Post #3:Sisters always succeed the most together.

In light of my current situation, there have been a lot of ups and downs with life, in general. But, of course, I'm always pressing to try new things. When I'm stuck in a rut, you can always get out of it with the help of a wonderful and caring sister. So here I am at a local coffee shop in the fringes of college-town Cincinnati enjoying some "breathe-easy" tea with said sister.

Much of my feelings of being stuck mainly is just warranted by a lack of an optimistic state-of-mind. Going day to day with a hopeful attitude 100% of the time is just sometimes arduous and it can require a huge reserve of energy. Having hope is taken for granted so many times.

Perhaps it would be wise to consider meditation as a release from the stresses of daily life. Perhaps this will allow me to reach the clarity I so deeply need. The clarity and the ability to say "things are just okay"--which can be quite challenging.

But, I digress. Walking into the grocery store can almost be like walking into a candy shop...my own meditative state. Now that I am older and I must live and breathe my own destiny, I find the taking the love and care into the foods I ingest can only make me happy along with good health and fitness.

Literally, as I walk and slowly stroll through the produce aisle. I notice the beautifully shaped stem, the beautiful leaves and how only just a pair of these veggies rest in the shelf alone. Then suddenly, as I reach for these epic globes...sharp pain! Blood! Eek!

Rawr! I am the Artichoke Monster! I will eat you, Raah!

So lo and behold, the artsy-choke--I mean, Artichoke. I decided to tackle this hefty yet surprisingly hazardous vegetable (it attacked me for pete's sake!). You'd never guess, but I actually had the audacity to grab this sucker in the grocery store just because I never had the glory of cooking and enjoying this cryptic vegetable -- what vegetable family does this even belong to? Yes, my sister even "google"s the answer to this question as we speak.

Yes, it does bite. Careful with those teeth. This vegetable comes with an attitude. So of course, I must first dabble into how to cook this honkin' thing. Well first, I decide that steaming will be the best for the first run.

So I quarter the little sucker, clean out its thistle-like center, and of course admire its beautiful "heart."

I had to do a google search of what accompaniments would be appropriate. The general consensus that I gathered was melted butter or mayonnaise. Of course, the former seemed a lot more appetizing. So I went ahead and let some organic butter simmer over a very low flame as I cooked the artichoke.

I filled a fry pan with just 1/4 cup of water, added kosher salt, and let the water work up to a raging steam. I dropped these little monsters into the pan and quickly recovered the pan with the lid. After about 10 or so minutes of some quick steaming right in a pan, the artichoke is done and ready for consumption. Peeling away each evergreen leaf and nibbling the tips of them was divine. Morsel by morsel, I soon developed a deep fondness for this monster veggie.

I did notice that there were still some inedible parts. Most of the vegetable was soft towards the center near the "artichoke heart" but there was still a huge discarded pile of leaf parts that I could not consume. Perhaps this would be a wise segue into considering baby artichokes the next time around.

Do try this vegetable. Very tasty. Very enjoyable.