Late summer is blessed with beautiful heirloom tomatoes, and such is a good time to make heirloom tomato salad and of course, "No-Need-To-Cook" Tomato Sauce.

If you happen to have a basket full of of fresh heirloom tomatoes, using these tomatoes as the ONLY salad ingredient in Heirloom Tomatoes Salad would be perfect.


With a limited quantity on hand, the next I could think of is bulk it up with other vegetables such as broccoli or artichoke hearts (try Parchment-Roasted Fish with Artichoke Hearts and Roasted Artichoke Hearts, Mushroom, Chickpea Salad) for the recipe today.

Getting to the heart of this matter is tough. Heart of the artichoke, I meant. Perhaps I just don't have the patience to get to the heart of it (artichoke).


En papillote or parchment cooking is my favorite way to cook fish (also check this recipe: En Papillote (Parchment-Cooked) Shrimps with Asparagus & Artichokes).

Easy, quick, healthy yet satisfying for weeknight dinner - parchment cooking is also a great way to experiment with different vegetables and to discover new tastes. Today, let the artichoke hearts befriend the fish.

A simple one-bowl salad of everything, combines two cooking techniques in vegetables preparation -via roasting and steaming. The cauliflower and broccoli could have jolly well been roasted to charred-smoky deliciousness; but personally, I prefer my fresh cruciferous vegetables - steamed e.g. Steamed Purple Cauliflower, or stir-fried e.g. Stir-Fried Broccoli with Beech Mushrooms. Steaming, in this case, retains maximum nutrients using shorter time (10 mins or less), and lower cooking temperature 100degC steam-temperature.

In the past, Spring usually brings asparagus, asparagus and more asparagus to the dinner table. This Spring however, artichoke made its way to join asparagus in unexpected surprises.


Use fresh whole artichokes if possible however for the benefit of quick and easy meal preparation, frozen artichoke hearts can be a happy alternative. Artichokes and Pea Flatbread/Lavash Pizza, ABC Pita Pizza, Artichoke and Leek Soup, and even a Steamed Vegetables-Medley Packet (Vegetables En Papillote), they are easy and delicious dinner or side-dishes using frozen artichoke hearts.

Even though it is frozen version, these artichoke hearts impart so much flavor to the dish. Best of all, this dish takes no more than 30 minutes - prep. to finish.

Ever since I got the hang of making lavash bread pizza/ flatbread pizza, I have been switching up ingredients to create a variety of vegetarian pizzas.


The creation for today is ABC pizza: Artichoke, Broccoli and Cheese Pizza.

As the oven is doing the "cooking", this is an absolutely an easy dish to prepare if you are entertaining at home. I have been serving these pizzas to impress, especially when there are guests at home. Best of all, I don't break a sweat doing it.

Artichoke, Broccoli and Cheese Pizza 洋蓟西兰花起司比萨饼
First, blanch broccoli florets and thaw frozen aritchoke hearts, set aside. Sprinkle bottom layer with grated mild cheddar cheese, then top with veggies and top with more cheese.

Bake in preheated (385-390F) oven for about 10 minutes till the cheese melts.

Are frozen artichokes as versatile as frozen peas and corn kernels as a freezer-staple? I say "Yes". Make Artichoke Pizza, include them in Parchment-Steamed or Baked Vegetables or cook Artichoke and Leek Soup.


The thought of artichoke soup usually brings me back to Duarte's Tavern, Pescadero, CA. Its artichoke soup is the best! Fresh and so flavorful. Not as if I have tried and tasted many artichoke soups from different eateries/restaurants to be able to say Duarte's is the best but IT IS.


Today I am making a homemade version that is worth making the effort because there is really not much effort to begin with. It is easy to prepare and full of flavor. Best of all, it looks creamy but is in fact a "cream-less" recipe.

There is even a label-category for En-Papillote or parchment-cooking in my blog - that speaks how much I like this method of cooking. Fuss-free, clean, neat, retaining moisture and flavors - basically I cannot find any negatives, particularly catering to my personal preferences where taste and convenience is concerned. Recently, my Cod Fish and Zucchini and Bell Peppers was also shared as part of 12+ En-Papillote ideas for cooking fish.


I have been experimenting parchment-cooking with different combination of vegetables, and really happy with the results. Up above (left), you can see artichoke hearts with heirloom tomatoes and asparagus; another pack (right) of broccoli, zucchini, red bell peppers, tomatoes, and Maitake mushrooms.


These veggie parcels can also be prepared, sealed in parchment one day in advance, stored in the fridge.

Not all frozen food are bad. There are some frozen ingredients/food such as frozen peas and corns that are time-savers in the kitchen. Frozen vegetables such as peas and corns are frozen at source, to lock the nutrients loss that fresh vegetables usually suffer during packing and shipping (transportation).


Another frozen food/ingredient that I have discovered recently is frozen artichoke hearts. That really save me a lot of prep. time for artichokes. I stay away from bottled artichoke hearts as they are usually marinated, overpowering the taste of the actual artichoke hearts most of the times.

"Why not fresh whole artichokes instead?" you asked. Well, I decided that it was too much work getting to the core -heart of the artichoke. Thus, frozen artichoke became my intermediate solution between whole fresh artichoke and bottled marinated artichoke hearts.

With this new discovery, making this Artichoke, Pea and Corn Lavash Flatbread Pizza was so easy.