Robb + Jessie Married & in the Badger State
Monday evening
It must be spring in Madison as we have a continual 40 — 90% chance of rain every day. Thankfully, the sun was out (abet, setting) for my walk from work to State Street where I met up with Sean and Robb. We enjoyed a Nepali dinner [Chautara] and took a stroll along Lake Mendota aid in digestion. After coming home, I started working on a rendition of Sean’s favourite ice cream from Molly Moon’s Handmade Ice Cream: salted butter caramel ice cream. [Yummmm].
Ramp and Parsley Pesto Pasta
Yesterday, Robb and I enjoyed a lovely morning-date at the Dane County Farmer’s Market. We rode our bikes to the capitol and strolled around the square in a leisure fashion. Arriving at 8am was just a little bit too late to miss the start of the rush (families with strollers and slow moving people). Nevertheless, we were able to find everything we came looking for: spring garlic, ramps, rhubarb, and asparagus. Probably my favourite spring veggies. The other week I had a craving for ramps after seeing Hank’s (from Hunter Angler Gardener Cook) guest post over at Simply Recipes on Ramp and Pesto Pasta. Last year, we missed the ramps by a good month (we enjoyed green garlic in the meantime)… but this year we were ready.
Ah, but what are ramps? If you don’t know of Allium tricoccum already, you are missing out. These beauties are typically found east of Minnesota in the spring time. Not until we moved to Wisconsin did we discover what all the fuss was about. As a member of the onion family, they are known under several different names including ramps, spring onion, ramson, wild leek, or ail des bois (French). Eaten raw, they have the flavor of onions and garlic. Upon gentle cooking (like sautéing or blanching) they develop a more mild and sweeter flavor. So, in early spring, check out your farmer’s market and see if you can score some ramps! Otherwise, you can use green (or spring) garlic which is baby garlic which has been harvested before the bulbs mature. They look a bit like scallions and are more prominent throughout the States in the spring time. You can use them in place ramps in pretty much every recipe.
Last night, after a long, long run (we didn’t get home until 9:30!) we quickly threw together the ramp and parsley pesto that we had been dreaming about all afternoon…
We served it on top of some garlic and basil pasta from Trader Joe’s. Now, that hit the spot.
And finally, we sauteed some of the asparagus we bought earlier yesterday, too. I do not think I have ever enjoyed fresher, more tender asparagus in my life. Yum!
Wondering what to do with the leftover pesto and white tips of the ramps? Try this.
Happy Autumn!
It is October, my favourite month.
A few of my favourite photos from the past week.
A beautiful fiery red tree by our new house.
We now live next to a playground with swings.
We saw Sufjan Stevens on Monday night.
My Schedule is Clear
For my last night in Seattle, I went to the Late Tuesday “reunion” concert at the Triple Door (what an amazing venue) with Hayley and Jamie. Hay introduced us to the band during our first year at Central Washington University. Since then we have been hooked. (We even drove to Moses Lake in December 2005 to see them!) Anyway, there was a man sitting next to our booth who told his waiter that he was waiting for his wife to arrive and only then would he place his dinner order. He went on to explain that the previous night he had told his wife that he had a huge surprise for her and explained which bus she should take after work and that he would give her further instructions when she got off the bus. Needless to say she was thrilled. The next day I told Robb about this little surprise and how I’d love to be surprised like that someday.
Little did I know what was waiting for me at home. Apparently our friend Aaron informed Robb that Sufjan Stevens was coming to Madison (I was oblivious to this upcoming concert). Now, if you don’t already know, Sufjan is probably one of our favourite musicians. After Ruthie and Eric dropped me off at our new apartment, I noticed a letter on the table that Robb had left for me. Reading it I discovered that Robb had already planned to surprise me just as I hoped he would. (I love that we think alike). Anyway, we are going to see Sufjan Stevens at the Majestic on 28 September. Hooray!
In case you are wondering, Robb made those tickets (I thought that those were the actual ones being distributed for the concert). Are they beautiful or what?
Madison Restaurant Week: Harvest
Like many major food-friendly cities, Madison hosts its own restaurant week twice per year in both the winter and then again in the summer. There is nothing better in the winter than to bundle up and meet up with good friends at one of the city’s well renowned restaurants. And in the summer, restaurant week is a good excuse to keep the oven off and let someone else feed you. For $25 each person selects an appetizer, main course and dessert from a simple menu. This past winter, we visited L’Etoile with our friends, the Vincills. We decided to repeat our fun evening and eat at Harvest this year.
If you recall, Robb and I went to Harvest for our first anniversary this past January. Just like last time, our food was quite memorable. From the fixed-price menu, Robb enjoyed the green salad, short ribs, and chocolate cake. I tried the zucchini almond soup, the chicken, and the espresso ice cream. Ruthie had the identical meal except gave me her olives from the chicken (major win for me) and had the cake instead of the ice cream. Eric ordered the beets, short ribs, and panna cotta. If we had to pick a winner for each of the menu items (sans the homemade pasta), the soup won in the appetizer category, the ribs won the entree, and according to Eric, the panna cotta won for the dessert (I beg to differ because I do not enjoy food that wiggles).
We, of course, had a lovely time and are looking forward to enjoying another year of restaurant weeks in 2010.
Bon appétit!