The Artichoke Grove

The artichokes have been so much fun!  I mean, how often do we get to eat immature thistle flowers, right?  That's why our spring Crop of the Year Award goes to these beautiful little buds.

   We never thought we would grow them.  It's just not something many people grow in South Carolina.  But when we saw the seed for sale in the Heavenly Seed catalog, we decided to give it a try. This particular variety is called Green Globe.  We knew so little about them, and we had never eaten a fresh one before, just the canned hearts from the grocery store.  Thankfully, the seeds germinated and the baby plants thrived, growing into the enormous shrubs in our garden right now.  Last fall they were so large and lovely that we just couldn't cut them back like all the books/websites recommend.  So we left them and hoped that they would make it through the winter.  Perhaps it's because we had a mild winter, but they never once looked like they were bothered by the cold.  Then, about mid-March, came the fruit- and boy, have they produced!  I would say that each plant has easily produced 30 artichokes, maybe more.  Then came the challenge, and the painful moment when we realized, "We don't know how to eat these things!"  We joked (nervously) about the scene from the Little Rascals, where hungry Stymie throws the artichoke away, exclaiming, "It might have choked Artie, but it ain't gonna choke Stymie!"  That's kind of how we felt at first.  They were beautiful, but hard and prickly.  Thankfully, with the help of a friend and some internet research, we discovered how to enjoy them and we haven't looked back.

Nothing beats artichoke hearts on homemade pizza, so we canned some of our own.

Our favorite way to cook them is to roast them in the oven with garlic and lemon juice.  Trim the tops off and cut all the points off of the leaves.  Trim the stem off the bottom.  rub the top and bottom with lemon juice.  Peel several cloves of fresh garlic and place them throughout the artichoke by pushing them into the gaps between the leaves.  Cut a small piece of tinfoil, big enough to cover the entire artichoke.  Place the artichoke on the foil with the bottom down.  Squeeze a generous portion of lemon juice all over the artichoke and sprinkle with salt.  Then wrap the foil completely around the artichoke, sealing the top.  It will look something like a chocolate kiss, except perhaps not as pointy at the top.  You get the idea.  Then place on a baking sheet and roast in a preheated 375 degree oven until artichoke is tender.  The leaves will pull out easily and a fork will go smoothly through the center.  Then dare anyone not to enjoy them!
  

We still marvel at these wonderful plants every time we pass the garden.  What great variation our Lord has put into His creation!  We are so thankful to live so close to that creation and witness His handiwork even as we sit down to eat our meals.  Do you have a favorite way to cook artichokes?  We'd love to hear it!