#70 Let’s Talk about Globe Artichokes!

Today we're going to talk about one of my favorite foods in the world. Whenever people ask me what's the food that I could eat over and over, if I could just choose one food, that would be artichokes; fresh, whole, steamed artichokes with a feta dip. 

I love to take the whole green artichoke, cut off the top of the leaves where it's spiky, cut off a little bit of the stem, and then put them with the stem down in my steamer. They steam for about 45 minutes, and then they're beautifully soft. Then you pull off each leaf, scrape it on your teeth, and eat the inside of it. Then you start to slice off the little pieces of the heart to eat. The flavor is just incredible - there's nothing like it. Artichokes are a unique vegetable. They're beautiful, they're fresh, and they just taste so good. 

I've always loved artichokes, ever since we lived in California and I was introduced to them. Sometimes we dip them in garlic butter, but just the flavor of the artichoke leaf is amazing. If you've never tried an artichoke, I encourage you to try them. You can steam them in a pot with a bit of water and the lid on, and there are many pre-cooked and canned ones you can buy. You can buy jars of artichokes in oil or sometimes in brine, and then you just drain them. Inside, you'll usually find the heart, and you can just chop that up and add it to things like salads and pizza.

So, we're going to talk about the benefits of artichokes, what you can use them in, and all of those things. The globe artichoke is actually a thistle. It comes from the Mediterranean region, and it's cultivated for its edible flower - the bud of the flower; it's harvested before the flowers bloom. What we eat is the fleshy base of the leaves and the tender heart.