Sauteed Baby Artichoke Quarters and Seitan with Toasted Roasted Garlic and Herb Bread

Last May, I learned to sautee baby artichokes. I've not prepared them in some time, but found these babies at a good price yesterday, and cooked them today.

I removed the outer leaves by hand of each of four baby artichokes till lighter yellow and tighter underlying leaves were exposed, then cut the top 3/4" or so off, as well as the bottoms to leave a little stem stub, and quartered the artichokes, immediately rubbing a little lime on the cut surfaces to minimize browning. I then sauteed over medium heat the artichokes, a small amount of wheat gluten chunks (maybe 3/4" long by 3/8" wide), and a medium shallot, cut into long pieces maybe 1/4" by 1".

A few minutes later, I added approximately a tablespoon of fresh rosemary needles and a few teaspoonfuls of fresh oregano leaves. Once the artichokes were starting to brown a little, maybe after a total of 7-8 minutes, I added another 1/2 teaspoon or so of oregano, as well as a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.

I served immediately, along with a salad including chopped baby yellow carrots. I found some tasty organic roasted garlic and herb bread today, and lightly toasted two slices and topped with heirloom tomato slices. It was a good dinner! I'll have to make this seitan-baby artichoke combination for my wife sometime.

Incidentally, I was shopping today and enjoyed a sampling that was going on of Kagome juices. I've tried these vegetable juices before and found them not so much of my taste. But they have new fruit and vegetable blends and they are very good! They were also on sale, so I picked up some Ruby Pomegranate Harmony (the best!), Purple Roots and Fruits, and Yellow Mango Orchard flavors.