Freezer Cleaning

Shopping in Monrovia is like going to Disneyland. Every visit is a surprise. I normally visit every possible shopping destination in downtown Monrovia to see which place has the new import arrivals. I am always surprised to find the extent of the variety of items sometimes available. Of course, when you find something you like (tortilla chips is a good example), you have to buy out the whole store because you never know when you will see that product again. So I buy a lot. And the prices aren't cheap. A lot of my salary helps to sustain these import markets.

As you can imagine, then, my freezer is packed with frozen vegetables, fresh fish that I freeze each week, cheese, herbs, sauces, meats and everything else I have to stock up in bulk (I have a normal refrigerator/freezer and a dedicated freezer as well). To be able to add the new items in, I have to clean up my freezer often. Last night, it was time for a little freezer cleaning and I decided to start with frozen artichoke hearts. My husband is not a big fan of artichokes so I like the challenge of getting rid of something he doesn't like without him noticing. I knew I could make a wonderful pasta dish with it. I picked some prochutto, garlic, parmesan cheese and fresh basil from my garden to go with the artichoke and fresh pasta.

So that is how this dish was born. Artichoke hearts and pancetta linguini with crispy basil. The result? Even my husband cleaned his dish.

Recipe : Artichoke harts and prochutto linguini with crispy basil