Kiss the Cardoon

My three dollar cardoon from Portland Nursery has been stopping traffic and walkers.  I live eight houses down from a grade school on a modest two lane thoroughfare so I get a little more traffic than most and with that more questions, comments, and suggestions.  And right now I don’t even need to look up when they point and ask, “What is that?!?” 

Because I know that they are asking about the cardoon that is shooting up 7 foot flower stalks.  And the name only baffles them.  So, I have condensed my answer down to, “it’s a cardoon, which is a thistle and a relative of the artichoke.  The leaf stems are edible but not the leaf and it’s a bit of a hassle to fix.  I use it in soup."

I found my Gobbo Di Nizzia cardoon grown by Log House Plants at Portland Nursery in the herb section last year and it was an impulse buy.  I saw those silver leaves and had to have it.  My Pirate simply rolled his eyes and handed over his debit card. He’s nice that way.  I plugged it into my Victory Garden bed whose theme for the summer was Alien Nation due to all the strange edible foliage that I was collecting.  It was a nice fit.  The cardoon wintered over and this spring it took off.  

Ever since the cardoon started shooting up the flower spikes, I’ve been waiting to cut several stems for a bouquet.  And I finally broke down and cut them before they fully bloomed.  Here’s how it turned out.

And The Assistant helped out with taking the pictures and I even caught her taste testing the flowers.  I took pictures of the bouquet then I gave it to the crew at Lifestyles Physical Therapy in Portland who are amazing healers that help keep me doing what I love most...garden, write, and cook.

Earlier this summer I went to Nostrana’s in Portland for lunch and I ordered their cardoon and potato soup. I savored the simple chicken stock based soup studded with cardoon and potato pieces, while I listened to the servers and cook debate whether a customer had ordered too much food and if they should go tell her.  I'm glad that I only ordered the soup!  And I decided that I was going to learn how to cook up my own cardoon soup. Here's what I came up with as a basic recipe that I'll tweak depending on what's growing in my garden. 

Cardoon and Potato Soup

5 Cardoon leaf stems—prepared and peeled

10 Baby potatoes—cut into halves or quarters

8 cups Chicken broth—preferably homemade

Thyme—1 fresh stem

Salt, pepper, cayenne

Lemon juice—4 drops

Clean and peel cardoon stems.  Remove the leaf portion with a knife and peel the stems with a vegetable peeler to remove the thick exterior fibers.  Cut into three inch pieces and add to simmering chicken stock until tender, 35 minutes to an hour.  Mine took an hour.

Then add potatoes, thyme, salt, pepper and cayenne.  Simmer until potatoes are tender approximately 20 to 30 minutes.  Add four drops of lemon juice.  Serve.

Sunflower

My first sunflower of the season opened today in my community garden plot at Haagen Park. I'm growing over a hundred chocolate brown/burgundy sunflowers for a friend's wedding, (if she doesn't change her mind,)  and that makes this gold one even more precious to me.  Happy summer everyone!

Bouquet of the Week

This week's bouquet was made using Alice Oakleaf Hydrangea blooms.  I removed the leaves and tucked the flowers into a twenty five cent vase that I found at a garage sale.  And I added a bead necklace at the throat of the vase to give it a touch of glamour and sparkle.  Sadie helped and posed for pictures.  She's so thoughtful!

Cookies for Maya

Let’s begin with cookies.  I’m not a cookie monster by any stretch of the imagination, but my dogs adore cookies.  And we’re not talking those dusty old dog bones.  Oh no.  They sniff and drop those suckers.  My dogs’ palates have been elevated by years of homemade treats.  Not any old dog biscuit will do.  What they crave is something a bit more sophisticated.  Something salty, crunchy, peanut buttery, and sweet.  And the whole wheat peanut butter sandies that Melissa Clark included in her latest book, Cook This Now, fits the bill.

A couple of days ago, I was sitting in our vet’s office listening to him encourage us to pull out all the stops with comfort food for our thirteen year old dog, Maya, who is dying of cancer.  So, I baked her a batch of whole wheat peanut butter sandies.  She stood at the kitchens edge smiling and drooling while I pulled them out of the oven.  It only felt appropriate to have a cookie with her.  And I’m glad that I did.  These cookies are delicious dipped into a glass of milk or cup of coffee.  And Maya loves a smear of peanut butter on top.

Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Sandies

From Cook This Now, by Melissa Clark

1 ¼ cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon plus a pinch kosher salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

½ cup natural salted peanut butter—I use Trader Joe’s  

1 cup raw sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  

      Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter.  Add the peanut butter until they combine.  Then add the sugar.  Add in the egg and vanilla.  Scrape down the bowl and then slowly add the flour mixture.  

      Move the dough onto two pieces of parchment paper and roll it into narrow logs.  Then put in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.  
      
      Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Then roll the cookie dough logs in raw sugar.  Cut them in quarter inch thick slices and place them on cookie sheets.  Sprinkle raw sugar over the tops. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes until the edges are browned for the best crunch.  Cool.  Then serve with a glass of milk or a swipe of peanut butter.