Anniversary Dinner - Sauteed Artichokes over Pasta

Today was our first anniversary! We actually had three wedding ceremonies last year; we were officially married on August 20 and had two big ceremonies on October 15, so will celebrate an August and an October anniversary!

We were away at the beach and had rented a nice condo ("Shore Delight") with a fabulous view of the beach from its two decks. Yesterday, we ate in Wilmington, NC at Rim Wang Thai Restaurant. The food was okay, but too spicy hot. Tonight, my wife thought that my home cooking, served on the deck, would be more romantic than eating out, and I was very happy to oblige. I did bring simple food ready for one night's cooking, and picked up some bread and fresh vegetables locally.

Rather simple, but my wife enjoyed what I made. I sauteed canned artichoke hearts. I know, they would taste much better if they were fresh, but it was easy to travel prepared this way. I first gently squeezed each artichoke heart then placed in a napkin-lined bowl to remove moisture. I cut each heart in half and sauteed (I also brought my favorite saute pan to the condo), along with a little onion. At home I'd add a number of seasonings and sauces, but here I used fresh tomato and salt and pepper. I served this over organic Jerusalem artichoke pasta.

Oh, I almost forgot - on Friday night, back home, I was preparing to make dinner when we realized that time was short as we were going to an outdoor film (the classic Lawrence of Arabia). We thought it would make more sense to order some takeout food from Tower South Indian Restaurant, and eat during the film. It turned out to be a good choice - we had two rice dishes, lentil-rice steamed idlis, spicy sambar soup, and plaintain bhajis (battered and fried plaintains) - and took some leftovers to the beach for lunches.