Artichoke heart, that is. I love food, adore it, revere it. If I publish a travel essay that doesn’t include food, it’s because I’ve edited the consumables out of the final version. So other travel writers who write about food get me perked right up. Joe Ray is a widely published travel and food writer and photographer who has just completed a three-part series on food in Sicily on his Eating the Motherland blog. The most recent posting is a titillating meal highlighting the in-season little purple artichokes. An excerpt that just makes my mouth water: “He cut the tops off of a couple of artichokes, pinched off several outer layers of leaves, halved them lengthwise and cored [them] with a pen knife called a Siciliano. He sliced the halves into skinny strips and tossed them in the pan, giving it a flip or two that painted them the rich green of the olive oil. While that cooked, he peeled and halved a couple asparagus tips, added those, then sliced a few handfuls of local mushrooms and tossed them on top. . . . He smells the olive oil every time he uses it and the closest thing he seems to have to measuring cups are his hands.”