Day 132
Artichokes. I think in the culinary world either you love them or you hate them. I’m not sure. I happen to be in the “love” group. I adore these things.
And yes, I know they are basically tasteless but it’s what one puts ON them that makes all the difference.
Last night I cooked one. I was fishing around in my refrigerator bin and came up with a slightly worn looking green globe. I’d forgotten I’d purchased it and it was looking on the verge of being, well, let’s say … garbage. So, I washed and trimmed and plopped it into a copper pot of water and waited for my yummy orb to be done.
And I waited. And waited. And I waited some more. And when I thought it had to be done, I plucked off a leaf to find that it still needed more time. So, somewhere close to midnight I finally started diving into my treat!
I drizzled it with a little butter and that was it. No salt, no pepper, no garlic or other seasonings. I am a purist when it comes to this thing. I’m sure I cooked all nutritional value out of it because it was cooking for over an hour! But it was as close to heaven as I could get! YUM!
I haven’t always been an artichoke lover. Sam turned me on to them while she was in high school. I don’t remember now where she had one but I’m glad she opened my eyes to them. If I’m at a restaurant and there is artichoke in some dish … chances are really high that that is what I’ll order. Weird little edible thistle that it is!
The globe artichoke (the ones you see in the grocery stores) is a perennial thistle which originated in the Mediterranean area of Southern Europe. It grows normally from four to almost seven feet high. As is the case with most thistles the flowerets of the artichoke are purple (some are more pinky) and the base of the flower is what is edible. And yes, though it is a flower essentially, it is the bud, leaves and stem that are eaten and the flower bears no fruit so it is a vegetable in nature.
I don’t know who decided to chop one of these things down one day while walking through some meadow looking at the sea in Southern Europe and take it home and cook it and eat it – but I’m glad he/she did! Thank you mystery person!
While my mom and I were out on a trip to California (now a few years ago) I remember seeing farmer’s trucks with hand painted signs … artichokes 10 for $1. (Further down the road we saw signs for avocados 10 for $1 but that’s another story.) I was thinking how LUCKY these people were in the area … they could have their fill of artichokes the entire season and not have to pay $3 each (as we did in CO)! Lucky, lucky them!
And as it is with most anything, my dad also has a goofy joke about artichokes … and I have heard it about 100 times (no lie) and yet for the life of me, now, I can’t remember it. But it goes something like this:
Artie and his 3 friends were at the grocery store. They were in the produce section arguing about money owed for bus fare. Artie insisted that his friends owed him one dollar. Anyway, tempers flared, Artie went crazy and strangled all three of his friends. The local paper’s headline the next day was: Grocery Store Madness – Artie Chokes 3 for $1.
Good deal!