Artichoke Fest!

Hi there,

So my plan for tonight was to make a roasted artichoke and garlic bruschetta.  But what happened instead was that the food took over.  It does that sometimes; don't be scared.  I went for a brisk 10k walk this a.m. in 1 hr. 40 min. (very proud of that) and made my friend/coach Denise a salmon lunch with salad wth miso/tamari/sesame dressing. 

Also, we stopped off at Gold Leaf Spice and Teas -  and we got to taste a whole host of balsamic vinegars and olive oils.  Yum!!!  Get in there soon and get a taste of the future - and get a say in it, too. Please convince Terri that truffle oil's a Good Thing!!!

I put 6 (halved and trimmed of rough outer leaves) baby artichokes in acidulated (that means there's lemon juice in it) water and cooked the water and artichokes together on low on the stovetop for 30 minutes.  Then I chucked it in the oven with an olive-oil drizzle for another 20 minutes, thinking, "Oh, that'll be plentyof time."  I'd already cut the top off a head of garlic, drizzled it with olive oil and wrapped it in foil, putting it into a 425 degree oven, 20 minutes ahead of the artichokes.  So the garlic was in 40 minutes, all together.

After the second 20 minutes in the oven, the garlic was done.  The artichokes, not so much.  I covered the pan with foil and put it back in for another 20 minutes.  So now the baby 'chokes were done, but they wanted to be eaten in stages...leaves, then hearts (which I wanted for the bruschetta).

I stood at the counter and ate as many leaves as I could get down...about 3 'chokes worth -- and put the rest in the fridge with the roasted garlic.  I'll get back to you on how I use all that tomorrow.  In the meantime, I'll see you at the market!!