Guess What The Gyptian is Today

[thegyptian]

I am a spiky green vegetable. I taste good with butter. I can be microwaved, but I'm better when steamed. If you don't pick me when I'm green, I bloom electric purple. Most people don't know that; they only see me when I'm on the shelf. A lot of people think I go good with spinach, but spinach and I fight often and that always makes the feta cheese sad. My heart tastes better than my skin, and you should always hold me by the stem and not from the top. I am better than the lilies of the field. I bloom only when all but a few have given up hope that I will.

What am I?

I am the artichoke, and my heart beats for you and you alone.