Whole Wheat Pasta with Artichoke-Red Pepper Sauce

I found this recipe in my local paper and it seems like a good one to try out the artichokes. My camera battery was dead, so no picture - sorry again. I liked this one, and it was healthy...I think. Do artichokes count as a vegtable? Not to mention this recipe was very easy. It definately took less that 30 minutes to put together. The sauce turns out a lot like a pesto. I think if I made this again, I would use the sauce as a base for a pasta salad. I was hoping to make some pasta salads for James and I to eat during the week. Well, this one would just be for me. James, he does try, but then spends a couple of mintues digging the offending food out of his mouth. Maybe it was too tangy for him. Another thought...save some pasta water when combining the sauce with the pasta. I had that same thought the second after I dumped all the water and pasta through the strainer. Oops!

Whole wheat pasta with artichoke-red pepper sauce

2-14 oz cans artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained
12 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained
2T olive oil
4 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried basil (I used 1T fresh)
salt
pepper
1 pound whole wheat pasta
1/2 cup parm cheese

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to package. Drain (reserve some pasta water). Return to pot.

In food processor, combine remainder of the ingredients except for cheese until smooth. Add sauce to pasta and toss over low heat until warm. Serve topped with cheese.

Tabouli

In search of the perfect recipe to accompany wirrek's turkey gyros below, I found this tabouli recipe from Moosewood. Made it tonight and it was very good. DH loved it too.

1 cup bulgur
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic -- crushed
1/2 cup chopped scallions -- include greens
salt and pepper to taste
2 medium tomatoes -- diced
1-2 cups fresh parsley -- chopped (I used 2 cups)
1 cup cooked chickpeas
chopped fresh mint (optional) - I didnt' have any.

In large bowl, pour boiling water over bulgur. Cover tightly and set aside for 20-30 min. (I missed the cover part when I made it...)

In separate bowl, stir together lemon juice, garlic, parsley, scallions, tomatoes, and chickpeas. When bulgur has absorbed water, stir it with a fork to fluff it. Toss the lemon/veggie mix with the bulgur. Salt/pepper/mint to taste. It's best after refrigerating for 1/2-2 hours. Add more lemon juice before serving (to taste).

Ultimate Berry Fool

Ever since I saw Robin's Eton Mess, I think that is what I have been wanting. Cooks Illustrated had this ultimate berry fool in their most recent issue, so I decided to give it a try instead. For the most part, I followed the recipe exactly. I didn't get all the puree I was suppose to, so that might have made my gelatin mixture too thick. This caused the cream layer to be a little bit spongy. Maybe it was suppose to be like that, I don't know. In the end, this was good...fresh tasting, light, creamy, a great dessert for spring. Mark loved it, plus it had the added bonus of possible puns ("this is great, and I ain't no fool!") (groan) But it wouldn't make Kerri's Greatest Hits if you know what I mean. I think I can do better.

Ultimate Berry Fool

2 qts strawberries
1 pt raspberries
½ cup plus 4T sugar
2 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup sour cream
½ tsp vanilla extract
4 Carr’s Whole Wheat Crackers, crushed

1. Process 1 qt strawberries, ½ pt raspberries, and ½ cup sugar in food processor until smooth. Strain puree through fine mess strainer into 4 cup liquid measuring cup (you should have 2 and ½ cup puree – I didn’t, I had 1 ½ cup and added an additional ½ water). Transfer ½ cup puree to small bowl and sprinkle gelatin over top; stir until gelatin is incorporated and let stand at least 5 minutes. Heat remaining 2 cups puree in small saucepan over medium heat until it begins to bubble. Remove pan from heat and stir into gelatin mixture until dissolved. Transfer gelatin-puree to fridge and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
2. Meanwhile, chop remaining 1 qt strawberries into rough ¼ inch pieces. Toss strawberries, remaining ½ pint raspberries and 2T sugar together in a medium bowl. Set aside for 1 hour.
3. Place cream, sour cream, vanilla, and remaining 2T sugar in a chilled bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low speed until bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and continue beating until beaters leave a trail, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to high; continue beating until mixture has nearly doubled and stiff peaks form; about 30 seconds. Transfer ¼ cup whipped cream mixture into small bowl. Set aside.
4. Remove thickened berry puree from refrigerator and whisk until smooth (Mine was too thick. I added some warm water and mine never got smooth) With mixer running, slowly add 2/3s of puree to whipped-cream mixture; mix until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Using spatula, gently fold in remaining thickened puree, leaving streaks of puree.
5. Transfer uncooked berries to fine mesh strainer; shake gently to remove excess juice. Divide 2/3s of berries among 6 parfait glasses (or my nice water glasses). Divide creamy berry mixture evenly among glasses, followed by remaining uncooked berries. Top each glass with reserved plain whipped cream (I forgot to save some cream, so I did berries, cream-puree, berries, cream-puree). Sprinkle with crushed crackers. Serve immediately.

Lemon-Artichoke Chicken

The whole time I was making this I couldn't believe this was a Cooking Light recipe. Well, it's not ... although I found it on their website, it's a Sunset recipe. This was a great dish ... the pan sauce (sherry, lemon, cream concoction) was so wonderful with the chicken and artichokes. I served this with KAJ's sherry almond rice that she featured a few posts down. We LOVED the rice. It is also a great dish ... and I love finding rice dishes for 2-4 servings. This was perfectly portioned for us and will become a staple side dish I have a feeling. Thanks for sharing! I'll post a picture later today.

Ingredient challenge - greek yogurt and mustard

I made two recipes that apply to this challenge during this past week, and only now getting around to posting them. I used the greek yogurt last friday to make turkey gyros. I did find something labeled greek yogurt at the store, but I am not sure if it is the same thing that Robin is talking about. Here is a picture:



See, it says that it is greek yogurt, but it also says 2%, which doesn't sound like the decedent treat that Robin decribed. They also have 0%, but I went with the extra fat. This greek yogurt did add a little something to my cucumber sauce that I do feel was missing.



I am always pleasently surprised on how these gyros turn out. Something about the ground turkey and the dried spices makes them taste authentic. Plus, ground turkey is super cheap here, like less that $3. I served mine with a tomato mozzerella salad. It makes a great meal when dinner on the screened-in porch!



The other recipe I made was Sweet Crunch Mustard Chicken. I did not take a picture. It is a easy and tasty baked, breaded chicken recipe. I used skinless breasts and baked at 425, for an hour instead at 500 as listed in the recipe. No reason, really, I served this with baked sweet potatoes and wanted to bake everything together. I also threw some asparagus in the oven the last 10 minutes as well. We also ate this on the screened in porch...good times!

Tandoori Spiced Chicken Breast with Grilled Tomato Jam and Herbed Yogurt Sauce

We made this recipe to use up the last of the greek yogurt. It was very good. I must note that my husband has an aversion to fresh mint. I had to make two yogurt sauces to accomidate him. We are able to get real pita flat bread and I imagine it wouldn't have been as tasty without it.

Redemption with Lamb Chops?

So...tonight I made Lemon-Garlic Lamb Chops with Yogurt Sauce for dinner. The chops were accompanied with my go-to asparagus and Garlic-Almond-Sherry Rice with Saffron. The Greek yogurt is so delicious and tangy, it reminded us of my mom's lemon-garlic-mustard sauce that she made with lamb. I swore I had some almond extract, but alas, I used a dash of vanilla instead in the rice. Everything was very tasty and VERY easy!! Came together in 40 minutes total. Unfortunately, I went shopping for the ingredients with my husband and he was very disappointed to learn how expensive the saffron was :(

Umm...Artichokes stuffed with Lemon Garlic Breadcrumbs

So if you are looking for a delicious and easy week night meal...this is not it. I posted many pictures in the hopes that some one could help me out. All I kept thinking is," Surely I am doing something wrong." The recipe was from epicurious and had a link on how to trim the artichoke, but I guess I don't read too well because it didn't go well.

I started with a fresh load of bread and dried it out in the oven to make homemade breadcrumbs in the food processor, but then I burn them some how. I had to use store bought breadcrumbs I had on hand. Compare and contrast...can you tell which ones I burned?

Then I attempted to trim the artichokes, does this look right? I removed most of the outer leaves on the smaller two and left some on one because I wasn't sure. Don't even get me started about trying to get out the purple inner leaves and the fuzzy things inside...

Got 'em set up in a little water bath for cooking.

This is the finished product, but it didn't really taste good and there was almost no artichoke to eat. Maybe I just had some bum-artichoke?

Spiced Chicken and Barley

This one would have been good for the "one pot meals" challenge last month.

So, this challenge has been pretty hard for me, which is good and bad. I happened to be using my Cooking Light Complete cookbook to weigh something down, when I decided to flip through it to see if there was anything that sounded interesting for this month's challenge and I came across this recipe. It is one of those that you spend some time to put together, and then it just simmers on the stove for an hour...perfect for SAHMs. It ended up being a very healthy and satisfying meal, I don't know if I would serve it for company, but for a week night dinner it was pretty good.

Spiced Chicken and Barley

1 tsp grd cumin
3/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grd cinnamon (I went easy on this)
1/2 tsp dried mint flakes (I used oregano)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp rep pepper
6 (4oz) chicken thighs (I used >1 lb boneless, skinless breast)
1/2 tsp vegetable oil (ha, and I used olive oil)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 T soy sauce (I was out and used sherry - ding!)
2 cans chicken broth
1 1/4 cup barley
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
6 T green onions

1. Combine first 7 ingredients rub chicken with half of spice mixture.
2. Heat oil in non-stick skillet. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes on each side until browned. Remove chicken from pan.
3. Add 1/2 cups onion and red bell pepper to pan; cook over medium high heat 3 minutes or until vegetables are lightly browned. Stir in soy sauce, broth, barley, tomatoes, and remaining spice mixture (you know, I halved the barley, so used half of broth, barley, and tomatoes)
4. Add chicken to pan, nestling into vegetable mixture. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes. Uncover; simmer 10 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates. Let stand 15 minutes. Spring with green onions. Original yield is 6 servings.

Mine did end up pretty saucy, but I was really rushing the last couple of steps. It was still good though. I sliced the chicken and served with sour cream.

Asparagus Gruyere Tart

Asparagus is an easy one for me to do. I just drive to my parent's house and pick as much as I need from their garden. YUM! I used what I got today to make an asparagus gruyere tart. This was so easy to put together and was very impressive once it was done. I served mine as a side to steak, which made for a very rich meal...probably would be better with a nice fresh salad. I put my asparagus in a criss cross pattern, but next time I would keep everything in one layer and definitely add more asparagus!


Asparagus Gruyere Tart
Everyday food
Serves 4.

Flour, for work surface
1 frozen puff pastry
5 1/2 ounces Gruyere cheese, shredded (2 cups)
1 1/2 pounds medium or thick asparagus
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle. Trim uneven edges. Place pastry on a baking sheet. With a sharp knife, lightly score pastry 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle. Using a fork, pierce pastry inside the markings at 1/2-inch intervals. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.

Remove pastry shell from oven, and sprinkle with Gruyere. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell; arrange in a single layer over Gruyere, alternating ends and tips. Brush with oil, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Alittle mustard and alittle fruit

I have really been trying to find some things to make this month. Excited about the ingredient challenge, I was lucky enough to visit the dentist twice this week. On Monday, I browsed all the new spring magazines for recipes that looked up to the challenge. Then on Friday, I decided on Grilled Honey-Mustard Pork Tenderloin with sweet potato fries. For dessert, a Strawberry and Orange Trifle.

I had some girls over for dinner and these dishes were perfect because I could pre-prepare them! Then, cook them when I was ready. I feel like the pork needed a sauce, which we added today on the leftovers. The trifle was REALLY good...and I was very surprised that I liked something like this. The girls I had over liked it too!! I forgot to take a picture of the pork, but you seen one tenderloin, you seen 'em all, right ? :)

Robin's Barley Risotto

Ok, this is probably the last post for a while (we'll see). In a few days the movers come to pack up our life and ship it across the Atlantic and we move to a temporary apartment in the city which I'm quite sure has only the absolute basic necessities in the kitchen for survival. I'll have to see what kind of meals I can turn out without all of my gear.

I came up with this recipe using the traditional risotto method but sub barley for the arborio rice when I feel like a healthier grain. I vary the veggies depending on what is available, but the combination I used last night gave a particularly good flavor. The first bite my little one took she turned to me with a big smile and a loud Mmmmmmmmmm ... which always makes me proud.

couple of swirls around the pan of olive oil
small knob of butter (1-2T)
1 small leek, halved and thinly sliced
1 small fennel bulb, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced + some of the leaves for flavor
1/2 zuchini, halved and thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and julienned into matchsticks
300 g. (1.5 c. approximately) small pearl barley
1.5 liters (6 c. approximately) vegetable broth
1/3 bottle of white wine (don't have to be exact)

Prep veggies, as stated above. Heat butter and olive oil in a large saute pan. When hot add leek, celery and leaves, and fennel. Cook slowly on a low heat with the top covered for about 12-15 minutes stirring occassionally. Your veggies will be very soft ... the fennel really needs to cook this long to soften. Heat up the stock. Add carrot and zuchini and cook another 5 minutes. Add the pearl barley and allow it to soak up any leftover fat in the pan. Next add the wine and let it completely absorb. Add a couple ladles of stock at a time and allow the barley to soak it up before adding the next couple of ladles. The barley is cooked after approximately 25-30 minutes. Let the risotto rest for a couple of minutes with the top on. Serve with a grating of parmesan cheese.

Emeril's Rhubarb Cobbler

It must be a good year for rhubarb here. It is spilling over the bins at the grocery stores and farmer's market and they have it at a killer price 1.79 euros /kilo. So, I purchased some and made Emeril's Rhubarb Cobbler from the Food Network site. Good ... but not as good as grandma's ...what can I say.

Garden-Style Risotto

Ever since I made my first risotto last month, I've been dying to do it again. This one blends some great fresh veggies to give it a higher nutritional content. It is delicious.

1 can low-sodium chicken broth
1 3/4 c water
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups packed fresh spinach, torn
1 cup shredded carrots
3 Tb grated Parm cheese

1. Combine broth, water, garlic, basil, and thyme in large saucepan. Bring to boil.
2. Separately, place rice in large non-stick saucepan sprayed with spray. Cook and stir rice over medium heat 2 minutes or until browned.
3. Pour 1 cup boiling brtoh into saucepan with rice; cook, stirring constantly, until broth is almost absorbed.
4. Repeat broth/rice process. During last addition of broth, add spinach and carrots.
5. Cook 3-5 more minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in parmesan cheese. Serve warm.

Mmmmmmmmm.........

Spicy Herb-Grilled Salmon Steaks

For those of you who own a copy of "wirrek's greatest hits", this recipe should come as no surprise. When I think of spring-time, I think of fresh herbs, so here you go. This is my first time to make this recipe, and DH and I fell in love with it.

1/2 cup basil leaves
1/3 cup mint leaves
3 Tb minced seeded jalapeno pepper
2 Tb white vinegar
2 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 tsp sugar (splenda)
2 tsp fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 6-ounce salmon steaks
salt, pepper

1. Prepare grill
2. Combine first 8 ingredients in a blender/food processor and process until smooth. Set aside. Sprinkle salmon steaks with salt and pepper. Grill. Spoon sauce over fish and let it melt in your mouth.

So good.

Zuppa di Farro (Spelt Soup)

This is a great soup that we discovered 2 years ago on a trip to Tuscany. I've been trying to recreate it since then and have tried many versions of this soup. This one I found in Bittman's book, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I followed the recipe exact. I don't think I would cut back on the olive oil ... I think that is what gave the soup a really incredible taste. This one would have been a great one to contribute to last month's one dish challenge if I had found it earlier. Unfortunately, it takes a while to prepare but it is largely unattended cooking time.

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 T. minced garlic
1 c. farro, spelt, peeled wheat or barley
1 c. dried white beans (I used borlotti beans), soaked for several hours or overnight
2 c. chopped tomato (canned is fine ... don't bother to drain)
6 c. water or veggie stock, maybe more as needed
1/4 c. chopped parsley leaves
1/4 c. chopped basil
freshly grated parmesan

Put oil in a large, deep saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add onion, celery, carrots, a large pinch of salt and pepper. Cook until veggies are glossy and onion softened, 5-10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir; add farro, beans, tomato, and stock.

Bring to a boil, then adjust heat so the mixture simmers steadily. Cook until farro and beans are tender, at least an hour, adding stock or water as necessary if mixture becomes too thick. Mine took about 1 hour 45 minutes.

Stir in parsley and basil and cook for another 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning and serve with lots of freshly grated parmesan.

Ingredient Challenge - Hoisin Sauce

This has been a difficult challenge for me so far. Hopefully, now that I have been to the store, I can do a little better. Hoisin sauce isn't too out there for me, I had some in my fridge that I use to make Slow Cooker Char Siu Pork Roast.



You basically just marinade the pork, then let it cook all day in the crock pot. The result is a tender meat that you can serve any fresh side with. I remember being very impressed the first couple of times I made this, but this time, it was just ok. I think I don't like my five spice powder...or it just might need more salt. The sauce never works out like the directions say. I think I would have to cook it down on the stove to really get it to work. All in all, it is a very easy recipe that I think many of you would like. It isn't Hot Sour Salty Sweet, but it gets the job done! I served mine with brown rice and steamed edamame.

Linguine with Basil Pea Cream

We tried another old CL recipe, Linguine with Basil Pea Cream, cut out from years ago just waiting for it's turn. It was good, the sauce had great flavor ... my only complaint was that it was hard to get the sauce to adhere to the pasta ... I would try it again I just might try it with a different pasta shape ... maybe corkscrew (fusilli) type.

Lemon Corn Blueberry Muffins

Blueberries count, right? I think here in the south we must just have different varieties. I have only gone berry picking in June. Thank goodness for frozen ones, right? Anyways, these are my current favorite muffin. I make them as part of my "assorted muffin" new mom gift. They just have a little more...something...than a normal blueberry muffin. The corn gives it extra texture during bites and the lemon brightens up the flavor. I double the recipe, and use 2 whole eggs instead of 4 egg yolks. The only problem is because of the corn, they go bad quickly. Eat or freeze immediately!

Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables

I inadvertently made something that fit the challenge this week, so I thought I'd post it. We were originally planning on grilling the vegetables, but since Spring seems to have gotten lost on its way to Nebraska, I roasted them indoors and added a Greek flavor. I was improvising, so the spices are just an estimate. Oh, and I meant to throw in a can of chickpeas, but forgot--still very yummy! Sorry--no picture.

2 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 red onion, sliced
2 portabello mushrooms, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)
Salt and pepper to taste

Yogurt-Tahini Dressing (from Moosewood)
The dressing adds a lot of tang and flavor and also moistens the couscous which can get a little dry without something juicy on top of it.

1 cup plain yogurt (didn't have Greek yogurt, but I guess this would be a great use for it)
2 Tbsp tahini
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp chopped fresh dill (I used 1 tsp dried)
Salt and pepper to taste

Couscous for serving.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss all vegetables together with oil, garlic and spices. Spread in a single layer onto a baking sheet (I had to use 2). Bake until vegetables are tender and carmelized, appx 25 minutes. While the vegetables are roasting, prepare the dressing and cook the couscous. Serve the vegetables over the couscous with a big dollop of the dressing.

Honey Hoisin Pork Tenderloin

We tried this CL recipe last night, Honey Hoisin Pork Tenderloin. It had a really great flavor and quick if you don't consider the marinating time. The only down point is that cleanup takes quite a bit of soaking time on your pan because of the sugary mess left from the honey and hoisin. I served it with some sauteed potatoes and a green salad.

Roasted Sesame Asparagus

I made that Ma Po Tofu dish again tonight and decided to adapt a recipe I go to quite often from Kerri's Greatest Hits. This is an adaptation of Kerri's Roasted Sesame Green Beans. Here is what I did:

Preheat oven to 450F. Mix 1 t. olive oil, 2 t. honey, 3 cloves garlic (minced) in a small bowl and set aside. Trim 1 lb. asparagus. Line a 9x13 baking sheet with foil. Line up asparagus on baking sheet in one layer. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast 10 minutes.

Remove baking sheet from oven. Using tongs, coat asparagus evenly with garlic mixture; redistribute in one even layer. Continue roasting another 10-12 minutes. During the last 2 minutes of cooking sprinkle generously with sesame seeds.

Eton Mess - (featuring strawberries and greek yogurt)

This is a classic English dessert that we found in a Jamie O. cookbook. We have made it twice, last spring and a couple of weeks ago for Easter. Last year we used his recipe as written with cream and this year we lightened it slightly by subbing Greek yogurt.

1 basic meringue recipe (follows)
1 pint double cream (whoooah that's a lot of cream ... we used Greek yogurt)
1 vanilla pod, scored lengthways and seeds scraped
2 heaping tablespoons caster sugar (superfine sugar)
250 g/9oz strawberries, hulled and sliced
250 g/9oz raspberries
1 t. good-quality balsamic vinegar
optional: a handful of sliced almonds, toasted

First make your basic meringue (recipe follows). Whip the double cream (or yogurt) with the vanilla seeds and 1 T. sugar until you have soft peaks. Don't overwhip - you want it light and delicate. Take half the strawberries and half the raspberries and put them in a bowl with the rest of the sugar and the balsamic. Mash with a fork. Put both the mashed fruit and the yogurt mixture in the fridge until the meringues are ready and cooled.

To assemble, break up meringues into a bowl. Fold the vanilla cream and mashed fruit together until well mixed, then sprinkle in the rest of the fruit and fold again. Layer the crushed meringue and fruity yogurt in individual serving dishes and top with toasted almonds. Put everything together at the last minute so the meringue doesn't go soft.

For the meringue:
6 large very good quality egg whites
300 g./10.5 oz. caster sugar (superfine sugar)
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 300F. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Put egg whites in bowl and make sure there are no pieces of shell or yolk. Whisk on medium until whites form firm peaks. He says you will know that it is thick enough if you can hold the bowl upside down over your head .... it's up to you to try it!

With mixer still running, gradually add sugar and pinch of salt. Turn mixer up to highest speek and whisk for 7-8 minutes until mixture is white and glossy. Spoon your meringue onto the prepared sheet into 6-8 large dollops or one big meringue. Bake for about 1 hour. The meringues should be crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle.

It's beginning to feel a lot like spring!

We're wearing lighter jackets, the trees are budding and there are strawberries and asparagus at the market ... always a sign of spring. This month I'm calling the shopping list challenge. I give you some seasonal items and a couple of pantry items and you come up with recipes featuring at least one of the ingredients on the list. It's up to you to decide the degree of freshness you want to work with. Meaning, I realize fresh spring peas are hard to find in the city so you can use frozen, canned, or preserved ingredients ... the idea is to become more in tune with seasonal ingredients but also to try new things and share great recipes so I don't want to be too confining on the challenge. So here is your shopping list for the month:

from produce section:
peas
artichokes
asparagus
ramps (this one's for Kerri ... they are popular on the east coast this time of year)
morels
chives
strawberries
blueberries
cherries
apricots
rhubarb

from the dairy section:
greek yogurt ... (my new love ... lower in fat than cream but more indulgent than full fat yogurt)

from the aisles:
hoisin sauce
mustards (any type)
sherry
barley
spelt

Hopefully, there is something new on the list that may inspire you. Enjoy!