Baby Artichoke Hearts on Wild Rice with Hearty Eggplant Pesto Sandwich

About a month ago, I had referenced a farmer's web page with artichoke recipes that inspired a meal. Today I found good baby artichokes in the store, and remembered some ideas from that web page to come up with what I think is one of my best dinners in recent memory.

I started some vegetable broth going (it's easy to make broth, but I usually start with a Rapunzel brand organic bouillon cube) and added diced onions and fresh herbs from my garden. I prepared the baby artichokes as I did last time, by pulling off the outer leaves till I got to tighter and lighter colored ones, then I cut the top third or so off as well as the bottom, and quartered the heart. I put the quarters immediately into a bowl with a little lime juice to slow down browning. When the quarters were all ready, I put them into the simmering broth, cut side down (though I later thought maybe the thicker side needing more cooking may better be cooked face down - maybe I'll try that next time). There was enough broth in my pan to not quite cover the hearts. I reduced the heat and simmered, covered, for about 20 minutes till the hearts were tender.

I served the artichokes plus broth on top of leftover wild rice that I heated, and added black salt and Key Lime seasoning. I also made a hearty sandwich on a multigrain toast with pesto sauce, breaded eggplant, and thick slices of onion and tomato.