Artichokes already?

The cool-weather perennials that they are, my artichokes are popping above ground already. I like the big, prickly plants, but I have to confess, I don’t like the chokes too much.

They are too small, too tough, and one of the few foods that taste better bought from the market. There, I’ve said it.

Artichokes grow bigger and better in foggy marine climates above Monterey, than they do in our dry-as-a-bone Southern California gardens. Here, I like to let mine bloom out with the brightest purple flower heads that nature provides. Cut, they stay fresh for about a month.

Incidentally, artichoke tea, popular in the Vietnamese culture, is one of the sweetest and cleanest teas I’ve ever tasted. If you have a chance to try it, don’t pass. It’s the best.

Whatever
Examiner.com—The recent Nobel Prize for Economics was awarded to Elinor Ostrom for her research on cooperative communities where she used Victory Gardens from World War II as her inspiration.