By Chef Jeremy Maclachlan

Every time my wife says she wants my artichokes, I cringe inside and then look at her and say, "Yes, dear."

This amazing and earthy vegetable can be really hard to clean and you may prick yourself, but your hard work is soooo worth it, especially considering their nutritional value as food-blogger Kathy Kingen explains in Love the Curmudgeonly Artichoke.

My favorite way to enjoy an artichoke is simply steamed and then dipped into a simple lemon mayonnaise. My wife likes them pan-fried and finished with lemon and butter.

This month I am going to give you my tricks for cleaning artichokes and an easy way to preserve them.

Artichoke Tips
Feel the Choke! An artichoke is the flower of the plant so it is very important that it is picked before flowering starts. When buying artichokes you can determine its quality by feeling the leaves to make sure they are tight. Squeeze the bottom heart of the vegetable and if it's soft leave it on the shelf.
Use Acidulated Ice Water. This is a fancy word for ice water with lemon. The acid in the lemons keeps the artichokes from oxidizing or discoloring. Use a ratio of 2 lemons (cut in quarters and squeeze into water) for every 4 cups of water.

Precook for Ease. Cut 1 inch off the top of the artichoke. Use a scissors to trim the sharp, pointy tips off all remaining leaves. Then steam for 20 minutes. Next dunk them in the acidulated ice water until ready to prepare them as Preserved Artichokes (see recipe below) or try Salty's recipe for Lemon Parsley Artichoke recipe (pictured here).

Preserved Artichokes Ingredients
4 whole artichokes, cleaned and quartered
1 lemon (seeded and sliced into wheels)
1 cup olive oil
1/2 tablespoon coarse sea salt
6 cracks black pepper
2 juniper berries, chopped fine
1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Directions
Clean the artichokes and place in ice-cold water with lemon juice.
Steam artichokes for 10 minutes.
While artichokes are steaming, toss all remaining ingredients in a bowl.
Take hot artichokes out and toss with oil mixture.
Place in mason jars and seal before placing in your refrigerator.
Refrigerate for up to 7 days and use as you need them.

(Author of Kitchen Talk, Jeremy McLachlan is also Corporate Chef for Salty's Seafood Grill restaurant group. He says: My love is to create great dishes with fresh seafood, as we are a seafood restaurant, but not forget the meat lovers. My goal is to match exceptional food with our incredible views. Living in the Pacific Northwest, we are fortunate to have an abundance of regional treasures. The use of these fresh ingredients is key to Salty's Northwest cuisine. If you have any questions about cooking, feel free to email me at chef@saltys.com. Follow my daily tips at Facebook@ChefTalkwithJeremy.)