Cardoons and other Cookery

The aim of gardening is ultimately, of course, eating what you grow. And my family, well, we love to eat. I remember once a friend who had come to visit was astonished that my family began discussing what to have for dinner which still eating lunch; but that's just our way. Food (growing, cooking, eating) must be up to half of what we talk about some days, which is alright by me.

On the farm, there are certain priorities when it comes to deciding what to eat; whatever's growing in the garden, what cheese we have around at the moment, and using up something out of our over-stuffed larder and freezers. Yes, multiple freezers. The one in the house with more normal freezer items (i.e. icecream) and the chest freezer outside, which is pretty much just stuffed with 'farm meat). Did I mention that we also have multiple fridges? The two (two!) in the garage are for cheese and other dairy products. Don't worry, they're both small.
Anyway, its an interesting time of year to be cooking, because there is a limited number of things currently growing, some things left over from last year (including those already in jars) and a vast array of aged cheeses. Its an enjoyable challenge, figuring out how to use what we have. There's been yogurt soup from a Middle Eastern cookbook, various pumpkin things with pumpkins hanging out from last fall, versions of the delicious shakshuka from Smitten Kitchen made with mom's canned tomatoes, and a beet salad where all the ingredients came from our land or was brought from nearby (beets, fennel, walnuts, goat cheese, lemon zest). It was really colorful, too, except I only thought to take a picture until after we'd scarfed it all down. Woops. The first real cooking challenge that I came across was Cardoons. Ever heard of them? I hadn't. According to this excellent website that Marianne sent to me, this relative of the artichoke was originally eaten by the Romans, and spread through the Roman Empire. Its the stalks that are eaten, usually after being boiled and often in the company of cheese, milk or butter (the French often cook them in milk). These majestic stalks do not, however, grow well farther north than southern France. They seem to have been greatly desire by the Swiss, enough so that they attempted to create something similarly stalk-y by 'improving' upon beets; and Swiss Chard was born (for a more detailed version of the story, I recommend the website). Interestingly enough, we also have chard growing in the garden, although here they call it 'beetroot', which takes it right back to its origins.
Anyway, what do you do when you have alot of something weird and no idea how to cook it? Because these things are huge, and the stalks are definitely on the tough side. Luckily, Mario Batali, the well-known Italian chef, apparently loves cardoons (he says they have a 'sexy flavor'). My dad loves Mario's cookbooks, so we had recipes. Apparently, the key is to boil the heck out of them until they actually get tender. My second attempt, cardoon custards with a hint of nutmeg, was the most successful. Though really, anything covered in egg and cheese with a hint of nutmeg is going to be a winner. We'll see how later recipes go; as per the advice of a gardening book, I have now trussed up some of the cardoons to be blanched before eating, which might make the flavor even more 'sexy'. Plus, they look charmingly like some sort of weird Christmas present.