~artichokes~

01/06/2023

hello! this is a silly-goofy but also maybe a not-so-silly-goofy poem about artichokes. artichokes are perhaps one of the best vegetables. if you have not tried them, give it a go! here is a lil step-by-step process of cooking/eating an artichoke first.

Steps to make an artichoke (the basics):

1. rinse it off >.>
2. cut off part of the stem. sometimes the stem is super long sometimes it is short. you can't cut off too much, but you can cut off too little. i'd say half is a good estimate unless the stem looks umm weird.
3. some people cut off the tips of the leaves to avoid the spines. i ignore this step.
4. fill a stock pot with water. boil.
5. pop your artichoke in there for 20-30 min on simmer. test at 20 min - it's done when the leaves pull off easily. don't let the stem get mushy, though.
6. let cool - it will be quite hot for a bit.
7. remove the outer-most layer of leaves as they can be a bit strange sometimes.
8. with the remaining leaves, pull them off one at a time, dip the wide end/base in melted salted butter, and scrape the "meat" of the leave off with your teeth.
9. repeat 8 until you get annoyed enough with the small size of the leaves. i say go as far as you can. it is fun.
10. use a knife or spoon to scrape off the remaining baby leaves and the fuzzy/fibery choke. this will reveal the artichoke heart and the base of the stem.
11. i recommend you cut the remaining parts up into bite-size pieces, dip in some more butter, and enjoy.

and now for some words about artichokes. working through the past while also trying to fully live in the present is difficult. also. disclaimer - i have never claimed to be a poet lols.

artichokes

so i am sure that we have all heard about onions.
onions have layers, people are complicated.
this is fine and all, but i'd like to think i'm an artichoke.
a flower bud severed from its stem and picked prematurely,
surrounded by leaves of spines originally formed in defense of a child
who both grew up too fast and never existed at all.
an artichoke!
upon peeling back each prickly leaf,
plucking away the carefully crafted distance around me,
plucking away the imaginary walls i thought confined me,
scooping out the choke-hold of irrational fears,
my spiny exterior slowly falls away.
i let go of the leaves that had once protected me,
though more recently of which only cost me my own happiness.
and at last, i think we have finally found the center.
dip that shit in butter, my dear artichoke heart.