fare, repast, and bind

It is May, what can I say, it is truly my favorite month.  Not because it is my birthday, but because all the life is springing forth, and it just seems like everything is possible.  I have been doing a few things here on DeVoe.  I keep on trying to setting the kitchen to rights, but I am not getting far at all without drawers, I really need them.  I need the doors too, but the drawers are tantamount.  Soon, soon, soon....

Yes, of course, I have gone full tilt with the artichokes.... I am going to be one very sad girl when they go away, but I have the fall ones to look forward to, then cardone......

The long stem artichokes are simply the best that I have ever had, and were they awesomely fantastic.  The were ginormous.  I have gone back to the grocery twice, and they have not had them again.  I truly hope that it was not a one shot deal.  We ate just the artichoke and saved the stems, they were about 16" long. I am going to make a pasta dish with them on Monday.

The pot that they are squished into is 14" in diameter, and the bowl is almost 7".  They were huge...
I stuffed them with breadcrumbs, fresh parsley, garlic, good olive oil, and Andrew's secret cheese blend.  It is so secret, that I don't even know the ratio.  We steamed them for about 75 minutes, they were a little harder to judge if they were done, the outside leaves were still al dente, so we put them back for another 20 minutes, and then they were fantastic.  We had them with nothing else.  They were a meal in themselves. 

I was able to get smaller artichokes, they called them Giant.  I guess they have never seen the other ones.  These were also very good.  We did stuff them with fresh parsley, garlic, good olive oil,  and a little cheese.  We steamed them also.  They only took about 50 minutes.  When they were done, I put butter on them and of course, more cheese.

 

So sorry that I did not take any pictures of them just before we ate them.

Thanks to our friend, we had a huge extravagance, veal chops....holy good crap...life is grand...and so were they....I cannot stress how magnificent they were, there are no words that can do justice to the flavor...oh yeah....oh yeah...  The truth of the matter is that they were cut with love, and then cooked with love too.  I am thinking that that is why they were utterly fantastic.

You ever feel like someone is watching, well I do...

I needed to use the last package of fresh pasta before the expiry date.  I also had one more bunch of broccoli rabe and the package of baby artichokes.   I had both sweet and hot sausage, so I used equal amounts and sauteed them in a small amount of olive oil, and cooked them almost through, I then removed them from the pan, along with all but 2 tablespoons of the grease, added a bit more olive oil, and sauteed garlic and shallots.  While that was cooking I washed, cleaned, and trimmed both the broccoli rabe and the artichokes.  I put the artichokes in lemon water for a bit, then, I steamed them for 5 minutes.  When the garlic and shallots were translucent, I put the sausage back, added the artichokes, and sauteed them for 5 minutes, then added the broccoli rabe.   I had saved the artichoke water and added it to the pan, then put the lid on.  I boiled the water for the pasta, then added salt, then the pasta and cooked it for 5 minutes.  I took the lid off the pan with the sausage, added the pasta with a little bit of the starch water, and cooked all for about 3 minutes, til all the flavors were melded, and the pasta was perfect.  I served with a loaf of crusty garlic bread, crushed red pepper for a little more heat, and lots of grated cheese...yes the secret blend....

 It was not just artichoke all day and night.  I had a request to make the Risotto Pie.  Glenette was having a small event at the senior center that she her salon is in, she asked me to make the pies.  It makes me feel special that she asks me to do that for her, kind of makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

I made the pies in a tart pan with a removable bottom, I like that pan so much, I would like to get a second one.

I cut up strawberries and served them with the pie, and yes, of course, whipped cream.  Nirvana.

It was a most enjoyable week, I spent time doing what I love with those I love.  Life doesn't get much better than that. 

content, peaceful, blessed, and jubilant