i went to our Sunday Farmers Market today on the off chance there MIGHT be a pumpkin...no luck just yet...but i asked the farmer and he said 2 weeks...then i glanced around the table and what do i see ? these baby artichokes. these are REALLY small...like the size of a shallot.... i couldn't pass them up even though i have NO IDEA what i am going to do with them....besides frying them like eggplant in breadcrumbs or putting them is pasta...i am not sure what to do with them...hey you guys out there....what can i do with them ? all ideas are WELCOME...
i have also noticed alot of you are making pickles...refridgerator pickles..pickles in a pickle pot...canning pickles...so i got some cucumbers...got to give it a try...what would the middle of august be without some pickling and preserving going on in the kitchen ?
the days are really getting shorter...i have noticed i have to turn on my lights in the kitchen now when i am making supper....so i got out my Halloween Haunted House Nightlight... click for a close-up of him !
o.k. here is the REALLY BIG TREASURE of the day...joyce at http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/ told me about this...she said get over to Michaels a.s.a.p. !!!! they have a really cute Halloween light... i got in the car with my pajamas still on and headed over...only 3 left. i got there just in the nick of time.... i can't wait till it gets dark tonight !
my kitchen window this afternoon...with red warren pears...an old variety local to our area...that were at the farmers market today...
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Fall is just ahead...I have thought that the season is starting to change in subtle ways. The air is feeling lighter and the sun less intense. We have cool evenings, (mild summer here in CA) with leaves drying out faster it seems and even the oaks are letting go their leaves!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had ideas for your artichokes!
Lovin' your new candle holder, might just need to head to Michaels myself... but I'll throw on some shorts first:@)
ReplyDeleteI still haven't tried an artichoke *head hanging in shame* but bloggy buddy Cathy knows all about them, you might like this...
http://www.wiveswithknives.net/2011/07/31/braised-whole-chokeless-baby-artichokes/
You are really in that fall spirit. I do usually start decorating for fall in Sept.,but
ReplyDeleteuntil the leaves turn I'm hanging on to summer as long as I can!
My daughter use to bake or boil(I forget)the artichoke and then we'd pull it apart and dip it in melted butter. She always did it so I don't really remember any details-sorry. I haven't had one since she'd left home.
As you can tell, I'm not what you would call a create cook at all! I mostly cook because we have to eat and I like my and my husbands cooking better than restaurants.
A favorite of mine is topping chicken breasts with artichokes and mozzarella cheese before baking....Have a lovely week! Xoxoxo
ReplyDeletewell, i don't cook, so if YOU don't have any ideas on what to do with those things, I sure don't! :)
ReplyDeleteI like artichokes on pizza! Or in an Italian antipasti salads with olives and tomatoes and salami etc...
ReplyDeleteI love fall and am looking forward to it. But summer will be with us for a while yet.
hahaaha...i can just picture you heading to michaels in your pj's!!! at least you got one! these are going to be keepers for a very long time! they are classics! so glad you got one! we can light ours at the same time!
ReplyDeleteHi there, Well I've never cooked baby articokes before but being a native Ca. girl, I would steam them in a pressure cooker just like I do the big ones. I know they are supposed to be more tender....man these are the things I miss about no.Ca.
ReplyDeleteAs for fall-yes it is in the air here but I missed looking closely at your decorations cause being a quilter, I couldn't get my eyes of your red & white quilt hanging on the wall.My friend did you make that????? Incredibly beautiful. Your comments to our Kim made me cry.
Hugs today, Noreen & Reggie
I love Fall passionately, but try as I might, can't get there yet. Counting the moments, but we haven't hit 'that' moment yet, the one when you can feel Summer relinquishing control, and Fall slipping in behind.
ReplyDeleteWell, like wow, what a fun post.
ReplyDeleteTiny baby artichokes. Awesome find. Pickles, shorter days. and a splendid Halloween light. You have been paying attention.
Thanks for sharing!
love and ((hugs)) to you and the Teddy Boy.
A friend of mine fixed baby artichokes for me last year, and I remember that she sauteed them in a little olive oil with lots of garlic (I LOVE garlic) and pancetta, lemon zest and lemon juice. Delicious!! :-))
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what to do with those gorgeous artichokes. I would have had to buy them if I saw them too. I love the light from Michael's. I hope they still have them at my Michael's up the street. Have a wonderful week!! Susan:)
ReplyDeleteI have 2 orange pumpkins in my garden. Can't wait for Halloween!
ReplyDeleteLove the lavender color of the little artichokes, I can't think of anything better to do with them then sauté in olive oil-you know best. I love the squirrel cutting board. Enjoy your new little light it should be lots of fun.
ReplyDeleteThat last picture with the pears and lavender flowers through the window?
ReplyDeletewinner.
I know with baby artichokes there is alot of trimmin, slice of the top, trim all the leaves back, until you have the nice light green edible stuff. Then you can boil them up like you do regular artichokes, but only takes about ten minutes. Then of course they'd be great in pasta or with chicken. or even a side course with butter sauce.
buono appetito
xx
donkey in the pines
Wow, those artichokes are so tiny!!
ReplyDeleteI googled this for you Kary
ReplyDeletehttp://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/sauteed_baby_artichokes/
And you can see them being prepared here
http://www.oceanmist.com/products/how-to-prepare/preparing-ocean-mist-farms-baby-artichokes.aspx
Interesting!
I love them with pasta and chicken...kind of ordinary, but yummy!
ReplyDeleteI'm still enjoying the last days of summer. I will throw myself into autumn soon enough, but treasure the longer days.
ReplyDeleteI'd trim them, lightly oil and spice them them and then roast those artichokes on my grill!
ReplyDeleteI am also looking forward to autumn,kary. I love that fun Halloween light!
I'm afraid I don't have any advice concerning the cute little artichokes. I cook the large ones in water and dip leaves in butter but have never even seen the tiny ones. Hope however you cook them, they turn out to be delicious! Have
ReplyDeletea great week! Shannon
Good luck with your artichoke questions - those babies are cute.
ReplyDeleteI'm NOT ready for fall yet!...but I love that little light.
Well now I've come over all autumnal! We've had such a crappy summer here in the UK I'm hoping for an Indian Summer for September especially since I'm organising an open-air theatre production on the 4th! I have NO idea what to do with the baby artichokes! I've never cooked the 'grown up' ones so I'm useless. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteI am late to the party, but you can pickle baby artichokes very well....I would be happy to pass on a recipe if you want!
ReplyDeleteKaren
Have you already cooked them?
ReplyDeleteI had them braised in Venice, served room temperature with tons of garlic, herbs, olive oil and lemon. Yum,
xo Jane
I don't have any ideas for the baby artichokes, but I can't wait to hear what you do with them!
ReplyDeleteLove the Halloween light!
I love your new Halloween light...not too early to get in the spirit of the holiday. Good luck with those cute baby artichokes; let us know what delicious recipe you decided to use.
ReplyDeleteTiny artichokes say one thing to me.....
ReplyDeletelet them dry....add them with tiny different colored pumpkins/leaves/branches/bitter sweet/all combined on a wreath for your front door.
Add a couple of hand sized gardening tools in the center of the wreath....
my mind runs wild with possibilities...thanks for letting me run with your cute little artichokes, or you could just eat them?
Then the fun would be over.
I just lost my comment with two recipes (due to spotty internet).
ReplyDeleteif you are still looking for a recipe for the artichokes, please let me know!
At Michael's in your pajamas! You are too funny! LOL!!! I'll have to check out Michael's in Maine tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteYou could make one of my favs, chicken verdicchio (http://almostitalian.com/chicken-verdicchio/) or how about baby artichoke parmigiana?
What ever you do I'm sure will be delicious, and I hope you post it!
Have a wonderful week!
When I saw your baby artichokes I was going to tell you about Cathy and Wives with Knives but I see Lynn at HTAPIM already did.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with those pickles :)
I have to get to Michaels! I hope they have some left here. This is what I love about blogging.
i bought those same ones kary, like julie said, i was told to trim them well and boil them and then eat the whole thing. i think i used a little olive oil and lemon pepper to taste.
ReplyDeletei wonder why michaels always gets such a limited amount on certain things? did you notice that seems to happen a lot? happy light!
I LOVE IT!!!!! I work at michaels and we do not have that there. ughhh.
ReplyDeleteI hope that you are having a fantastic week
Fall is around the corner because I'm starting to see Halloween items in stores now. Richard from Amish Stories.
ReplyDeleteI did see a blog that featured those little artichokes and I can't remember which one. It seems that you can use the whole thing rather than just the choke. I'll be curious to know what you end up doing.
ReplyDeleteI think you like Halloween. Me too!
Best,
Bonnie
P.S.. I was wondering why I wasn't getting your blog posts. Thought I was a "follower". Guess not. Now I am!
ReplyDeleteBest,
Bonnie
wow ,, a whole lot of beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteOh you are a kindred spirit. Fall cannot get here soon enough. I love decorating for it. We are still hot here and don't cool off for some time still but I see leaves starting to fall of my trees already.
ReplyDeleteYou've stumped me on this one! I'm only a part time baker ;)
ReplyDeleteI like your fall style though. We're only just getting some summer now, so I can't think about fall for a few weeks!
Have a great day.
Fall is my favorite time of year and I can't wait for signs of its approach to appear. You were so lucky to find those tiny artichokes at your market. I buy them at mine too and love their mild sweetness. Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I'm very happy to meet you and have become a follower. Looking forward to your posts.
ReplyDeleteYour baby artichokes are so cute! Sorry, I have no idea what to do with them other than admire them. Ooohhh, I love your night light. Halloween is not far now, my friend. Yay!
ReplyDeleteHappy fall everyone. Richard
ReplyDelete