This time I don’t have any good excuses. I’ve got nothing. Really. Nothing.
OK, I’ve got one thing. A girlfriend said to me yesterday that she’s in a “post-holiday can’t-get-all-my-balls-back-up-in-the-air funk,” which described precisely what’s happening with me right now. I’ve got a lot of balls. And since grocery shopping and cooking are still not automatic for me, it’s been a pain in the ass to work them back into my routine. Balls.
Obviously I didn’t intend to start the new year with such a lackluster performance. I actually jumped right into artichokes on artichoke Sunday when I was at the Midway Pub watching football. Midway serves artichokes fritters as an appetizer and I figured I could start the year off right with a big fried artichoke win. But they were boring. So boring they didn’t even warrant a full post. Super boring.
A few days later I gave artichokes another try with the artichoke cheese dip at Melton’s App and Tap (I frequent some fine eateries). Boring.
And there I was. New year. Shitty vegetable. Nothing to report (what was I going to say? I lost my first battle of the year? No way). So that was it, I came home day after day and didn’t cook, didn’t write, didn’t do shit.
Fortunately I have you friends to remind me so frequently what a slacker I am.
Finally I decided that since I let myself get so far behind that it would be fine to mix and match and combine and reorder and get crazy with January’s vegetables to catch up. New year. New rules.
Here’s what we’re up against in January (and honestly, why I’ve been reluctant to start the new year with typical New Year’s verve, I mean, come on, January): artichokes (those are technically left over from December, but I’m giving them one last chance), snow peas, rhubarb, rutabaga, cabbage and turnips.
Kill. Me. Now.
Julie vs. Vegetables 
Drat it all, you’ve failed me. I’ve had an artichoke sitting in my fridge for a week now (probably should do something about that) that I’m supposed to figure out how to cook on my own. I do like artichoke dip, but I think that just takes artichoke hearts and I should probably try using the whole thing. I was hoping for some fabulous recipe from you, but nooooo.
Caroline, I do have something really, REALLY special planned for artichokes, but I’m taking everyone’s advice and using canned artichokes, which won’t help your waning fridge friend, but will definitely get us both over the artichoke hump. No doubt.
Try the artichoke spinach dip at Publix. It mostly tastes like Parmesan cheese and sour cream. There’s probably about 8,000 calories in one tub, but it’s freaking, ridiculously, awesome.
I also have a friend that just steams fresh artichokes and then dips then in mayo. this, to me, sounds like what you would eat in hell…but she swears by it.
Fresh artichokes steamed and dipped in aoili is gorgeous. But fixing them up, including snipping off the evil sharp little tips, is just a big pain in the ass.
I’m sure canned artichokes will be just fine.
Fresh steamed artichokes is great, but you gotta stuff them with parm and breadcrumbs to make em even better. and I bet some bacon could be stuffed in there as well. 🙂