Things I Eat: Artichoke!

There I was, in Trader Joe's, and I saw this. What is it? Can I eat it? (Sorry, Id on't know how to rotate pictures)

Of course, it's four artichokes -  four whole artichokes. Raw. Now, you can eat artichokes raw - you would just clean it and cut off the tough bits and dig right in. You can also boil, steam or even throw these guys on the BBQ.

You do what to buy whole artichokes really close to when you want to serve them. They don't last long. So, grab them a day or two before you want to eat them.

Artichokes are great on their own - you can even dust them with cornmeal or whatever crunches you want. They taste like a very mellow celery, the inners being more robust in flavor than the outer parts. They are super healthy for you - great for stomach aliments. . .

 . . . and really are powerhouses of good stuff like. .I don't know. Antioxidants and stuff. Check it out. Pretty good profile here.

What a delightful veggie!

Wait, it's not a vegetable. It's actually a flower like broccoli and cauliflower. Delicious nature. Now, I would probably just start trying to eat this raw - good thing I have the Internet.

I came across this guide of how to trim and eat it. - How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke which is really a good guide.

I decided to steam my artichoke because it seems like the easiest thing since I have a steamer.

First, you need to "clean" the globes. I pealed off the end pieces by the stem and cut off the top bit where all the leaves really come together. I did score the stem, but, I didn't cut it. The stem is delicious and can be eaten. It is a lot like the artichoke heart - the best part (they say) of the whole thing.

Now, convention will tell you to rub lemon all over the exposed bits to keep them from browning. Because we hate brown? I didn't have time for this, I didn't care of it got brown. It doesn't MEAN anything. Just that the flower is oxidizing - like an apple or avocado inners.

Into my steamer for 25 minutes!

Every wonder why it's called an artichoke? I don't know why either. But, the "choke" is from the thistle bit inside. Artichokes are from the thistle family and you don't want to eat the choke. Or you will choke. I didn't test this. A lot of people remove the choke before cooking, I decided to wait until the whole flower was soft and nice and then remove it.

Here is the steamed artichoke.

I cut it in half and you can see the choke - it is the purple stuff and the thistle like stuff in there. Once cooked, it scrapes out really easily. Once you get in there, you will see all the fibers of the thistle and it is NOT hard to get out.

Then it's time to serve! I got a little olive oil and mixed it with salt, lemon juice and a hint of garlic. The outer most leaves - those only have meat on the base of the leaf. You can scrap this off with your teeth. As you get closer to the heart, you can eat those leaves. They might even look familiar if you ever had an artichoke and spinach dip or artichoke in a salad.

The heart, the bit attached to the stem, is pure eating goodness. You can eat that whole thing easily. Most of the time, when you buy canned or frozen artichoke is it this piece, the heart. Which is great if you think this whole process is too much work.

Here are the remains of the four artichokes. I ate them all myself because my lover is not a big fan of artichoke. Makes sense, he isn't a fan of celery, either.

YUM!