Artichokes.

I am such a fan of the Artichoke, always have been. We had them a lot as a kid. Well… I should clarify- We had them whenever they went on sale. So there. Now you know where I get my ‘gift’ from. And they were always cooked one way: Steamed and served with a curry mayonnaise hinted with yellow mustard. It was delicious and always so much fun because we each got our own. (Isn’t that the best as a kid? Getting your own anything?!) Turns out the Artichoke has some great health benefits too…. aparently its good for bladder and liver conditions. I am so glad we ate ours with a bottle of Unoaked Russian River Valley Chardonnay.
Now as a mom myself I do something very similar to the artichokes I serve my family. I poach mine instead of steaming them in an acidulated broth (that’s my new favorite word, by the way. Acidulated. Fun word.) I flavor the broth with white wine, lemon juice, onion and garlic, bring it to a boil and place my artichokes inside and leave them there til tender. And the sauce is pretty much the same except I use dijon instead of yellow mustard.
Now I get to watch my little 2 year old eat them and he seems to love them as much as I did when I was his age. His face just lit up when I put these big, weird looking, round things down on the table. When he figured out he could play with it and dip it into something-that was the kicker.
But no matter how many small differences there are in the recipe, I still feel a tiny bit like a kid whenever I scrape that fleshy, green meat off onto my teeth.
Tis the season of the Artichoke, my friends. I encourage you all to go out and buy an artichoke or two and play with your food. And your family. Cheers.