Artichoke January 2009 – July 2010
How could I have so quickly forgotten in my Harvest Monday post this week about my Green Globe artichoke?! Sorry old friend, you deserve much better.
And “old friend” is certainly appropriate. I started 6 plants from seed in January 2009 and this year just one of the 2 remaining plants gave me an artichoke. I watched it for weeks nervous that someone would take my prize from the community garden (theft is unfortunately a problem there) and just when I couldn’t stand the suspense for one more second, out came the clippers and I snatched it myself.
I brought my green gardening trophy and gave it a good rinse in the sink. Then I cooked it for about 45 minutes in a steam basket.
Then late on a summer evening, I enjoyed it with a Caper Mayo Dip. To make the dip, blend a 1/4 cup mayo with 1 tbsp drained capers, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp lemon zest and add olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste in a mini food processor. Serve immediately with prized steamed artichokes and, of course, enjoy! I did.
Tags: artichoke, harvest monday
July 22 2010 09:06 am | Growing Food and Harvest and Photography
Robin on 22 Jul 2010 at 12:11 pm #
Oh what a wonderful artichoke! I hope that you enjoyed it! This is the third year that I have tried to grow artichokes….and I finally have one! My husband “The Italian” is so excited.
Garden_Therapy (Stevie) on 22 Jul 2010 at 3:49 pm #
Twitter Comment
Artichoke: January 2009 – July 2010 RIP [link to post]
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Nicole Kramer on 22 Jul 2010 at 4:09 pm #
Caper mayo dips sounds delicious. Filing that one in my back pocket!
Aerelonian on 22 Jul 2010 at 6:30 pm #
I’ve only ever had artichoke mixed into things like dips. I think I’ll get one this weekend when I go grocery shopping. It seems like a lot of time and energy for one artichoke. Are the leaves edible by any chance? Do they tend to produce more with age (I think I remember them being perennials)?
meemsnyc on 22 Jul 2010 at 7:13 pm #
That is a nice prize indeed! Bet it was tasty! Wow, you have theft in a community garden! How rude!
Priscilla Prince on 22 Jul 2010 at 9:31 pm #
That looks wonderful! But does it take a long time to grow? My hubby loves Artichoke especially roasted or grilled! I also love it in dips with Spinach. I’m sure you enjoyed it!
Heather @ Dusty Bay on 23 Jul 2010 at 5:31 am #
Oh my! Your caper mayo dip recipe sounds YUMMY! I haven’t tried growing artichoke hmmmm….
melanie watts on 23 Jul 2010 at 7:14 am #
Oooh what a victory! I’ve never eaten artichokes, It sounds really delicious.
Scott Kronabetter on 24 Jul 2010 at 7:13 am #
Congrats on one tasty looking artichoke. With all that TLC it had to be extremely tasty:))
Aerelonian on 24 Jul 2010 at 2:16 pm #
BTW, try adding some fine feta cheese chunks to a spinach artichoke dip (just sprinkle on top). WOW.
ford ranger guy on 24 Jul 2010 at 10:36 pm #
Eating, loving, singing and digesting are, in actuality, the four acts of the mirthful opera known as the freshness, and they pass like bubbles of a grit of champagne. Whoever lets them break without having enjoyed them is a entire fool.
Sent via Blackberry
Stevie on 25 Jul 2010 at 7:09 pm #
I’m sorry I missed all of these comments – Oh what a week / weekend it has been!
First of all – thanks for saying nice things about the artichoke. Yes, he is a perennial and as time goes on I should get more flower buds to eat. It takes a while to get established, and is is tender so it may not make it through a hard winter. I grew it for 19 months but the plants are big and healthy and could very likely give me many more artichokes next year. Fingers crossed!
Eating a steamed artichoke is as much entertainment as culinary – you peel off the petals and dip the tender fleshy end into the dip, then scrape the ‘meat’ off with your teeth. When you have finished the petals, remove the fuzzy choke and gobble up the delish heart.
If you haven’t tried it – I say go get a few. It’s a lot of fun for a tasty treat. I love food that takes a bit of work though.
Linda on 25 Jul 2010 at 9:12 pm #
What a “handsome” artichoke and a delicious caper dip! I used your recipe yesterday with a not so handsome artichoke and it was very yummy and so simple, thanks.
Laura on 26 Jul 2010 at 1:07 pm #
Fantastic! I love the artichoke blooms! Tasty too! I planted two plants I got from the nursery this year. No blooms this year, but I’m hopeful for next year!