A Celebration

A rose for all Moms.

Hope all the mothers and grandmothers had a lovely day. and what a day it was for Peggy Lindsey, Dallas Braden's grandmother! Check your sports page for the Oakland A's game on Mother's day if you missed that.

I was pleased to spend my day with my two daughters and three of my grandchildren. The fourth is working in Long Beach these days but he will be home next weekend. Really did miss him.

In spite of the rain, El's three youngest, with a little help from Gram, put together an herb pot for their mom on her day. They planted a large pot with dill, sage, thyme, lemon thyme and chives and learned the name of each plant and what it was for. So she can have fresh herbs all year long. I also had them include a Vietnamese Coriander that I found. It was new to me but intriguing and since El does a lot of Asian cooking I thought it would be fun for her. Of course, I picked one up for my herb garden and then I googled it to see what I bought. (Impulse shop? not me.) It is one of the many Cilantros but without that soapy quality that so many do not appreciate. It looks nothing like the cilantro you see in the market today. The leaves are ovate with two diffused, dark spots blended in. one on each shoulder. It is a half/hardy perennial but is said to be easily started from clippings. Should be fun.

I could smell the strawberries as soon as I walked into Cee's kitchen. Her sister, El, had picked up aflat on her way here. The Strawberry Man who has his acreage on the corner of Watmaugh and Arnold (in case you live anywhere near me) was open so it

was joy for all. We had strawberry shortcake for dessert and divided the rest between the three households. But my utter joy was to have perfectly ripe, firm, red all the way through, strawberries for breakfast this morning. I have yet to find a grower who can consistently produce a berry like our Strawberry Man can.

Cee did her asparagus on the grill since she was also doing a TriTip. I have decided that this is the way to cook asparagus. A little olive oil, not too long on the grill, a little salt. How very nice. I had previously decided that doing it in the oven was certainly not for me. We also had artichokes, very large artichokes, served in halves. When it came time to clean up I got four leftover halves from which I made this soup this morning.

Recipe

Artichoke Soup

8 to 10 peppercorns

1 small bay leaf

1/16th or less teaspoon allspice

Tiny dusting of chipotle or cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon taste-less oil

1 teaspoon minced jalapeno

1/2 garlic clove

2 very large artichokes, cooked and scraped

1 cup water

2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

salt

1/2 cup or cream (milk could be used)

Chive blossoms or chives.

In a heavy pot, place the first four ingredients. You might want to put a toothpick in the bay leaf so you can remove it later. If you have a 1/8 teaspoon measure, half fill it and then remove about a quarter of that. Allspice can be overwhelming, We need just a bit here. As for the hot pepper, we are not trying to make this soup very spicy, but it does need a little spark so add just a tiny bit. Warm these over low heat until you start to notice the aroma.

Add the oil and over medium low add onion, jalapeno and garlic. Saute these over medium heat until the onions have softened.

Meanwhile scrape the meat from each leaf and break up the hearts of the artichoke. Add that to the onions with water and broth. Add about one teaspoon salt, simmer 10 minutes on low heat.

Remove the bay leaf and put the soup through the blender, food processor, immersion blender or the food mill. Return to the pot and add cream. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. If the mixture is too thick adjust by adding equal part broth and water. Serve hot, decorated with chopped chives or chive blossoms.