ARTICHOKE HEAVEN

This past week, while doing grocery shopping, artichokes were on sale (2 for $3.00). They were very expensive indeed. I hadn't had an artichoke in years because the price of them was ridiculous and they were so small. But these artichokes were so huge. I had never seen an artichoke like this before. They were amazingly beautiful. Each one was approximately the size of two normal sized ones I used to buy. I needed to cook them in my microwave for 13 minutes, whereas a regular sized one I could cook for maybe seven minutes.

So I wrapped one up in plastic wrap and steamed it. I melted butter in a small dessert cup. I sat down, dunked each leaf in the butter and savored every second of eating it, especially the large, meaty hearts. I usually eat very quietly, but these artichokes were soooooo delicious, I kept making an ummmmm noise with every bite. After the first artichoke and after about 45 minutes still savoring the memory of how great this artichoke was, I went into the frig and got the second one out, wrapped it up in plastic wrap, zapped it into the microwave, melted butter in the dessert cup and again a repeat performance of ecstasy (the good, healthy kind).

Living here in California, there is never really anything you can't find in fresh fruits and vegetables. If you can't find it here, you can't find it anywhere.