Artichoke Attempt

I think artichokes are so interesting and odd.

Though I’ve ordered them at restaurants in a variety of ways and used jarred artichoke hearts countless times, I’ve never really cooked with fresh artichokes. At the farmer’s market last weekend, I decided I’d nab one and try to cook this strange veggie.

To help determine what parts I’m supposed to chop off, how to cook it, and which parts should actually go in my mouth, I turned to my Joy of Cooking: All About Vegetarian Cooking book and followed their instructions on how to prepare an artichoke. It didn’t seem too hard.

I would share the recipe and process on here with you if I were sure that I actually trimmed it properly or ate the right parts.  But I’m totally not.

The last step in prepping it was to scrape up a “thicket of fuzz” aka the choke, which I just could not find… that is until I started to eat it by accident and noticed something prickly on my tongue. Whoopsies. 

Though not a complete success, there was no harm done experimenting with cooking an artichoke myself. You win some, you lose some.. and sometimes you decide that things are better if others prepare them for you (as is the case this time)!

What I do want to post is a great lunch (or snack) combo. I made it today and it’s quite possibly my new favorite lunch. It’s light, tasty, and can be eaten warmed or chilled:

Pita of Goodness

All You Need:

• 1 whole wheat pita (Sara Lee – I toasted it)
• 1 oz sliced avocado
• 2 TBSP hummus
• 1 oz goat cheese (TJ’s goat cheese medallion)
• 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced
• 1 nice sized slice of red onion, chopped

Stats: 260 calories, 13 g fat, 12 g protein, 30 g carbs

And for any Hunger Games fans out there who haven’t seen this:

So funny, I couldn’t resist posting! Can’t wait for the movie to come out next month!