My
brother Erik and I recently decided to take a trip to California to visit our
relatives. We wanted to add on a couple of days in a new locale and, based on
tips from friends, settled on Big Sur, a region about 150 miles south of San
Francisco and 300 miles north of Los Angeles. Not exactly big on planning
ahead, we were chatting with family members the day before driving down about
what our route should be. That's when I got some amazing news: directly on our
way we would be passing through Castroville, the ARTICHOKE CENTER OF THE
WORLD!!! I love artichokes. Growing up we would have them in the summer,
steamed to perfection. We'd rip off the leaves, dip them in globs of
mayonnaise, then carefully scrape off the weird hairy part to devour the heart.
True, mayonnaise is not great for you. But cooked artichokes, according to a
sign in Castroville, have more antioxidants than any other vegetable! Well
worth eating, though you may want to find a healthier alternative to the
mayonnaise like olive oil or lemon juice.
Some
other fun facts about artichokes:
They
are low in calories but high in fiber and many other nutrients like phosphorus,
vitamin C, magnesium, folate, and potassium. Additionally, they are technically
a thistle which, if you're like me, you never really stopped to think about.
If
you've ever gone to buy artichokes and thought that they looked a little bit
dirty or bruised, chances are that it was merely "frost kissed" which
apparently "turns green like unkissed chokes when cooked" and is
"preferred by artichoke lovers." I'd love to see their supporting
data and would happily volunteer for a taste test.
Some
other fun facts about Castroville, CA:
If
you love artichokes as much as I do, you can go to the artichoke festival held there every year right around my birthday (this year it is
the weekend of May 19-20). During this weekend you can make 3-D "agro
art" out of fruits and veggies, eat artichokes in almost every form
imaginable, go on a trip to an artichoke patch, etc.
There
is a restaurant called the Giant Artichoke where they have an enormous
artichoke perfect for photo ops and specialize in fried artichokes (they even
sell them frozen so you can take them home). We got an artichoke sampler plate
which featured a steamed artichoke, fried artichoke hearts, and artichoke bread
which you'll notice came with an enormous scoop of butter (not pictured: mayo
to dip the artichoke leaves in and ranch dressing to dip the fried artichokes
in). Seems like maybe they could use an artichoke-loving RD on staff to help
make the menu more healthy!
