the big spring cleaning followed by a big artichoke dinner

Yes, March seems to become a "food" month, I'm aware of it. But  anyway, the weather was so bad until now, so grey, that I didn't feel like going out.  I felt like staying  at home, playing Mozart quartets, cooking, waiting for the sun... April will be more "outdoor", I promise!

And coming to the artichokes; we cooked them as a whole and ate them with a yoghurt dip. So yummy!

How to cook and eat whole artichokes:

Rinse  the artichokes in running cold water. In a large pot, put water , a clove of garlic, a slice of lemon, a bay leaf and salt. Add the artichokes. Bring to boil and let it simmer until the outer leaves can easily be pulled off.

The dip: yoghurt, salt, pepper, lemon, olive oil and fresh herbs, like chopped chives and parsley, mixed together.

Once cooked, pull off outer petals, one at a time.
Dip fleshy end in the sauce. Grip the other end of the petal, place in mouth and pull through teeth to remove soft, pulpy,delicious portion of the petal. Discard remaining petal. Continue until all petals are removed.
With a spoon scrape out the fuzzy part covering the heart of the artichoke. The remaining bottom is the heart. Dip it into the sauce and eat.  Enjoy!