Farm Fresh Eating

For our getaway last week we headed south to the Monterey Bay area. The amazing thing about that region is that there are so many different things to see and do. Just north of the Bay is some major farm country, including the Artichoke Capitol of the World ~ Castroville, CA.


I loved showing my toddler the process of how we get our food. We saw enormous fields of artichokes.


There were a number of roadside farmstands featuring the "just-picked" local bounty.


Did you know that the edible part of the artichoke is actually the plant's flower? Honestly, the plants are quite beautiful, particularly with the wild yellow mustard growing around it (which is actually a weed!).


And of course, the local restaurants feature the artichoke in all kinds of inventive ways, like deep-fried artichokes at The Whole Enchilada. We didn't have one on this trip, but we did several years ago. Yum!