I have fond childhood memories of eating artichokes. My mom would prepare them on occasion for dinner and I remember savoring each leaf as I slid it across my teeth, extracted every last drop of meaty stuff, and then dove in for the best part: the heart. I never knew how those artichokes came to be exactly. I just never paid much attention to what went on in the kitchen.

I still don't know how my mom prepared her artichokes. But I did just happen upon one method for approaching this fiber-filled Super Food, which is also full of protein, vitamin C, folate, and magnesium and void of all fat, cholesterol, and trans fat. Smack dab on page 100 of April's Family Circle magazine are these precise instructions for steaming artichokes.

• Trim off artichoke stems.
  

• With kitchen shears, trim tips of outer leaves.
  

• From center leaves, cut off last one inch. Rub cut edges with lemon.
  

• Fill a large, deep pot with two inches of water. Place steamer insert into pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium. Place artichokes, top down, in insert. Cover and steam for 25 minutes, until bases are knife-tender. Add more water as needed.