2 Bento #238 - Cucumber-Bacon Sandwiches & Cherries

This idea was WAY cuter in my head!  I had envisioned thin slices of cucumber with a strip of bacon and topped with spinach artichoke cream cheese and rolled up and secured with a pick.  Unfortunately, my hand-slicing wasn't quite thin enough.  I really needed to bust out my mandolin.  In any case, we have cucumber sandwiches instead of rolls.

Fresh cherries, and a side of almond-raisin granola and Goldfish crackers.

Bento #238 - Cucumber, bacon and spinach-artichoke cream cheese sandwiches, cherries, granola and Goldfish crackers.  Snack - Clementine and roasted peanuts.

0 Steamed Artichokes with Garlic & Shallot Compound Butter

Artichokes might be one of my absolute favorite veggies of all time.

Ingredients:

artichokes
bay leaf
crushed garlic cloves (2-3)

First I start by snipping off the thorny ends.  You don't strictly have to, but it's the traditional way to prepare it.  They won't hurt you if you don't, because they soften after steaming.  But I do it anyway.  I also trim off the very end of the stem if it's a little stale/woody (I love to eat the stems too, by the way.)

Then rinse the 'chokes under some cold water, and place into a steaming basket in a large pot with a couple inches of water.  Throw in the bay leaf and garlic into the water.

Cover and bring to a full, rolling boil, and then turn flame down to simmer and steam for about 30-45 minutes.  They are done when the outer leaves peel off easily.

Now, for the compound butter.  Of course, do this while the 'chokes are steaming.

You'll need:

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small shallot, minced

6 tbs soft butter

pepper to taste

You basically throw everything in and mix it up well.

*Ding!*  It's time to eat your lovely artichokes!  

Peel off the outer leaves and dip the fleshier, whiter end (that was attached at the bottom) into the compound butter, one at a time (so that the entire thing stays warm.)  

Hold the end firmly, and scrape the petal (dip, and soft-side down) against your bottom teeth.  Sorry, I don't have any pictures of this, but trust me.  Continue until all the petals are mostly gone, until you get to the prickly ones.  Pull off those straight up and off, and you'll see the actual "choke" which looks like tiny fine hairs.  For God's sake, do not throw this away.  Gently scrape those off leaving the luscious and famed artichoke heart.  Dip that into your butter and enjooooy.  Oh, yummy, yummy, yum!