With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, show some love for yourself and your besties with hearts and hearts! Grilled chicken hearts and artichoke hearts are a perfect appetizer or main course. Of course, we can’t give what we don’t have. So first, take a moment to feel the love. An easy way to start is to acknowledge and appreciate your own magnificence – all 37 trillion cells, in perfect concert.
Being love
In Dying To Be Me, Anita Moorjani tells the story of her near-death experience, miraculous recovery from cancer, and finding the love. There are so many gems in this book.
Moorjani explains, “Being love also means being aware of the importance of nurturing my own soul, taking care of my needs, and not putting myself last all the time. This allows me to be true to myself at all times and to treat myself with total respect and kindness. It also lets me view what may be interpreted as imperfections or mistakes with no judgement, seeing only opportunities to experience and to learn with unconditional love.”
The last part of this reminds me of those early black-and-white, single shot episodes of The French Chef. In the kitchen, channel your inner-Julia Child and carry on as if you meant it… if you happen to make any ‘mistake.’
Eating healthfully, out of love
Of course, I also love what Moorjani has to say about her diet. When asked, she quips, “Well, my diet has changed…but I’m afraid it’s not in the way you think!” She goes on to describe how she used to be paranoid about so many foods and ate healthfully out of fear. Now, she eats whatever she is drawn to while enjoying food and life. “I think it’s more important to be happy than anything else… Even when I choose to eat healthfully, I do so out of love… that’s my method in every aspect of my life, and I invite you to live the same way.”
I can relate to this. I have spent enough time being paranoid about foods, especially those served to my kids. I am slowly recovering. When there is no shortage of news about sickness or toxins, it’s such a relief to turn fear on it’s head. Find the foods and rhythms that truly nourish you, that let your heart and soul sing, and indulge!
Loving artichokes and chicken hearts
For me, artichokes give those sorts of warm fuzzies. Growing up in Northern California, we had a row of artichoke plants along our back fence. They have these sort of dinosaur-sized, fern-like leaves and beautiful edible flowers.
Lucky for me, they are also the kind of food that gives energy from the inside out. They are medicinal for the liver, loaded with antioxidants, and feed your healthy gut microbes with prebiotic fibers. The growing season is short and artichokes are always picked by hand, so they can be hard to find. But cans or jars confer these same benefits.
A lot of love in just a few bites.
For my six-year old daughter, chicken hearts fit the bill. When she came home from school the other day, these were on skewers on the counter. She started jumping up and down and exclaimed “Mom, are we having heart meats?! I love heart meats!!” Happy to please.
Hearts and hearts: grilled chicken hearts and artichoke hearts
Meanwhile, have fun! Love yourself! And then spend that goodwill nourishing and indulging those around you!
Make it a silly, playful Valentine’s Day with grilled chicken hearts and artichoke hearts.
Could this meal get any better? Why, of course. Finish it up with some homemade mayonnaise as a vehicle for raw egg yolks. Then, of course, you can be sure to dip or spread the love to your hearts content.
Ingredients
For the hearts
- 2 artichokes
- 1/2 lb chicken hearts
- salt
- pepper
For the mayonnaise
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 t water
- 1 t dijon mustard
- juice from 1/2 small lemon
- 1 medium/small garlic clove, pressed
- 1 c olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Turn on your grill.
- Next, prepare the artichokes. Simply cut off the bottom end of any stalk that may be a bit dry. Steam for ~50 minutes until a fork or skewer easily pierces the heart of the artichoke without resistance. (Or, for the simplest of meals, pop open that can or jar!)
- Meanwhile, clean chicken hearts by cutting off any connective tissue. If the heart is in a skin membrane, snip it and pull it up by pushing the heart down. Then, from the top snip or chop off the membrane and any thick tubes protruding. Squeeze out any blood from the top.
- Put hearts onto skewers and season with salt and pepper. Let rest for a few minutes while you prepare the mayonnaise.
- To prepare the mayonnaise, use a food processor. Add yolks, water, mustard, lemon juice, and garlic. Pulse a few times. Measure the oliver oil into a cup for pouring. With the food processor running, add the olive oil just one drop at a time at first, using a very slow drizzle until the mixture starts to thicken and emulsify. Adding as a slow steady pour after it's thickened, and stopping the food processor immediately after it's all incorporated. Add salt and pepper and pulse to mix in. Season to taste. Refrigerate remaining mayo in a sealed jar for the better part of a week (as if it would last that long).
- Once the artichokes are nearly done and mayonnaise is ready, your grill should be hot. Put your skewers over the fire and cook for ~4 minutes on one side (until you have some tasty brown bits forming), turn and cook for another minute or two on the other side. Serve immediately.
I love your blog, thank you for sharing! Excellent recipes aside, your thoughtful, heart warming introductions and stories inspire me every time!
Awww, thank you, Aurelia!