Anna Blume

Today, Sunday, at the FRESHFARM Market at Dupont Circle:

Large head of frisee: $1

Suncrisp apples--not as crisp as fresh-picked, but still better than supermarket's apples

Purple-edged butterleaf lettuce prettier than lilacs

The scent of lilacs so strong, bearded man with silk scarf wrapped around his neck moaned

First time I noticed Bonapart. Mon d---u. Wedges of flan tarts with apricots in between pastry and custard. Pain au chocolat.

Slender French radishes to slice and pile on heavily buttered French bread, three stalls down

At least four stands selling small bunches of asparagus for $4 a pop. One young woman exclaimed, "Asparagus with pancetta!" I picked one up.

Tarragon, rosemary, chives, garlic chives and dill

Ramps

Strawberries, though they looked rather pale, at least two farms were selling them.

Beautiful bunches of small red beets with perfect greens. I bought mine at the same time as one woman who asked the kid behind the counter to twist off the tops. My jaw dropped.

"What do you do with them?" she asked.

I gave one example. Upon comparing them to spinach, her nose wrinkled up. "Next time," she said trying to be polite. I now have three bunches of beet greens. Gratin?

CARDOONS

I spoke to Heinz who is going to bring six stalks next week for me. If you're reading this before heading out and would like some yourself, drop by Next Step Produce and ask for some too--but you gotta promise to return and buy them. (Email address can be found on the farm's Web site.)

When they look horrible, ask if you can open up a pod to take a look.

You'd be surprised.

And thanks for the comments here about cashiers not being able to find the right code for items at Whole Foods. I even told my cashier how much they were per pound and she waved me through after consulting someone else's chart. Free food makes double-shelling less of a pain.

Recommendation: a Roman spring stew with new potatoes, onions, baby artichokes, parsely, and lots of peas.*

*Frozen, thawed. Better than fresh English ones. Don't be a martyr.

Oh, boy. I'm a clam now.

I am burying this topic here rather than starting a new thread since I'd like to know whether anyone else has heard anything about the pending demise of Balducci's.

I was just speaking to someone at Whole Foods who used to work for Balducci's. He said his former co-workers are looking to make the same move he did since they suspect the store at Sutton Place is going to be around for maybe two more months at the most.

Confirmations?

Denials?

Is this a local thing...or as implied, is it <<Arrivederci, Balducci's!>> all over again?

FYI. Synopsis below is lifted from the City Paper

YEARNING

In this 1964 film, veteran Japanese director Mikio Naruse tells a story of conflict between old and new while embracing elements of the rising Japanese new wave's cinematic style. War widow Reiko (Naruse regular Hideko Takamine) manages her late husband's family's grocery store, which is losing customers to a new phenomenon, the supermarket. When her in-laws revamp the business and exclude Reiko, she decides to return to her own family. On the trip home--called "one of the greatest train journeys in the history of cinema" by Japanese film expert Michael Jeck--Reiko's story reaches a stunning coda; in conjunction with "Japanese Master Mikio Naruse." (MJ)

National Gallery of Art—Sun., 4/23

Showtime is 4:30. Here's the link to the museum.

Anyone know a place that carries white anchovies?

Are you referring to alici? Vace has them. Some of their prices are lower than WF, but not all.

They also sell large cans of Sicilian salt-packed anchovies that are around $22, but last forever in the fridge and far better than those small flat cans at the supermarket. Dean & DeLuca's will sell you the salt-packed ones individually if you'd like to see how good they are in pasta first.

I found a very old recipe in my card file, and don't know where it came from, but it looks a little generic.  It involves cooking split peas in water and chicken stock with parsley, bay leaf, thyme, marjoram, and peppercorns, and pureeing with cooked carrot, celery, and leek, then finishing with heavy cream and sherry.

...I have...leftover ham that I was going to chop and add to the soup.

Personally, I wouldn't waste the chicken stock since you have the ham for flavor. James Beard recommends sticking 2 cloves into an onion while you're cooking the dried peas in plain water. I like to add lots of extra, if orthodox vegetables, sauting onions, carrots and celery in butter with some of the ham (or bacon, or pancetta). Throw in some peppercorns and a bouquet garni if you have the fresh herbs. Then, towards the end, add lots of diced carrots and potato (try sweet for a change, I suppose) along with reserved ham. Don't puree it all. Texture is good, with lots of freshly grated pepper and a pat of butter (herbal?) plopped in to melt and swirl.

BTW, the Dutch do amazing things with split pea soups and lots and lots of meat, look for snert here. The "Before" shot might inspire other vegetable choices, such as celery root & parsnips. Maybe some fava beans.

Since my error has already been quoted, I won't take advantage of the wonderful invisible editing system here and instead post the following:

The Swiss farmer's name is Heinz Thomet and not Hans.

His business is called Next Step Produce, an organic farm that sells its produce towards the center of the bank's parking lot at Dupont Circle, on the right, if you enter from the gates close to the Metro stop's escalators.

i usually pass by his stand about quarter after nine. i'll grab some if he has them there, just out of curiosity, and it sounds like maybe they can work out when they are bitter. when in doubt, i always start by trying to work new ingredients into a sauce for pasta.

Someone, please send a PM to help me master the double quote since I have tried unsuccessfully to add an earlier quotation to this one above.

Giant Shrimp: Reread my original post about cardoons. You will not be able to grab any from Hans, but do speak to him personally and let him know of your interest. If he is guaranteed customers for his cardoons, he'd be more willing to grow them and bring them to market...or bring in a special order if demand is limited.

i just looked up some information on cardoons, and the first thing i read said they are a winter vegetable and taste sweet, but turn unpleasantly bitter in the spring and can also be woody. do you have experience with this?

I was told cardoons are grown late in the fall in California. When I mentioned this to Hans, he said, "They're a perennial." Perhaps his bad tasting experience was compounded by the season, but cooking the stalks would have been a good idea, too. Also see second link below.

Here's some information.

They were featured in a salad at Chez Panisse Cafe late in March: Post 14.

In Piemonte, and therefore Galileo, cardoons are used in sformati, a type of savory flan that Mario Batali also includes in Molto Italiano.

Grad school is an EXCELLENT place to learn how to cook through making new friends, holding pot luck parties, small intimate dinner parties with just one, two or three others...or bartering. Go to the farmers's markets together. Having really good, basic cookbooks will help you practice through trial and error after said events. Anthro dept. students usually can be counted on, Asian Studies...many departments, really, with international/cosmopolitan demographics would be a promisng source for informal lessons. Good way to relieve stress at the end of the term.

If you are in school for the long haul, sometimes mentors or professors are a surprisingly good source. I know at least one person who learned how to make a proper risotto from a faculty member who invited his seminar over to dinner at the end of the term and asked for kitchen help.

Something more formal? Check The Washington Post & City Paper for short workshops at Sur La Table, etc. They're not always cheap. At FRESHFARM markets, there's usually a chef demonstration once the growing season is fully underway. Recipes from past demonstrations are kept on hand until copies run out.

Yes, I have heard very good things about that place too from another member.

However, in conversation with one of the folks who brings meat to the FRESHFARM market at Dupont Circle early this afternoon, I was told about The Lebanese Butcher. He was pretty sure that baby lamb would be available there, if not cheap.

I ALSO noticed in the back of Cooking the Roman Way, David Downie offers numerous mail-order suggestions, including one he calls a prime source for abbacchio(same thing):

JAMISON FARM

Latrobe, PA

1-800-237-5262

sukey@jamisonfarm.com

Click

I spoke to Hans, the Swiss farmer, who said that he grew cardoons last year, but never brought them to market because they were too bitter. Turns out he tried it raw when making that decision.

After I made my purchase, he offered to bring some to market for me as a special order.

Anyone else for cardoons?

Also spoke to someone who sells meat. See more about that conversation on "Obtaining..." thread.

A quick google tells me yes. Then maybe they would be available at the two Asian grocers in Rockville, too.

Thank you everyone for confirming suspicions and offering sound advice.

I confess that as Pontormo, I started the same exact thread on eGullet to evaluate how local responses might compare to potentially international ones. You all came through first.

This is not worth starting a new thread unless we're all thinking about lamb during the Passover/Easter season, however, something else I have been looking for is suckling lamb.

In the Italian forum of eGullet (I'm sorry. I hope this isn't like talking about your ex on a first date), we're cooking our way through Lazio during the month of April with an emphasis on Rome. Someone in the Netherlands said baby lamb is plentiful in Amsterdam and not just the object of a Roman cult. Here in the United States, no one can find it.

I did a quick google search and read one explanation for its scarcity: it's not considered profitable to slaughter lambs that young in the UK or the US when you can produce more meat with an older animal. Someone at Balducci's* tonight told me that Icelandic lamb, available now but not offered here until late in the fall at Whole Foods, is suckling, or what he calls, spring lamb.

Does anyone know if farmers's markets in the country are starting to carry it? Or know more than I do about reasons it's not in stores?

*BTW, the butcher at WF/Tenleytown laughed when I posed the question to him. "You don't know HOW many people asked me for the same exact thing today!!" Coincidence?

Be foreward -- some more fastidious folk have found The Big Store a little dingy -- or maybe they're just put off by the salsa music.  I think it's great though, if you know what to get there. 

PS -- if you like mangos, they had some delicious little yellow ones for sale last time I was there.  Same kind they sell at WF, but priced for buyers who don't have gold cards.

Not a reference to me, I hope? I like salsa. My first visit was rather exciting since I felt that I was no longer in the United States.

I was put off by areas of the store that did not seem sanitary. Items in the produce department that did not move quickly looked sad, such as the otherwise cool, pudgy aloe leaves. The fish department scared me the most, and I therefore felt inhibited in front of the meat cases which nonetheless did have lots of interesting things that a gringa might find exotic: pig ears and curly tails and so forth. The range of dairy products was fantastic and there were quite a few packaged items that you could not find easily elsewhere, let alone at the price. FYI, there were no ancho chili peppers to be found--my goal since the ones at WF are ridiculously costly--so like any other store everything isn't always there. Dried beans galore. Cheap rice, chilies in adobe....

Here's the web site for the entire local region, including newer stores.

BTW: I bought those little champagne mangoes at 3 for $2 at WF on sale. Magruder's sometimes has better deals.

Postscript regarding initial inquiry: I second Al Dente's recommendation, but advise calling ahead. I was pleased with capons purchased at much better price than at WF, fresh vs. frozen.

If there is a possibility of anyone there being kosher, you might wish to skip the meat...although what does one do about animal-based rennets in cheese?

This is the recipe one of my friends uses. It's great.

(The other brisket you made sounds Sephardic.)

Saltimbocca

Fricasse of baby artichokes with lemon-mint sauce

Country Wheat baguette

Cacio di Roma

Half of an apple

H D Raspberry sorbet-vanilla yogurt swirl

Speaking as a shiksa who has not eaten as much brisket as others, I have to admit my favorite preparation is even more traditional and easy, if it takes a couple of days--are you cooking for the first day of Passover? The recipe is from Gourmet, so it's probably on epicurious and calls simply for the meat and onions, the latter melting to add the only sweetness.

Then, your creativity could run wild with all the sides, including Italian Jewish dishes such as artichokes alla Giudia which are slow-fried until practically gilded.

I can't guarantee that they're any good, but Whole Foods at Tenleytown had some fresh ones from from California today at $2.99 a pound.

In a pinch, use edamame.

Every now and then I have been frustrated in attempts to purchase food items locally that cannot be found at major supermarkets or specialty stores.

For example, I was on a quest for cardoons during the height of their growing season in California. I don't recall their presence at the farmer's market, though I frequented only FARMFRESH markets until early December. I tried all Whole Food stores, Dean & DeLuca's and Balducci's. Since the vegetable is exotic for many who work in produce sections, conversations have been either amusing or frustrating. One of the cooks from Galileo swore they were sold at WF in Alexandria or Arlington; no one at those stores recalls selling them.

I had a similar experience looking for guanciale, though I was told Frank Ruta produces his own. Mario Batali offers instructions in Molto Italiano, though I would need to find some hog's jowls (Asian grocers in Rockville, perhaps) and be willing to tolerate the odor of hanging meat for several weeks in my refrigerator...and willing to suffer the consequences of trying this myself. I had better luck with Montasio, though I heard interesting explanations for the reasons WF decides to discontinue items and how decisions to order new cheeses are made.

Ordering food by mail is often possible. However, we live in a city that is gaining a reputation for its restaurants. We have a cosmopolitan population. (I hear Italian while riding the Metro several times a week.) We're told by chefs and food writers to ask for things you would like, otherwise we'd all be mincing curly parsley still. How?

What are the most effective ways to convince stores to stock items they don't? Do you have any success stories to report? Advice from food professionals who field such questions or make decisions are welcome.

Finally, is there any way to approach a chef or kitchen staff under such circumstances if you are not a recognized, regular patron of the establishment? Or is that simply really bad manners?

I will point out that, of the four (of 12) people at the table who had read the book, all were "chicks." And that it appears to spend a lot of time talking about relationships -- one of the key warning signs of chick lit.

As one of the two literate err chicks present who has not contributed to this thread until now, I'd like to make a few observations about Julie and Julia as Chick Lit.

One of the reasons that Harry Potter isn't Harriet Potter is that girls are much more willing to read books with male protagonists than boys are apt to read books featuring a heroine. At a certain age that changes, of course, but primarily in terms of comic books where the strong central figure is as gorgeous as she is heroic, prompting desire rather than identification. There are exceptions, too, but quite a few are not flattering, e.g. Madame Bovary whose male author uses his titular character to speak of the susceptibility of the bourgeoisie to romantic novels and thus, its petty values and foolish views on life. And we all know about Henry James and women.

The marketing of Julie Powell's book kept such tendencies in mind. Look at the cover. How many guys will pick up and buy something with a jacket designed in pastel Eastery blue-green tones (which I LOVE) with such a cutesy whisk in the foreground of a culinary still life?

The author is nonetheless a type whose vulnerable hysteria (I did choose that word wisely) is balanced by her guts, her fondness for swearing, handling of offal and the kind of gross animate phenomena that one encounters on plates in reruns of Fear Factor. (Are you supposed to italicize the names of TV shows? Does that one deserve it?) She's also a damn good writer. I am biased, though, since I began to learn how to cook with the same book that she takes as the subject of her year-long blog and I also believe that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the best shows ever broadcast.

For me, Nigel Slater's Toast is a good touchstone for J/J. It is equally emotional and also about relationships. Come on, so is Nabokov's Speak, Memory and Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars. (Read the former, not the latter.) Like entries on a blog, and unlike JP's publication, its meditations on food are quite short. What distinguishes it is that it is more retrospective. It is about the shaping of a culinary profession at the same time that it is about the shaping of a self. This gives it a kind of Guy respectibility, I suppose, since Slater's punchline is known. He is a successful chef and cookbook writer. Slater is actually best when speaking about his childhood and the ways food mattered as he found his way in and outside of his family. The book glosses over his early career far too abruptly and without the immediacy that lends power to the earlier sections.

One could say that Powell's book is the work of a younger voice as well as that of a female author, one whose sales and publicity help establish a career that will be spent at a computer rather than a stove.