Friday 6 April 2018

The new 'foodie' season begins.



When I saw these at market; I almost swooned. I could hardly wait to dig-in!

Soon there will be Asparagus, then Cherries, then in May we should have some Girolles. 

I adore the round of seasons, and the gifts they bring. How lucky we all are.


N.B. If you are lucky enough to find young Artichokes like the ones above; don't cut off the stems and throw them away. Take off the bottom few centimetres only; when cooked, the stems are perfectly edible and delicious.

37 comments:

  1. Must look at the Farmers Market for artichokes.
    What wonderful food you are able to find. Our wonderful "spring" season will be over soon as we are having temps in the low 90's already. The hot summer is almost here.

    cheers, parsnip



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    1. 22 C forecast for here today, so summer is on its way. However, it may be some while!

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  2. Looks and sounds good - never mind soup and stew season coming on here.

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    1. Lunchtime soups are still with us, but not for long.

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  3. Haven't seen young artichokes. Much easier to clean than the big ones with the tough spiky outer leaves. We always use the stalks

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    1. You'd be amazed by the amount of people who cut off the stalks and chuck them! I like both big and small Artichokes; but love it when these ones appear at market.

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  4. Off to visit Argeles next week, the cherries should be ready, big dark-coloured ones and so tasty. And the asparagus, huge white stalks we never see here.

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    1. Argeles should be wonderful at this times of year. Even Collioure shouldn't be too busy. Have fun!

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  5. Love, love, love artichokes ....... can get them here but not so easily available. My husband and brother in law go for jaunts to France in June and akways bring back some artichokes. I also love the country style hearts in oil and add them to salads...... delicious. XXXX

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    1. I've had to replant all my Artichokes this year. They all died last year; no idea why. Next year!!!

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  6. They look delicious! Mr P's family come from the "artichoke capital of Italy" - as every place declares itself - so these lovely veg are a feature of our lives whenever we can get them. We never toss the stems.

    How nice you can measure the seasons with your food where you live.

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    1. It's because I grow most of my own food, and preserve a lot too. The seasons are very important to us.

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  7. I love them but can not find them here in our small shop.

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    1. Oh dear; grow them perhaps? They grow like weeds.

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    2. I read in the paper now that there is a farm not far from here that grows them,but they say that is the end of the season.

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    3. One person's end of season, is another person's start!

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  8. I always pick my artichokes young. You have reminded me to take a couple of slips when I dig up a few other bits from the allotment. I have never bought artichoke and imagine the difference between it and homegrown is similar to that between bought and homegrown asparagus. I weeded my asparagus bed yesterday as I am hoping to have a few pickings under my belt before moving. Will I be too late to plant new asparagus crowns this year I wonder? At the moment though the freshly picked purple sprouting broccoli is absolutely delicious.

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    1. I once made the mistake of buying very early Spanish Asparagus; it was tasteless. Never again; I'm more patient these days.

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  9. I've eaten artichoke but never cooked one. They frighten me a bit.

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    1. The preparation is a bit tricky, but the cooking is just 'time', and the results wonderful.

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  10. Thanks for the advice...you're so fortunate down there...

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    1. It's a lovely place to live. Beautiful day today (but I believe it is everywhere!).

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  11. We are finally getting some things growing here but tomorrow they will all be under a coat of white again. However, the Farmer Markets are bringing in spring veggies from other states that are faring better, weather wise, than us. Today, though, my young garden helper is going to dig out and replace all my raised beds. It is a beginning.

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    1. Getting very spring-like here. Lots of colourful bedding plants everywhere, and the sound of distant mowers is all around us.

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  12. My granddaughter just discovered artichokes. I'll pass along the stem tip.

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    1. Make sure they're well cooked, then the stems are delicious.

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  13. I don't think I have ever seen young artichokes for sale up here - still, we can now get samphire so you never know when some bright spark will branch out and give it a try.

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    1. Samphire is nice. We do get it here; but rarely.

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  14. Oh, how I love artichokes! I can't even remember the last time I had them. No one grows them around here, so they're not very fresh. I'll have to try growing some.

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    1. It's not recommended, but I have grown them from seed. If you wanted small heads like the ones above, it wouldn't really matter.

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  15. It must be nice to have seasonal fruit and vegetables to look forward to, instead of being able to get things all year round, but of dubious quality.

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    1. Surely, Oz is full of Farmers Markets, etc? One can grow everything down under.

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  16. The dogging season begins here soon. Can't wait.

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  17. Those are the best looking artichokes I've seen in a while.

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