Things to do with an Artichoke

Seriously, artichokes are like my #1 favorite vegetable. I know I've blogged at least one recipe that involves this delicious Mediterranean thistle, but one of my favorite things to do with an artichoke is pretty basic: boil with onion, celery and bay leaves; dip the leaves in butter. This will always remind me of my Mom, who has been great about encouraging my adventurous eating.

The hearts, of course, are the best part. You can't really screw them up, just as long as you remove the fuzzy part. With these two artichoke hearts, I made a creamy tomato sauce with lemon, and added it to some egg noodles.