Artichokes, man. I really want to like them. And I do...mostly. I just didn't grow up with artichokes and so never developed a taste for them — either the big globes that are in season right now or the trimmed hearts that can be found in the freezer or canned food sections. So help me out: what are your most beloved dishes with artichokes?

We're all about sourcing, prepping, cooking and eating good food here at The Kitchn, yet there's one area we seldom think about: using food plants as dye. But now that I have the beautiful poster pictured above hanging in my kitchen, I'm inspired to take another look at my food scraps and consider what color they might produce on a t-shirt, or a napkin. Take avocado pits, for instance. Depending on the mordants (used to help fix the color) an avocado pit will produce anything from a pale mauve to a deep grey. 

Q: I was just gifted the Paderno vegetable slicer. So far I've just made zucchini pasta (great for texture without the carbs). Does anyone have any other suggestions  or recipes for using this tool?

Sent by Gina

Jacaranda Small Colorblocked Spoons from Lydali

• $16

I'm obsessed with spoons and little serving cups these days, with my pudding book coming out. I'm so drawn to all the poppy neons and juicy colors in tableware right now, like these colorful spoons. They are hand carved from jacaranda and kiatt wood in South Africa. Measures 10.25" long by 3.2" at its widest. All kinds of pretty colors, from olive green to pink and orange.

Item: Vitamix 32-Ounce Dry Grains Container
Price: $144.00
Overall Impression: Not essential but extremely useful

A Vitamix is a hefty (yet worthy!) investment and if you've taken the plunge, you might now be wondering whether you really need to spend more on an additional Dry Grains Container. How different is it from the Vitamix's Standard/Wet Blade Container? Here's what we found... 

Savannah Embossed Drink Dispenser from World Market

• $19.99
• World Market

I bought two of these dispensers before the bridal shower for my sister that I showed you yesterday. We filled them with ginger cooler and strawberry limeade, and put them on beverage dispenser stands, which are not available online from World Market, but were about $5 in the store. These dispensers hold about 6.8 liters (1.8 gallons or so), and they easily served the crowd we had. The spouts worked smoothly, too. Great dispenser for summer entertaining.

Q: We had an unopened bottle of extra-light olive oil in a cool dark place. When we went to use it, we noticed many small white beads clinging to the inside of the bottle. Does this mean the oil had gone bad or is this just fat deposits from sitting so long? There is no expiration date on bottle.

Sent by Kathy

Q: I got a pound of frozen trout in my CSA this week. I'm a single lady on a tight budget, so I don't really want to share my one pound of meat for the week! The trout is pretty frozen so I can't separate the fillets. Any ideas or recipes that will use the whole pound? Ideally something that can be frozen afterwards?

Palmolive Fresh Infusions Dishwashing Liquid

• $8.97 for set of 3 bottles
• Target

Today's Daily Find comes from Emma, who says: "I've been handwashing my dishes with this liquid soap from Palmolive for a few months now and I can say with certainty that this stuff gets the job done. One squirt is usually all I need for a sink full of dishes, and I like the gentle scent of these fresh infusions, particularly the Ginger White Tea. The aromatherapy doesn't exactly make up for the fact that I'm still doing dishes, but it certainly helps makes the job more pleasant!"

I'll grant you that we've become a little coconut obsessed lately, what with the coconut chips and the coconut cooking spray and all the reasons we love coconut water. But before you declare coconut overload, you have to give this coconut sugar a try. For starters, I bet you'll never guess what part of the coconut it's made from!

It's that time of year: last call for the CSA programs in your area! Have you ever done a CSA? Community Supported Agriculture lets you pay a membership fee to a farm, and then receive a box of seasonal produce throughout the growing season. It's a great way to participate in the life of a farm, and to get spectacularly good produce. Are you doing one this year? 

Q: I live in NYC and regularly buy fresh pasta from specialty shops. I love bucatini but have never seen bucatini sold fresh. Is there a reason why bucatini cannot be sold fresh or is there a place I can go to buy some that I have not thought of?

Sent by Mike