Artichokes - Not Worth the Hassle

I walked into the grocery store yesterday afternoon determined to not get the "same 'ol thing".  I try to very it up as much as I can, but still get in a rut.  So, I walked through the produce isle and looked for something that I NEVER buy and there they were (on sale even) next to the eggplant: THE ARTICHOKE. 

They have always seemed a little scary to me, so I have never bought them.  Plus they are easy enough to buy canned or frozen.  But in an effort to try something different I grabbed them.

 

 

Steaming seemed the easiest, so I cut off the tops, trimmed the ends and popped them in a steamer basket.  I steamed them for about 20 minutes, opened the lid and added a drizzle of olive oil and some salt.  I steamed them a little longer until the leaves pulled off easily. 

 

I ate a few leaves.  They were good, but aren't artichoke leaves really about the butter or the dip?  They aren't that interesting on their own.  So, I decided to go for the heart.  I completely ruined one trying to figure out what to do ... but I got two other hearts that I squeezed with lemon and brushed with butter. 

 

 

So we ended up with two little artichoke hearts and a trash can full of leaves and petals. And while I was proud of myself for trying, I think I will stick to buying them canned and frozen. I might consider steaming some for  a party if I had a really great dip though. It's definitely something people don't have that often.

 

On a side note - we had a delicious slow cooked salmon with smoked gruyere polenta. It was so good and we were so hungry be the time I got through messing with the artichokes, I didn't get a picture. So, dinner last night was a delicious success.