Please Pass the Parsley Pesto

I usually omit parsley from recipes because most seem to call for just a smidge, and then I'm left with a big ol' bunch of green that wilts in my crisper before I can use it all.

Lately, however, I've cooked up a bunch of recipes from Suzanne Goin's Sunday Suppers at Lucques cookbook and I've found following her recipes to the letter is worth the effort. She likes her parsley, and I was determined not to let it go to waste. The solution? Parsley pesto.

Seems you can make pesto with just about anything these days--cilantro, sun-dried tomatos, artichokes. The parsley version is earthy and bitter and even more vibrantly green than basil.

I used this recipe from Food&Wine, but you could also just substitute parsley for basil in your favorite version. I tossed mine with yam soba noodles (their sweet, nutty flavor works well with the pesto) and zucchini ribbons. The leftover pesto went in the freezer, awaiting a pizza or maybe some roasted vegetables.

Summer Succotash with Garlic Scapes

Add these snaky, slinky garlic scapes to the list of foods I've been introduced to by the LA farmers' markets. Scapes are the flower stalks of any Allium (onion, leeks, chives, garlic) and garlic scapes grow on hardneck garlic--they are tender and tasty while curly, once they straighten they toughen up. They have garlic flavor without the harsh bite; you can use them raw or lightly cooked (too long over the heat and they loose flavor). A perfect replacement for green onions in springy and summery dishes.

My scapes came from Finley Family Farms at the Hollywood Farmers' Market, 25 cents a piece. They joined their fellow market mates--corn, summer squash, tomatos, basil, parsley, chives and fresh garbanzos in a version of Sunday Suppers at Lucques "First of the Season Succotash". I'll give you the basic method, but experiment with the vegetables and flavors that you like best.

Summer Succotash with Garlic Scapes

2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 1/2 cups diced summer squash
1 c. fresh garbanzos (or limas or favas or 1/2 inch green bean pieces)
kernels from 3 ears of corn
4-5 small tomatos, seeded and diced
2-3 scapes, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
handful fresh basil, chopped
handful fresh chives, chopped
small handful fresh parsley, chopped
arugula
olive oil

Heat some olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add thyme and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add squash, season with salt, and saute for 4 minutes, until soft with a bit of color. Spread squash on cookie sheet to cool.

Wipe out skillet, and add some olive oil. Add garbanzos and stir for 1-2 minutes. Add corn kernels, salt, and pepper and stir for another two minutes or so (taste a garbanzo or corn kernel to check as you go). Remove to same cookie sheet as squash to cool.

Once your sauteed veggies have cooled a bit, mix them, the tomatos, and the scapes in a large bowl. At this point, you can refrigerate and complete the salad just before serving.

To serve, gently mix in the fresh herbs and the arugula. Toss with a high quality olive oil, salt and pepper. Add some lemon juice if you'd like a bit of acid.

More scape recipes:

Individual Scape and Chard Pies from Daydream Delicious
Garlic Scape Pesto from Kalyn's Kitchen

Thanks to Alanna from A Veggie Venture for the farmers' market graphic-- check her site for fabulously healthy veggie recipes.

Sweet Corn and Chipotle Salsa

Before mixing in the chipotles, jalepenos and cilantro.

At my BBQ last Saturday, every last morsel of this spicy salsa disappeared. I may have finally figured out the exact proportion of food per party attendee, but I like to think it's because it was addictively delicious. I know I was dipping a chip every 15 seconds. Uh-oh, maybe I was just a rude host and ate it all.

Smoky, sweet and spicy, chipotles (chee-POHT-lehs) are smoke-dried jalepeno chiles, and they're often canned in adobo sauce, which is made of spices, vinegar, tomato sauce and sometimes other chilis. These days you can find chipotles at most grocery stores in the Mexican food section.

I based this Sweet Corn and Chipotle Salsa on a recipe from The San Francisco Chronicle Cookbook, but I didn't measure a thing. Here's what to include, in proportions that suit your fancy: fresh or frozen sweet corn kernals, chopped & seeded tomatos, chopped red onion, chopped jalepeno peppers, chopped cilantro, chopped chipotles in adobo sauce, and a generous squeeze (or two or three) of lime. You can also add some salt if you like. This'll taste best if you let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two before serving.

Other yummy chipotle recipes:

Pumpkin with tomatos, tomatillos and chipotle chilis from Mental Masala
Chipotle meatballs from Simply Recipes
Roasted sweet potatos with chipotle-maple sauce from Gastronome
Chipotle chickpea salad from A Veggie Venture

Guess the Vegetable

Don't these colors make you smile? Who can tell me the name of these technicolor veggies?

Spring Peas, Onions, and Artichokes with Lemon Basil

Though the temperatures in Southern California have already jumped to summer (90! degrees today), the farmers' market produce is squarely centered in Spring. At the Sunday Hollywood Market, I filled my bag with baby purple artichokes, sweet peas, spring onions and lemon basil. They all made their way into a simple spring braise last night, pea pods and all.

The lemon basil was a find from one of the Asian vegetable stalls--I can't stop sniffing it in amazement, and am tempted to tuck a few sprigs behind my ear for day-long delight. The pronounced lemon flavor mellows the light basil undertones in the tender, small leaves. It would make a lovely simple syrup for cocktails or lemonade. In this dish, be sure to sprinkle the chopped basil on right before you eat to enjoy its full flavor. This is my entry for Meeta's Monthly Mingle, Spring is in the Air.

Spring Peas, Onions, and Artichokes with Lemon Basil

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 pint basket baby artichokes, trimmed and halved
1 lb sweet peas, trimmed (not shucked!)
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp water or stock
salt and pepper
6-7 spring onions, roughly chopped
large handful of lemon basil, roughly chopped

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add artichokes and saute until lightly browned, about 5-6 minutes. Add the peas, butter,water/stock, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and turn to medium low. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, until artichokes are fork tender. Uncover and stir in onions. Remove from heat, gently stir in lemon basil, and serve.

Super Tasty Super Natural Cooking

Quinoa-what? Amaranth-who? Wheat berry-huh? J's nose wrinkled when I first described the new cookbook from 101 Cookbooks' Heidi Swanson--Super Natural Cooking: 5 Ways to Incorporate Whole & Natural Ingredients into Your Cooking. My man likes his rice white, and in his defense, the few times I'd previously tried cooking with quinoa or other whole ingredients, the results were less than stellar.

However, Swanson's book ensures my crummy creations are things of the past. Her book shows you how to put whole ingredients to good use, without sacrificing flavor. She's not preachy (a fatal flaw of many health food nuts) nor does she encourage you to give up butter, cheese, or other dairy products that make life worth living. She just shows you how to use them better and pair them with super-healthy grains and vegetables in simple recipes; for example, her Risotto Style Barley and her Sweet Potato Spoon Bread. I will admit I'm not completely sold on the "use natural sweetners" chapter. I'd rather use the bad stuff (white sugar) in my cupcakes, but just make cupcakes less often. That said, I haven't actually tried any of the recipes in that section, so I should reserve judgement.

Best of all, her book helps you eat better on a regular basis, recognizing the difficulty of a healthy breakfast and lunch for working people, . This past week, I followed two of her time-saving tips and they made a world of difference. First off, I made her Sprouted Garbanzo Burgers, following her advice to cook a bunch, then store in the fridge for a weeks worth of lunches. These reheated beautifully, and I kept them interesting with different sides and veggies all week. Second, per her instructions, I whipped up a big pot of steel cut oats on Monday night and stored it in the fridge, making breakfast easy Tuesday-Saturday. Each day I nuked a serving in a bowl, swirled in some apple butter and some blackberries, scarfed it down, and was out the door in minutes, feeling like a super natural super star.

Springtime Sweet Peas

If you only have the patience for one round of shelling sweet peas this spring, do it for this recipe and this recipe alone: Springtime Panzanella (bread salad). Absolutely the best thing to come out of my kitchen in ages. Use the freshest peas you can find, and skip the olive oil in the dressing to allow the peas to shine.


Of course, there's another kind of pea that delight your eyes and nose but not your tummy--sweet pea flowers. A garden oasis in the city, Silver Lake Farms sells riotously colored $5 bunches of sweetpeas at the Silver Lake Farmers' Market each Saturday (they're also at the Echo Park market on Fridays, Atwater Village on Sundays and Little Toyko on Tuesdays). They also have bright ranunculus bouquets, also $5, usually with a sweet pea or two thrown in for good measure. The flowers, plus the warm demeanor of the ladies staffing the stand, are sure to make you smile.

green pea photo by cogdogblog, sweet pea photo from Silver Lake Farms site

Baby Artichoke Disappointment

baby artichokes by frangrit

Regular artichokes? I find them intimidating, despite excellent online "how to trim" tutorials. They're poky, full of hairy chokes, and I'm always disappointed by the small bit left after pulling off all the outer leaves.

Baby artichokes, on the other hand, couldn't be easier to prepare. Remove a few leaves, trim the tops, you're good to go (pictorial instructions here). I have fond memories of a crispy, sweet roasted baby artichoke dish I made last spring, but did I write it down? Note the website or cookbook where I found it? Of course not. Last night I searched and searched, but couldn't turn it up. I settled on Baked Baby Artichokes instead, and was very disappointed. Perhaps it was my 'chokes, perhaps the recipe, but it was blah, bland, and soggy.

Readers, any baby artichoke recommendations? Perhaps I'll try Spicetart's recipe with bacon and vinegar, or Words to Eat By's artichoke and parmesan salad, a simple, no-cook recipe.

PS--Reason why I love the Hollywood Farmers' Market #245: I get to buy my baby artichokes as this guy walks right by with his weekly produce.