artichoke.

a tight bud 

put together, almost 

perfect and so heavy 

opens with heat 

shy 

opens some more 

scared 

thistles protect

only to be carved 

open again

with a butter knife

a broken heart

delicious and ready 

to feed you

xxxx

(words inspired by above)

and there is this...

what's beautiful about this?

everything.

you can steam in stages depending on your day 

you can boil the water on medium high

for 20 minutes or so (when you are making a tea and getting in the shower works)

leave the lid on & turn it off when you need to leave the house!

it will continue to steam... 

then you will have a little more to do when you get home

fork the top of the stem to see when it's ready 

(watch the steam inside the pot: ouch! 

and water uner lid!)

*when gathering: grab the artichoke with the thickest stem*

it's not about the leaves or how huge the head is ;)

big stem = big heart

i love these on the wood board love

as a starter before dinner or as a snack

the kids get busy with this and i can get ready for the next thing

as you know.. there is always a next thing!

you can make dips!

i love veganaise! mayo works!

i think we used sour cream too

i also tried a little mayo/mustard/agave/lemon

it was a bit intense with the mustard.. 

you can also do butter and lemon

so many choices!

artichokes are best served warm

so you can keep it in the steam pot

rev it up again before serving for a minute or so

enjoy beautiesxxxx