Spring marks the presence of fresh vegetables. You know, the kind that didn’t grow in the ground. Artichokes, asparagus, spinach and ramps all start to make their appearance. And while Ole thinks it’s cool to grill in the middle of winter, outside with several feet of snow and a temp well below zero, I’m guessing that this is one of those things that make him stand out from the crowd. So, spring also marks the beginning of the grilling season (for the rest of the world, at least). My favorite way to eat all these spring vegetables is to toss them on the grill.

Start by squeezing a lemon into a bowl of water to house your halved artichokes. They brown quickly, so it’s best to have this ready before you cut into them.

Soak the artichokes in the lemon-infused water while you prepare to boil them.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. By large, I mean large enough to hold however many artichokes you’re planning on grilling.

Add the artichokes, turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove the artichokes from the water and drain…

…placing them in a bowl with olive oil, minced garlic, a bit of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss to coat.

Place the artichokes directly on a hot grill.

Use any leftover oil from the bowl to baste the artichokes while you’re grilling.

Continue to grill for 5 minutes a side until artichokes start to show grill marks and char, about 15-20 minutes total.

While the artichokes are grilling, mix up an easy aioli using mayonnaise, the remaining half of lemon, garlic, a bit of onion or shallot and salt and pepper.


And serve your artichoke with the aioli to dip in. You can peel the petals off prior to serving as I did here for the kids, or you can serve whole and peel towards the tender heart of the artichoke as you eat, which is how I prefer to do it. Note: Ole was surprised how popular these were with the kids. They were all excited, ate a half an artichoke each and were begging for more.

In fact, they were such a hit that we even decided they should make an appearance at our neighbors’ barbecue get-together this past weekend. We prepped them at home up until the grilling stage and just showed up with a bowl with a bowl full of seasoned artichokes ready to hit the grill.

Ready?  This one is going to go fast.

Ingredients:

Sweet corn

Water


The trick here is in the technique.

First, peel and remove any loose leaves.  Only the loose ones, we’ll need the rest later. This is the perfect time to get your kids involved. Everyone wanted to get their hands on their own ear of corn as we got them ready.

Next, as evenly as possible, split and fold back the remaining husks just enough to remove the silk, then close the husks back up around the corn.

Place the resulting product into a bucket or cooler full of cold water.  Repeat this procedure on the rest of your ears.  I’ve found that they don’t really need to soak that long, maybe ten minutes.

Oops, Kumquat went a little too far on one of those.

In the mean time, light your grill and let it warm to about 400 degrees.  Place the corn, still wet and in the husks directly onto the grill.  Close the lid and let them cook for six to eight minutes.

After the allotted time, flip the ears over.  You should notice that the kernels that were on the bottom have taken on a more vibrant yellow color, this means you are on the right track.

Notice the darker yellow in the two on the left.

I like to leave them a little on the firm side because there’s nothing worse than mushy corn.  Plus, they will continue to cook off the grill if you remove them to a covered foil pan which is what I do.

Wrapped in foil, they will stay hot for up to thirty minutes or more, which will give you plenty of time to prepare other sides, a main course and drinks.  If your guests don’t mind, leave the husks on and let them peel the corn themselves. The peeled leaves can also act as a handle of sorts.

We had this corn along side herb crusted beef tenderloin and toasted cheese bread tonight.  The best part was, I didn’t set out butter or salt or pepper, and no one even asked for it.  The corn was that good on its own.  The final product is sweet and firm with a distinct roasted flavor that you just can’t get from boiling water.

So do yourself a favor, keep the heat outside and cook your sweet corn on the grill.  I don’t remember the last time I boiled corn, and I really don’t care if I ever do it again.

When we were considering what to fill our raised bed garden with this spring, one of the things that made the list and was on the “must have” list were chub cucumbers or pickling cucumbers. Chubs are smaller cucumbers. They’re like the short, stumpy cousin to the long, lanky cucumber most of us are familiar with. If you pick them early, they look like a pickle, but if you leave them, they fill out and get this pudgy shape. They’re also a little bit firmer than your regular, everyday cucumber, which makes them perfect for a ten-minute pickling.

The reason we knew we had to have chubs was because of the refrigerator pickle delicacy that graces our plates all summer long. On the side, on sandwiches, burgers, pulled pork, in a salad, everywhere. They are what summer tastes like for our family. We decided that it was time to invest in our own cucumber plants rather than searching for them every week at the farmer’s market, we love them that much. So, I sought out pickling cucumber seedlings at the farmer’s market instead, and once I’d identified the proper plant, we were in the cucumber-growing business.


The pepper grinder is missing from this picture because…it broke. We go through more pepper grinders than I ever thought possible. I think it’s time to invest in a nice one, one that will set me back $100 but that I won’t have to replace every four months. For two weeks now we’ve been using a mortar and pestle to grind peppercorns down to the desired size. It’s a labor of love.


Add the above ingredients to a bowl full of cucumber slices, onions and fresh dill. Ole claims that the ice is key here and that it properly melds the flavors into one. I say it’s because we like them to be cold within five minutes to get it to the table faster. If you can resist eating them all in one night, they are a little bit more tart the next day and delicious.


This particular batch topped off these sliders or were eaten next to them on the side. The next day, Ole tossed them into a spring mix salad and I used them in place of coleslaw on a pulled pork sandwich. They’re a versatile treat, and they add a bite of freshness to several of our everyday summer dishes.

For more cucumber recipes, visit Tammy’s Recipe’s In-Season Recipe Swap.

Jen Isham went home on The Next Food Network Star premiere this Sunday for making green beans for a room full of Food Network stars. A simple search of their recipe index reveals that they have 186 sautéd green bean recipes. This doesn’t even begin to go into the total 1201 recipes that involve green beans on the site. What they’re saying is you can make green beans, just do it at home and not for a room full of Food Network stars. In fact, you could make THESE green beans. At home. For your family. Or your friends, if they aren’t Food Network stars, of course.

These are not my beans, grown at my house in my dirt. These are someone else’s beans. My beans have yet to produce anything. They’re coming along, though. All in due time. Gardening is about persistence and patience.


You want to break or cut off this end.


Not this end. That would just be a waste of green bean.


This end with the stem.


Onion, ginger, garlic.


Dice the onion into teeny, tiny bits and mince the garlic and ginger. I had Ole help with this because I was busy making potstickers. Turns out Ole likes to eat potstickers but he is not a fan of actually making potstickers because – gasp – they stick to the pot.


When you blanch the green beans you only want them in there for 2-3 minutes. Then pull them out and rinse them with cold water. This will make sure they stay nice and bright green and don’t get dull and bluish. You could also stick them in a bowl of ice water.


While the green beans are chilling, start heating your oil.


Start with the onions, garlic and ginger, followed closely by the green beans. The idea is to keep the green beans continuously moving in the pan. So, stir them, shake them, slide the pan back and forth across the burner. Keep it moving.

When the onions start to turn color, add some rice wine. You could also use cooking wine, a white wine, sherry. It all depends on your taste. I have this rice wine from previous adventures in Asian cuisine. Considering the menu, I stuck with this. It only takes a minute or two more.


We like to serve a vegetable (or two) with all of our meals, but sometimes themed meals can be hard to come up with something appropriate. What do you eat with General Tso’s chicken, for example? Regular green beans don’t really cut it, but the addition of ginger and rice wine make for a wonderful compliment to several Asian-inspired meals. This particular meal happened to be white rice, potstickers, Asian jerk red snapper and the beans.

For more green bean recipes, visit Tammy’s Recipes In-Season Swap.