I Lost my heart to an Artichoke and other happy tails from ChefShop

On a bright sunny day as I look south to Mount Rainier, I wallow in self-pity because I cannot find the words to put down on paper about my hearts.

And I realized there are visual similarities to the heart and Mount Rainier. With the bottom up and the leaves splayed out, it is indeed like Mount Rainier!

Now I am not talking about the throbbing thing which is in your chest (and sometimes in your throat), I am, in fact, referencing the heart of the artichoke from Puglia.

Known as the Romana Style Artichoke. Artichoke Heart; a heart babied in olive oil, wine vinegar, salt and spices.

Almost always the "chokes" you get in the jar or tin can are a variation of these. This is where the olive oil, the wine vinegar, and the chosen spices make a difference! And the artichoke itself is also an important factor in the end result.

Now, a true confession, I really do like the artichoke in a jar thing. So much that I am willing to forget that the last big jar I got from a warehouse store was not very good and I still manage to buy a two-pack every once in a while.

The real trouble with getting those giant jars is that the chokes are mostly hard, the leaves often unchewable and the oil is gross and oily...good oil is not oily.

These Roman style from Puglia are none of those things.

They are, in fact, soft, with a wonderful flavor, interesting and pretty much a pleasure in the mouth.

Often a recipe will have you slice them up into smaller pieces or dice them up, and this makes sense. On the other hand, if you’re like me, cutting them up a little bit for visual reasons works as well. Or just eat them whole right out of the jar when no one is looking. Like drinking from the milk carton....

To the bite it is soft, with just the right resistance, a gentle soft crunch. The leaves and the heart have their own bite and marry well together.

The flavor is a combination of the oil and the choke itself, which is sometimes described as asparagus like (not sure this is quite true) and with a hint of lemon or citrus.

And the oil that they come in is, well full of artichoke flavor. (Keep in mind I can’t seem to describe the flavor.) The oil does taste like artichoke. Perfect for a salad dressing or pasta dish.

Though I am thinking it might jut be right for a hearty bowl of mixed grains of emmer and lentils topped with veggies including these artichokes.

This is a standard around the warehouse. Quick to make and always good. When artichokes are in season -- you can use the fresh hearts.

Traditional Italian penne rigate pasta - drawn through bronze, so that the surface is rough, and ready to take whatever sauce you give it.

Penne is perhaps the best known tubular shaped pasta by name. Think of a large straw with ribs that go vertically along a tube cut diagonally, the length being about 5 times the diameter of the tube.

I would consider this an old reliable shape which works well with almost any recipe, from a simple sauce to mac n cheese! This is a good shape to always have on hand.

Recca capers are grown on the island of Pantelleria and preserved in native sea salt by Agostino Recca. The island of Pantelleria is 70 km away from Africa and 85 km from Sicily. It is considered by many culinary aficionados as the ultimate source for capers.

These are small "non-pareil" Pantescan capers, full of flavor. Being preserved in sea salt means that none of the aromatic flavor has been lost. These Agostino Recca non-pareil Pantescan capers are a fabulous find indeed!

Handpicked and cut, each semi-sun-dried tomato is soft and juicy and packed with flavor.

These delicious semi-sun-dried marinated tomatoes can do double duty as a topping for bruschetta and as an ingredient for a whole host of recipes instead of sun-dried or even canned tomatoes.

Sun-drying alone is already extraordinary. The dehydration process removes up to 90% of the tomato's water, which means every umami compound — especially free glutamate — is concentrated into a tiny, dense package. One sun-dried tomato can deliver more umami punch than several fresh ones.

Then marinating adds another layer. A good marinade typically contains olive oil, garlic, herbs, and often vinegar or lemon — and the extended soak time in oil actually helps draw out and redistribute those concentrated flavor compounds throughout the marinade itself. The oil becomes deeply flavored, which is why the marinating oil is liquid gold and should never be thrown away.

So what you end up with is concentration from drying, plus liberation of remaining bound compounds during the marinating process, plus whatever umami the marinade itself contributes.

Marinated sun-dried tomatoes have significantly more umami than either fresh tomatoes or plain dried ones. They're one of the most glutamate-dense ingredients you can add to a dish — right up there with parmesan, anchovies, and miso. A few of them chopped into a sauce, a salad, or a braise will quietly transform everything around them.

"This was hands-down one of the best canned tunas I've ever had and it's not even oil-packed! I was expecting dry and dense, as water-packed tuna often is. (Packed in its own juices, no water added!) This was so flavorful, moist and delicious on its own that I had it straight from the can, with just a small blast of lemon juice. It easily rivals any of the fancy Italian and Spanish olive oil-packed tuna brands. It's the perfect tuna to build a Salade Nicoise around!!! "

-- Tina Ujlaki - James Beard Foundation's Editor of the Year award -Food & Wine Magazine

This tuna is now my favorite, caught locally (to us), it has the bite and the flavor of what you want a can of tuna to be!

This sashimi-grade young tuna is individually caught with single hook lines and is flash frozen solid at sea right after it is caught, making it a sustainable canned tuna, as well as a tasty one! Averaging up to 50% less mercury than many common store brands, this tuna has more omega 3 fatty acids than most salmon!

A Niçoise tuna sandwich is essentially a handheld version of the classic Salade Niçoise, originating in Nice on the French Riviera. Traditionally made with crusty bread or a round pan bagnat, it combines oil-packed tuna with ripe tomatoes, green beans, hard-boiled egg, Niçoise olives, and sometimes anchovies, dressed simply with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. The bread is rubbed with garlic, layered with the ingredients, pressed together, and allowed to rest so the juices and dressing soak into the bread.

What's Happening in the Store

Seattle Thaw + ChefShop - Exclusive Umami Insider Event - September 11, 2026

We're partnering with Seattle Thaw for another exclusive event for members—this time, we're diving into the savory side of the pantry with our friends from Umami Insider! Come, taste and check it out! Pick your favorite and meet friends new and old who all love food. We love it when you hang out!

Sept 11, 2026
Friday & Monday - Saturday 10am-5pm
ChefShop Retail Shop, 1425 Elliott Ave West, Seattle

Black pepper is bold, complex, and aromatic. The outer skin contains piperine plus earthy, piney, floral compounds (like the terpene sabinene). It has a sharp, lingering heat with a slightly fruity, woody character. What you smell when you crack fresh black pepper is largely those volatile oils in the skin.

The term "Tellicherry" originated when these large, black peppercorns were exported from the Indian port city of the same name.

These Tellicherry peppercorns are pungent, with the deepest, hottest flavor you'll ever find! Once traded, ounce for ounce, for pure gold, these Indian black peppercorns are still a superlative spice that can add a depth of flavor - first heat, then a tinge of sweetness - to your everyday meals.

Black pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe drupes of the pepper plant. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding up the work of browning enzymes during drying.

The drupes are dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the pepper around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. Once dried, the spice is called black peppercorn.

In general, the later the pepper is picked, the better its flavor maximizing the taste of the Tellicherry peppercorns. However, waiting too long to pick is a gamble too; ripe pepper fruits will rot if left too long, and there is also an increased risk of loss to hungry birds or unfavorable weather.

Picking black Tellicherry pepper at just the right moment involves keen judgment and results in Indian black peppercorns with truly excellent flavor.

These corns are the best! Salty, crunchy, small, and just right. Eat a handful if you must, or a few at a time. they satisfy the snack craving every time.

Crunchy through and through, each one crunches just right. Eat one at a time, and you will get 11 crunches (of biting) before you are done, depending on your crunch speed, about 6 seconds of time!

Starting with non-GMO corn kernels, the just plain “Toasted” version is my favorite summer treat. A little oil and salt, and it is perfect in every possible way! I thought bigger kernels were better, but not anymore.

It's hard to explain exactly why we love these so much, but they are the perfect munch food. For your desk or a long car ride, they are the just-right grab-and-bite-sized treat.

Nutmeg isn't just for the holidays.

A little goes a long way: grate just a touch of fresh nutmeg into cream sauces, béchamel, Alfredo, macaroni and cheese, or over mashed potatoes and potato gratin.

It adds a subtle warmth and depth to soups and rice dishes, too.

And on the sweeter side, try it with apples and pears, custards, crème brûlée, flan or rice pudding. Even coffee and chai get a lift from a little fresh nutmeg.

When a whole nutmeg is grated, its cells are broken open and a burst of aromatic volatile compounds is released. These are the molecules responsible for much of nutmeg’s fragrance: warm, woody, sweet, peppery, citrusy notes. Because they are volatile, they readily evaporate into the air. With pre-ground nutmeg, those volatile aromas have left the building.

Freshly grated nutmeg brings that aromatic explosion straight to the plate.

Pimentón de la Vera is a paprika made from luscious red peppers (pimientos) grown in the La Vera microclimate of Spain's Extremadura region. When harvest begins in the fall, entire families get involved.

The mature peppers are placed in drying houses, where they are smoke-dried over oak fires - the mark of genuine pimentón de la vera. The dried peppers are then stone-ground into a powder.

Pimentón de la Vera is D.O. protected - Pimiento de la Vera was the first pepper to receive such designation in Spain. Picante is the "hot" version of smoked paprika, and hence it has a mellow bite flowing into its warm flavor.

It has a more complex flavor than Hungarian paprika, with an aromatic smokiness that puts it in a class of its own. It is an absolutely essential ingredient for many Spanish cuisines.

Fried almonds with the skin on!

When you take a look, at first they look like someone made a mistake and fried them to long. When you find out that they have their skins on and you taste one, you realize what genius they are!

The salt, the almond and the fried skin make just the right combination to this nutty (well actually seedy) treat. Like candy, fried Marcona almonds seem to draw your hand to them.

The salty crunch is addictive and good for you. Like the golden raisins, it's a great snack, and better than a bag of candy corn or malted chocolate sport balls. Mix them with salted marcona almonds and you have delightful appetizer. Just for you!

Wadaman's white sesame paste is an easy way to add a little roasted sesame richness to just about everything.

Smooth and creamy, with a gentle sweetness and a wonderfully nutty aroma, it’s meant to complement rather than take over.

Squeeze a little over steamed vegetables, noodles, tofu, rice, fish or chicken. Mix it with soy sauce, rice vinegar or miso for a quick dressing or dipping sauce, or add a little to a bowl of greens.

It’s especially good with vegetables, where the richness of the sesame gives simple ingredients a little more depth.

And don't stop at savory. Try it with toast and honey, over fruit, or squeezed onto ice cream or mochi. Think of it as a little squeezable sesame boost, with just enough oomph to make your day a bit more interesting.

Fennel pollen, whether you shake your own or not, it is the magical fairy dust that can make life (and dishes) better!

It is so easy to use!

Dust the chicken along with salt and pepper, grill and everything is better! Life is better as soon as you smell it and keeps on going when you bite!

Tired of what to make as the summer seems to disappear? This spice is perfect to keep your taste buds happy and your stress level lower!

Replenish or try it for the first time! This stuff is magical!