A Heart of Gold

This week's vegetable is an Artichoke! The fun that goes into plucking all the leaves off in great anticipation of the deliciously creamy heart at the end makes Artichokes a dinner time favorite. If all the leaves aren't dipped in some buttery sauce, the health benefits of eating these beauties is incredible. They have an antioxidant called silymarin that boosts liver function and cynarin which helps break down fatty foods. Not only that, they are great sources of magnesium, potassium and folate. Enough said?

How to Buy: Look for firm heavy, medium size artichokes. Squeeze them lightly and listen for a squeaky sound.

How to Store: Once you get them home, refrigerate them in a plastic bag and they will keep for up to five days.

Preparation: I've had a craving for a yummy artisan pizza for the past few days so an artichoke, olive and goat cheese pizza sounded fantastic to me.  Here's what I did:

Gather the follow ingredients:

4 Artichokes steamed (great way to prepare them without losing alot of their great health qualities that I outlined. It does take a while so I steamed them earlier in the day)
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 T olive oil
Whole Wheat pre-made pizza crust (grab one from a local bakery or whole foods. Makes pizza prep simple)
8 o soft goat cheese
1 can of pizza sauce ( I used Muir Glen since no sugar is added. check labels CAREFULLY)
1/4 c pitted Kalamata olives
Arugula (optional but delicious)
Salt and Pepper

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 425°
2. Roll out the dough to preferred thickness and lightly brush with olive oil ( I even brushed some crushed garlic on the top of mine: ) then put on a greased cookie sheet
3. Pop in the oven for 5 min just to get the crust partially cooked
4. Pluck artichokes, dice hearts and coat in lemon juice
5. Top pizza with sauce, artichoke hearts, cheese, olives and arugula (if using)
6. Throw pizza back in oven for about 10-12 more minutes or until the crust is the way you like it and the toppings are melted.

Here's what mine looked like right before I stuck it in the oven.

My dad got a whiff of the pizza and was patiently waiting at the table for us to all come enjoy.

I couldn't help but give everyone a whole artichoke as well!

What's your favorite kind of pizza? Try buying 2 different crusts, creatively exploring your topping options and then savoring the leftovers for the rest of the week.