Mark Bittman's Artichokes: Blog Bites 4

I was first introduced to the Blogosphere several years ago when I took a South Indian Cooking class at the Chautauqua Institution in New York. The teacher encouraged us to visit One Hot Stove for more ideas and inspiration.  I became a regular and avid reader and then one day Nupur went on hiatus. She was gone for months; I missed her but went on to discover many food blogs that I’ve added to my Google Reader list. I’ve learned so much about food from all them and look forward to any and all new posts. Still, I was very happy when Nupur returned.  She often challenges her readers to try things and share them.  Her latest challenge encourages us to use up what we have on hand.  Apparently, I’m not the only one with a pantry and freezer full of perfectly good food that is not getting used. 

I’ve been working away at using what I have on hand and whatever comes my way but this is the first thing I’ve taken a picture of. As a cook in the Sunset Test Kitchen I often get to bring unused items home. Most of the time I’m bringing home small things, half an onion, the unused portion of a can of coconut milk or the end of a brick of cheese. But every now and then there’s a large pile of beets, a head of lettuce, or even a family size portion of meat or fish.

Last weekend was Sunset’s Annual Celebration Weekend and we welcomed several thousand guests to our kitchen.  We had some lovely produce on display and those of us still in the kitchen at the end of the weekend divided up the bounty for our home kitchens. I took two beautiful large artichokes and used them in Mark Bittman’s newest treatment of this edible thistle.  I had all the other ingredients on hand, including a lemon given to me by one of my generous neighbors.

This recipe is very easy and produces a delicious dish. The sauce is very tasty; the lemon added to the chicken broth reminds me of Greek Avgolemono soup. I served the artichoke in a soup bowl and had a soupspoon handy so that I could drink every drop.

Thanks Nupur for inspiring me!