Green with Envy, Riddled with Guilt

Artichoke season is here again, and Brooklyn’s harvest is one of the biggest ever! Maybe. I’m guessing that somebody grows artichokes in Brooklyn, but I’ve never seen any here myself. I actually had to go to Manhatttan to get mine. (for those of you outside New York, here’s a handy map)

But, regardless of the size of the harvest and where they were grown (mine came from upstate NY, which is ”local” enough for we New Yorkers), it is, indeed, artichoke season, and as an expression of our love for this magical, edible, funny-looking plant, a few of my friends and I got together last Friday for a bit of an artichoke feast.

It all started at the Union Square Greenmarket - definitely one of the best places in the world. I found a vendor who sells organic artichokes, and although they were on the small side, they were beautiful and perfect, and – as we would soon discover – delicious.

I hauled them up 5 flights of stairs to my buddies’ apartment and we got cooking. They had found some super artichoke recipes on the California Artichoke Advisory Board website, including one for a fresh mayo dip that was absolutely to die for. Seriously – it’s made of fresh mayo and pesto and you dip your steamed artichoke leaves in it and it’s mouth watering and amazing. Here’s a photo:

We also had a lovely pasta dish with organic veggies, some yummy smelly cheese made from raw, grass-fed milk, and a mix of fresh seasonal fruit (as a light desert to balance out the heavy mayo dip). Good times, tasty food, and yes, there was wine involved. I can’t wait for pumpkin season, when the pies come out…