

Now off to pick some blackberries for dessert!