Aromatic Artichoke with Simple Sage Risotto

\

So I find myself afflicted with the current cold that seems to be pestering everyone this month. I left work early and did not feel like creating a fun artichoke dish. I was feeling a tad more like crawling into a whole of mashed potatoes and matzo ball soup. But alas, my devotion to the cause was too great. I went with good ol' fashioned boiled artichokes. Yup the first veggie recipe in Julia's famous literary triumph. I decided that I'd throw in some seasoning to the water to see what would happen.

I've read some recipes that suggest lemons in the water. Why not? So I went one better and also added the rest of the thyme and rosemary I bought for the chicken soup.


So there you have it. Salted boiling water with lemon quarters, thyme and rosemary. Boil that sucker till it's tender, 'bout 30 min.

BOOYAH! when it finished it was heaven. Leaves pulling off by just giving them the eye.

I whipped up a batch of veganaise dipping sauce by adding lemon and garlic Mrs. Dash to taste. And oh does it taste!

Whilst my arties were boiling I decided to throw together a risotto to go with the tuna steak that the roomie was cooking. 1/4 of a cup or so of arborio rice in a pan with butter, onions, and garlic. Toast those grains till you start to smell some yummy nutty action. (almost forgot to mention that I threw in some sage leaves at this point)

Then start adding little dashes of vegetable broth, stirring constantly. Risotto demands your patients. You can't really walk away from this sucker. Keep adding a smidge of water at a time, letting the grains slowly give up and let their starchy guard down. Go on girl let that girdle down and let in that broth.

Once the grains are soft and chewy the pan will seem saucy already. Add a bit of half and half. I use soy creamer in all my recipes. It's a great substitution for cream or milk in just about any recipe. None of that soy milk sweetness here. I don't want to know what kind of hell those little soybeans had to go thru to taste so creamy.

Plate the risotto as soon as it's done and sprinkle some of that parmesan you have from the stuffed couscous. Throw that aromatic artichoke and the tuna steaks. Holla!! you just made dinner.

P.S. If you leave out the parmesan and tuna steak its VEGAN!!

It's funny to me how I thought I was so exhausted, I was, but once I get to cooking I find a secret stash of energy that keeps me going till the moment I sit and stick the fork in. I think tonight I'll make artichoke dip. We'll see...

Ingredients:
artichokes
1 lemon
sprigs of rosemary and thyme
veganaise or regular mayo
Mrs. Dash- your fave flavor
1/4 cup arborio rice
vegetable broth
sage leaves
1/2 white onion chopped
1 clove garlic chopped