In light of garden season I thought a vegetable recipe would be fun!

Steamed Whole Artichoke

1 tablespoon olive oil 2 cups of water 1 whole artichoke 1/4 cup melted butter Put the olive oil and water in a large pot and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, prepare artichoke by cutting off the stems close to the base. Pull off the tough, lower petals. Cut off the top inch of the artichoke. Trim off the thorny tips of the otter petals with kitchen shears. Place the artichoke in the simmering pot bottom up. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Artichoke is done when a knife inserted in the base meets no resistance. To eat, pull off leaves, and dip in the melted butter. Scrape off the tender part of the leaves with your front teeth. When you reach the center, remove the prickly purple leaves and the fluffy thistle layer that covers the disc shaped and delicious artichoke heart. (I forget this step and we keep looking at it like where is the heart. It was under the hairy part =) My son Aaron even liked it and ate like 10 leaves