My first memory of artichokes was a story a family friend - Helen Michaelis - told when I was very little. It was a scene in a movie when Louis IV or some other French king of the time was served an artichoke. He looked at it and said, "I don't eat cactus." But it didn't take long for me to love the ritual of peeling off leaves and dipping them into the mayonnaise and yogurt sauce. And then, when the leaves were gone, cutting the heart in half, and then eating it. We leave the mayonnaise out of the sauce now, but it's still delicious. Go here for recipes.
Because my family is large and I have nine hungry children to feed, not to mention a robust husband, most of our meals are pretty basic (but GOOD.) One of my friends who has a large family introduced us to artichokes. Her eleven and my nine, her treat. She said, "With meals of hamburger and lots of chili fixed different ways, they can't say you haven't broadened their culinary horizons if you fix artichokes once a year." No matter what the cost, we have them once a year-- I like New Years but this year my eldest will be with a friend from out of town so I am making them on Christmas Eve!
ReplyDeleteIt's good to meet a fellow artichoke eater!
We started growing them in 2006. 2007 didn't turn out too good because I tried growing them indoors, and it got too hot. Next year I'm going to try growing them up against the southwest side of my shop.
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