Napping with the Heart of an Artichoke

By all accounts my grandmother Harriet was a remarkable woman. She could recite the Lord's prayer in her sleep, crochet a baby blanket with one hand, and play poker for hours on end. She also wholeheartedly embraced her community, delivering meals to housebound elderly from the trunk of her Ford Thunderbird, regularly being issued speeding tickets along her route. In short, she was a woman of contradictions and we loved her for it. Many people attributed her near-century of volunteer activity and good health to "solid genes" and a healthy joie de vivre, but I am pretty sure her secret was eating artichokes.


Artichokes are often referred to as the "nutritional powerhouse" of vegetables and, given Harriet's long life, I wonder if she was on to something. She preferred artichokes over every other vegetable, consuming one daily and serving them to us whenever we visited. She favored eating them boiled until soft, except in the warm weather when we all wanted relief from hot foods. In the summer Harriet would dream up new ways to serve us her favorite veggie, often incorporating them into green salads, serving them cold alongside grilled chicken and adding them to quiches. Her imagination served her well and all of her meals were delicious, but, above all, my favorite was her "famous" artichoke heart pasta salad. Unfortunately, though she made this salad for me dozens of times, she never wrote down the recipe, so last summer I had to rely on my memories to write a new one.


My goal in recreating this dish was to make a salad that replicated hers in both texture and flavor, and was able to last in the fridge without getting gummy. I tried a few different combination's of pasta shapes and vinegars until, at the end of last summer, I managed to create a flavor medley that evoked the memories of my grandmother's version. The taste of my final recipe differs slightly from the original. It maintains the core flavors of artichoke hearts and sweet tomatoes wrapped in a tangy vinaigrette, but I revised her formula by adding toasted pine nuts for crunch, as well as some lemon juice to crank up the flavor. I also chose to use orzo instead of fusilli because I find that orzo is less starchy and holds up better when chilled. Since completing this Naptime Chef recipe challenge I have made this salad at least a dozen times. In doing so I discovered that, in addition being great to serve my family, it is a tasty side dish to serve at luncheons and makes a nice addition to any buffet table. Everyone who has eaten it raves about the taste, including my husband and daughter. I have to admit, I was initially surprised that my daughter liked artichoke hearts, until I realized I hadn't considered her artichoke-obsessed lineage. I mean, after all, she is Harriet's great-granddaughter, and that explains it all.

Naptime Orzo with Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes - inspired by my grandmother
1 1/2 c. orzo
4 T. pine nuts, toasted
1 10oz. package of frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
1/3 c. olive oil
4 T. red-wine vinegar
Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
Zest of one lemon
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Cook orzo in a pot of salted boiling water accordingy to package directions.
2. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar and lemon zest in a bowl, set aside.
3. Toast the pine nuts, be careful not to let them burn.
4. Halve the cherry tomatoes and set aside in a separate bowl.
5. Take the thawed artichoke hearts and cut them into quarters. You can add as many, or as little, of the artichoke hearts to the salad as you like to suit your tastes.
6. Once the orzo is cooked, drain it and put in a large bowl.
7. First, add the artichoke hearts and pine nuts and mix it around. Then, add the tomatoes and give the salad another few stirs.
8. Pour over the vinaigrette and gently mix it in until fully incorporated.
9. Finally, add the lemon juice and mix it into the salad.
10. Add salt & pepper to taste. Can be served warm or cold.

Naptime Notes:
Naptime Recipe Props: Like all good salads this recipe is flexible, you could add more, or less, of any ingredient you choose. I have also toyed with the idea of adding roasted cherry tomatoes to see if I would enjoy a richer tomato flavor. I plan to try this over the summer and will let you know.
Naptime Stopwatch: This salad takes about 35-40 minutes to prepare from start to finish. It is the perfect dish to prepare during naptime, this allows the pasta to cool before you serve it for dinner. Naptime Reviews: My whole family adores this salad, especially my daughter and husband. I have also served it at luncheons to great reviews, it travels well and is a great accompaniment to any buffet.

Napping in Hollywood

Summer is right around the corner and I can hardly contain myself. Over the next few months farm fields in the northeast will yield copious amounts of produce just begging to be made into fresh, delicious meals. I can't wait to rip open my summer recipe file and start making my favorite warm weather foods including green salads, fresh pesto in pasta, roasted tomatoes and rhubarb tarts. When I really think about it, the number of recipes I have that are dedicated to foods available in June, July and August is simply staggering, and I can't wait to share them all with you. This week, during a freakish ninety degree heatwave, I decided to kick-off my warm weather cooking with one of my favorite light summer dinners. This recipe isn't necessarily made with fresh food from the farmer's market, but it is lighter fare made without any of the common heavy ingredients (i.e. cream and gruyere) I usually cook with during the winter season. For this reason, the dish is lighter in taste and weight, making it easier to stomach during the warmer months when I don't want to eat heavy foods.

I first encountered this recipe when I cut it out from an old issue of Self magazine. The original recipe was written by Jennifer Garner, who was on the cover that month. I don't know Jennifer but she seems like a really cool Hollywood mommy, a person I would like to invite over for dinner and a playdate with the kids. Given that she is a cool working mom, and the fact that I see her cooking awesome things with Martha Stewart on a somewhat regular basis, I surmised that her recipe was worth a try. After all, right off the bat I could tell that it was a simple recipe based on quality flavors, perfect for Naptime Chef-ing.

Needless to say, her recipe was an immediate hit with the whole family, although I did have to make some initial adaptations to suit our tastes. The first, and most drastic, change I made to the recipe was switching the main ingredient of shrimp to chicken. I cut out the shrimp due to my extreme aversion to the sea creature. (I will spare you the details regarding why I don't eat it, because, trust me, you really don't want to know.) In any event, my daughter prefers chicken over shrimp as well, so this substitution made the most sense for us. Also, since I usually make this in the spring and summer, I had a lot of fun adapting the seasonings to play with the flavor. Naturally, the fresher the herbs I have on hand, the better the overall flavor of the dish becomes.


Preparing this dish during naptime is quite easy and I recommend doing it if you want to save time in the evening. However, if you don't walk in the door until six-o'clock you'll have no trouble having dinner on the table by six-thirty. The best part about this meal, apart from the simplicity in it's preparation, is the delicious flavor. When we eat it we find that each bite bursts with a rich tomato flavor which is absorbed beautifully by the orzo. The tomatoes are brightened nicely with the fresh herbs and salty feta, giving it a warm salty/sweet taste. I have thought about trying it with different pastas, but I think that might overwhelm the sauce, making it seem more like a spaghetti meal. Best of all, when there are leftovers I eat them cold with a fresh crumbling of feta for lunch the next day. I often feed it this way to my daughter as well, which she loves. I suppose if I knew Jennifer Garner I would call her at this point and say thanks for the great recipe idea. But, since I don't, I will just keep getting excited for the summer cooking ahead.

Naptime Orzo, Tomato and Chicken with Feta - adapted from a recipe by Jennifer Garner
1 c. dry orzo pasta
3 t. olive oil
1 c. onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 c. white wine
1 28 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes, juices reserved
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t. Kosher salt
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 t. fresh basil, chopped
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into narrow strips
3/4 c. feta cheese

1. In a pot of salted boiling water, cook orzo according to directions. Drain, set aside.
2. In a large, deep skillet heat olive oil. Add onion and garlic, cook until soft and translucent. About 5 minutes.
3. Add white wine, boil off alcohol. About 1 minute.
4. Add tomatoes, without the juices. Break the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon.
5. Then, add reserved tomato juice, oregano, pepper, salt and red pepper.
6. Add chicken strips.
7. Simmer for about 6 minutes, until sauce starts to thicken and chicken is cooked through.
8. When chicken is cooked through, add orzo and mix well with the sauce.
9. Stir in fresh basil.
9. When it is all incorporated finish the dish by mixing in feta and serve.


Naptime Notes:
Naptime Recipe Props: This recipe is perfect for Naptime Chef-ing because it is infinitely flexible. You can substitute shrimp for chicken if you'd like, and you can feel free to play with different herbs to adjust the flavoring. Once, in a pinch, I used diced tomatoes instead of whole-peeled and they worked just as well.
Naptime Stopwatch: This dish takes about 30 minutes to make in it's entirety. During naptime you can either make the whole thing, or at least chop the onions. But it is really a simple skillet meal, so you can prepare it very quickly.
Naptime Reviews: This dish is a big hit with my whole family. The flavors are simple and delicous, which even my daughter appreciates!