The aroma was wonderful...

As the artichokes were cooking in the crockpot, the aroma filled the house.  Wow...it smelled great.  I was sure hoping they would taste great too...

I checked them after 3 hours and decided to add another half cup of water.  Then, after 6 hours on LOW, I checked them again, and they were ready to eat.

I heated some garlic butter to dip the leaves in and started picking the artichoke apart, scooping off the good stuff with my teeth.  Oh, yeah...it was good.  Tender. Tasty.  The garlic butter is a must.  I ate all the good stuff off one artichoke. I refrigerated the other one; not sure it will taste as good as the first one did, fresh out of the crock pot, but we'll see.  This turned out to be a good way to prepare artichokes; I'll definitely give this recipe another go.

Me? Cooking??

I'm not known for my flare in the kitchen...

I do alright...I mean, I'm not starving.  My general motto is that if I can't fix a meal in 20 minutes or less...forget it. Since retiring from education, and not eating the main meal from the cafeteria, I have had to "step it up" in my own kitchen.  Also, since purchasing a Bountiful Basket of fruits and veggies every couple weeks, I've eaten more healthy meals and have had to research how to fix some of the items I've received in the Basket.  Case in point: artichokes.  This week I received two. 

Remember Kathy B suggesting we not put away our crock pots for the summer???  OK, I thought maybe artichokes could be steamed in one...so I looked up a recipe on-line.  Sure enough - it's doable!  I watched a great little video about prepping the artichokes (cutting off the tips of the prickly leaves, removing the flowery heart, and cleaning up the stem).  Then, they went in the crock pot with a cup and a half of water, some lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Oh, and one thing more: they suggested adding some garlic.

I remembered that I had purchased a garlic press...but had never used it.  Hmm.  I scrounged through a drawer of utensils and found it...still in the plastic packaging!  Wow...it works great!  Why didn't I use it sooner???  Oh, Nancy, Nancy, your lack of cooking knowledge and experience is a disgrace. Maybe you better not disclose that info. 

I put the lid on, and set the crock pot on LOW for (maybe) 7 hours.  I would have to check them, as they could be ready to eat in 4.

I'll let you know how it went...