Tuesday, May 22, 2007

artichokes and abrasions


Well it looks like I tempted fate. Just when I promised to blog every day, life got in the way, big time. Yesterday, Daiku and I took our bikes out for a spin. We hadn't even gone one block when I had a major spill. I don't even know what happened, but...




I got cut up pretty badly. I realized that my doctor had admonished me to get a tetanus shot over 2 years ago, and I hadn't gotten around to it yet. So we went to the hospital to get my cuts cleaned up and to get a tetanus shot.



A few hours later, I came home looking like a burn victim, as you can see above. I could barely move my hands, and my wrists, elbows, and legs were in loads of pain too.

And all I wanted to do was blog about artichokes! So enough about injuries and hospitals and trauma. On to artichokes! These beautiful vegetables are one of the many signs of Spring's arrival that I have gotten to enjoy in the last week or two.



Daiku and I decided to simply steam them in water with a bit of lemon juice. Now artichokes taste just wonderful on their own, but it is fun to dip the leaves into something delicious every once in a while. Most dips, like melted butter, however, are too runny for me. I like something to really cling on to the leaves.

So I came up with a recipe for a sublime artichoke dipping sauce:



The picture is not too great, since my camera batteries died right before I could get a good shot. But make this sauce next time you're enjoying artichokes, and you will not regret it:

(makes enough for 4 large artichokes, the quantities can easily be increased or decreased according to need and taste)
  • Melt 1-2 TB vegan margarine (I used Earth Balance) and 1-2 TB extra virgin olive oil together over medium-low heat
  • Add 1-2 sliced large garlic cloves, and allow to heat through until fragrant
  • To this mixture, add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of dry white wine, increase the heat a little, and stir, allowing some of the wine to reduce, about 5 minutes
  • Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of very fine breadcrumbs, stir until heated through. Add the juice of 1/2 a lemon and up to a teaspoon of lemon zest. Serve warm with artichokes.
  • Dip away and enjoy!


Don't forget to remove the thistles when you are done with the leaves- they expose the succulent artichoke heart!



The inner workings of artichokes- what a work of art...

Since we had made 4 artichokes, we had 2 leftover to take to the office the next day for a picnic lunch. (Along with some leftover hummus, veggies, and bean soup)



Here's Daiku enjoying his artichoke.



And here's me, pre-injured hands.

Later that day, we bought my new bike.



My bike and me, in happier days. (Don't worry, this was just a display ride, the first time I brought the bike home. I always wear a helmet!)

So that's my story. Eat artichokes. Stay up-to-date with your tetanus shots. Be careful on your bikes. And, as cheesy as this sounds, don't take anything or anyone for granted, because life comes at you fast.


Share/Save/Bookmark

25 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm glad your spill wasn't more serious. It's been a while since I wiped out on my bike, and I'm just grateful that the last time I did, I just skinned my knee a little. I love artichokes myself (great and informative post, btw) and your fennel below looks amazing.

Nikk said...

your poor hands! at least you didn't break anything!

i love artichokes! they are delicious!

Emilie said...

Bike spills are never good. Glad it wasn't more serious. I think I almost did myself in the other day when my u-lock twisted out of place and jammed my pedal, preventing me from doing pretty much anything...as I was crossing a very busy Boston street at rush hour. Scary! I lived though.

Here's to a quick healin' for you.

jess (of Get Sconed!) said...

eek! poor bazu. get some rest!

Kati said...

You mean: life comes at you fast when you're whizzing by on a speedy new bike! I'm glad your spill didn't break any bones. Hopefully you'll be back on the horse, er bike in no time.

Rest up, think lots of healing thoughts...and tell Daiku to cook you up some yummy food!

Susan Voisin said...

Oh I'm so sorry! Hope you're feeling better soon.

I took a really bad spill on a bike and it was years before I wanted to ride again. Don't let this happen to you! :-)

Bridget said...

O U C H!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Road rash is not pleasant. Glad your okay and blogging, especially about yummy things like artichokes. Mmmmmmmm....loooove...artichokes!

Anonymous said...

ouch! your poor hands! feel better soon, bazu. :[

Anonymous said...

I hope your hands are feeling better--I am sorry about your fall!

Artichokes are my favorite food ever! They were always my birthday dinner growing up (we got to pick our favorite meal on our birthdays...)--and just steaming them is the best way to eat them, I think! Yours look great!

Courtney

meesh said...

Amen, sister! I hope your poor hands (and hips and knees etc) are feeling better. What a spill you must have had!

That artichoke dip looks amazing. I just found out that I like artichokes about a month ago. I'm a late bloomer. After I try this recipe, they might be a new favorite. Mmmmm...

Be careful on that new bike m'dear and have fun!

aTxVegn said...

Oh, Bazu, you poor thing! (I was gonna say "bless your heart," but someone once told me that really means "oh, you idiot" - LOL!) I hope you heal soon and please be more careful!

That dip for the artichokes looks fantastic! I've always been too lazy to prepare my own artichokes so I had no idea that's how they look inside. Nature truly is amazing.

Theresa said...

Owie! At least it wasn't worse, I guess. I'm always worried about taking big spills on my bike, and now I'll be even more careful! I love artichokes, too, but always seem to get the thistles when I try to eat the heart. I think I lack some serious skills when it comes to artichokes!

Samantha said...

Hey! I got a new bike too and I fell because I was using my clip in shoes for the first time. I was going to blog about this later but, I didn't have the fore thought to take a picture of my injuries. I scraped up my legs. I could shave for days, and I was a bit hairy when it happened. No one wants a pic of that!
Love artichokes too. Yummy!

Amey said...

Oh Bazu!
You poor thing. I wish I could come by with a batch of cookies for you. Good luck with your healing hands, and all your other bumps and bruises.

I love the picture of you on your bike, pre-injury. It looks so sweet and joyful.

Tracy said...

Wowie, what an owie!! I have a bike, but it's pics like yours that explain wny I like hiking so much-I like both feet firmly planted on the ground.
Heal quickly!

urban vegan said...

Poor Bazu. Looks like you have the stigmata. Hope you heal up quickly.

Hooray for artichokes! I'll have to try your steaming recipe.

runswithdog said...

Glad I wasn't the only one who thought 'stigmata' upon seeing those photos. How you gonna hold a mic, girl? You didn't plan this ahead of time, did you?

Neva said...

Ouch, that looks so awful. I'm so sorry. I wish you a speedy recovery.

Artichokes are such a wonderful thing!

But ouch....

Anonymous said...

ouch!!!! im so sorry for you. get well soon!

Anonymous said...

I've had plenty of road rash in all my bike racing days and it's always awful. I hope you have a speedy recovery.

Carrie™ said...

Ouch!! My last big spill on my bike was about 4 years ago. I was barely out of the driveway. Scraped my arm, ripped my pants in the knee, but the worst part was I landed on my elbow. I had to get X-rays and for the most part it was OK. I did chip the bone and it still sometimes bothers me - so be careful!
I'm glad you enjoyed your articokes. Spring is here!! YEA!!

Teresa said...

Oh no Bazu, your poor hands. I can definitely empathize with, having more than one bike spill myself. My most recent is very embarassing and I've only told one person. Basically my bike was clipped by the bus and I went flying into the intersection (mind you it was dark out and I had black clothes on and no helmet- STUPID ME). I sure did learn my lesson and was really lucky. WEAR A HELMET!

Onto the food- yum artichoke. I'm defintely going to have to try your dipping sauce- it sounds great!

-Teresa

Susan from Food Blogga said...

Ouch! So sorry to hear about your spill, Bazu! It happened to me last summer; the worst part was that it happened in front of a bus load of tourists who laughed their butts off! :0

Hope you're better soon! Love the photo of you on your new bike!

vko said...

Oh Bazu- hope you get better soon!

When I first saw your title & then the pictures I thought that you got into a rumble with some artichokes...

you are so cute on the bike- hope you really get to enjoy it properly!

Emmy said...

Oh no! Sorry to hear of your bike tumble Bazu. Hope you are healing ok? Those are some nasty looking boo-boo's. Ouch! And the artichoke dip looks super yummy.