Sunday, May 9, 2010

Spinach and Artichoke Dip plus Happy Mother’s Day


Dan and I spent the day spring cleaning. Together we purged 7 kitchen bags of clothes to go to Goodwill. It felt great to get rid of things that are too big (woo hoo), or that I have not looked at in years, let alone worn. That is what happens when your overflow closet is one floor above your bedroom. Things tend to get forgotten when they are out of sight. But we are both happy to have the excess stuff packed up and ready for donation.

Our food today has been rather uninspiring, at least to me. For lunch there was yet another collard wrap this time with hummus, caponata and leftover quinoa. It was quite tasty. If you want to see a hot version of a quinoa collard wrap check out Aimee’s blog. Her filling sounds absolutely delicious.

As I have mentioned before Dan and I always discuss dinner, at least we do on the weekends. As we were batting options back and forth I realized I had never made a vegan spinach and artichoke dip. This oversight had to be corrected immediately. Coming of age in the 80’s spinach and artichoke dip has always been one of my favorites. The beauty of this dip is that in can be used multiple ways, which I will discuss later. Here is what I made tonight:

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Serves 8 as an appetizer

Ingredients:

½ cup dry oats, ground into flour
½ cup raw cashews (soaked for a couple of hours and drained unless you are using a high speed blender)
1 ½ cups water, for the initial processing
1 ½ cup of water, for adjusting the base consistency
¼ teaspoon garlic powder (or 3 cloves peeled garlic)
½ teaspoon dry mustard (Coleman’s in the yellow can)
4 tablespoons nutritional yeast
14 ounce can brined artichokes, finely chopped
8 ounces fresh baby spinach, chopped somewhat finely
Fresh ground nutmeg to taste (I probably used ¼ teaspoon)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Combine the oats, cashews and 1 ½ cup of water in your blender and process until smooth. If you are using the fresh garlic add it to the blender before processing.

Pour the cashew mixture into a saucepan, add the seasonings (garlic powder, nutritional yeast, and dry mustard) and heat on medium. As the mixture begins to thicken add water a little at time until you get the consistency you want. I needed an additional 1 ½ cups of water which I poured into the empty blender container to clean it before putting it into the saucepan.

When you like the consistency add the artichokes and spinach and heat until they are warm. Add salt and pepper to your taste.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 87.72
Calories From Fat (35%) - 30.27

Total Fat - 2.9g
Saturated Fat - 0.52g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 231.09mg
Potassium - 221.19mg
Total Carbohydrates - 9.24g
Fiber - 1.82g
Sugar - 0.54g
Protein - 3.25g

Comments:

This is destined to become another family favorite. This dip is rich and creamy and tastes very similar to the fat filled dairy original. I am not saying it has the fatty mouth feel of the original because it doesn’t. But it is almost buttery tasting from the nutritional yeast. The raw cashews and oat flour give the dip a nice thick and creamy texture. We really enjoyed this tonight. I hope you give it a try.

This can be served traditionally as a dip.


You can use it as a sauce to top pasta or quinoa.


Each serving of this dip contains approximately 2,650IU of vitamin A, 140mcg of vitamin K, 65mg of phosphorus, and 45mg of magnesium. I thought the nutrition was quite good for a sauce.

Unrelated Note:

Today is one of those days when I have always felt a little left out since I am not a human mother. My felines are my little babies who just happen to wear fur coats and walk on four feet. Anyone who has pets knows that they are an integral part of the family. At our house I am the cat mommy, just ask the cats.  ;-)  My husband always “takes” the felines shopping for Mother’s Day and this year was no exception. My family knows what I love. This year my babies (helped by my hubby) bought me a beautiful ring for Mother’s Day. They did a wonderful job shopping didn’t they?


I hope you are all having a wonderful Mother’s Day and that your human and animal children rose to the occasion and did something nice for you today. I will talk to all again tomorrow. With a little luck we will have a good start to the week. Mondays are always my least favorite day of the week.

40 comments:

  1. Oh my!!!!
    The ring!!!!
    Your kitties really love you, and maybe your husband too!!!!
    I am so gonna make the spinach artichoke dip!!!

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  2. Brandi,

    Thanks, I am certain the felines got some "guidance" from Dan. He knows I love jewelry. :-)

    The spinach and artichoke dip turned out really well. I was quite pleased with it.

    Alicia

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  3. When I saw the pic of your dip on Brandi's site, I knew I had to come right on over and see how you did it. You are so darn creative! I would never, never, never be able to think of making things the way you do. Excellent job. And beautiful ring. :)

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  4. Beautiful dip and beautiful ring! Lucky you:)Even if today was a bit of a non-event you clearly have family who love you dearly and that is plain from how you talk about them (in spite of the ring!)I'll write that email soon..
    Emma

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  5. That dip really looks delicious. The ring is beautiful too, is the stone Pink Tourmaline?

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  6. Blessed mama,

    I have been using the nut and oat flour base for a lot of sauces and gravies lately. It is a neutral base and thickens nicely. You should give that a try.

    Thanks for the compliment. I though they did a nice job with the ring. My husband is a sweetie pie.

    Alicia

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  7. Emma,

    The dip turned out well. We were both pleased with it. As I mentioned to Blessed Mama it is the same base I have been using recently (started with the queso). It is a very versatile base similar to a white sauce, you should play around with it.

    Thanks for the ring compliment. I thought it was beautiful. My hubby knows I like big colored rocks and he indulges me. I lucked out in the husband lottery. ;-)

    talk to you soon,
    Alicia

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  8. Shenadoah Vegan,

    We really enjoyed the dip. I will be making it often now. I hope you give it a try.

    Thanks for the ring compliment, I really liked it too. ;-) This is going to sound strange, but I didn't ask what the stone was because I assumed it was a tourmaline. I have been looking for a vibrant watermelon tourmaline for a while. If you see a local shop that has a nice selection please let me know.

    Alicia

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  9. That dip looks great. I'm a huge artichoke dip fan. I found a good vegan recipe that I used for my sister's bday party. Nice ring! I hear you on the feeling left out on Mother's Day.

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  10. Heather,

    Until you mentioned it I forgot that you had made spinach and artichoke dip a while back. That recipe used tofu, didn't it? I need to check your blog now.

    Thanks, I thought Dan did a wonderful job shopping. I didn't feel so left out this year. ;-) Why do animal mommies get left out? It just doesn't seem fair. We certainly have a lot of care taking to do too. ;-) LOL

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  11. Your kitties have excellent taste!! .. and so do you, this dip sounds outrageous, I will be trying it :)

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  12. The ring is really pretty. I love the color.

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  13. Sarah,

    LOL, thanks! The kitties came through this year for Mother's Day. I guess they love me. ;-)

    The dip reheats well. I just had a bit of it with my lunch. I hope you like it too!

    Alicia

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  14. Rose,

    Me too! I am a bit of a girly girl so I really like pink and purple though I usually reserve them for accent colors. ;-)

    Alicia

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  15. Alicia - your kitties and hubbies did a great job with your mom's day gift. People always ask me why I didn't have children, and I always correct them and say "I do have children - they are just four-legged and furry." Truly, I love my cats and dog so much!

    ~Lolly

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  16. Lolly,

    Thanks I was very happy with my present too. ;-)

    I agree with you completely, the felines are my little babies. I just adore all three of them just as spoiled and bratty as they. Both Dan and I treat them like furry children and they respond accordingly. They great us at the door whenever we come home. It really is too precious how much they love us. :-)

    Alicia

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  17. Ohhhhh, your dip sounds delicious! I <3 artichokes (just recently discovered that) and can't wait to try it!

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  18. PB and Jess,

    I hope you like the dip too. We were quite pleased with it. Artichokes are so good, and good for you I don't think you can have too many.

    Alicia

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  19. Beautiful ring, Ali...and beautiful dip too! Since I'm not a mommy (I have no furry babies either--I lasted less than a week with a cat) and most of my local friends aren't mommies either, we look at Mother's Day as a day to honor the beautiful goddess energy of ALL women! That way, we are ALL included!

    xoxo,
    LJ

    P.S. We got collard greens today in our produce share--I sent a link to your post to my group. :)

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  20. LJ,

    Oh you and kitty didn't see eye to eye? I am so sorry to hear that.

    Your idea for Mother's Day sounds brilliant. I agree that all women are nurturing and should be honored. Great plan. :-)

    Dan and my furbabies did good this year. LOL. Those cats know jewelry. ;-)

    The dip was quite good. We were very pleased with it.

    I can't wait to hear about the filling in your collard wraps. :-) Glad my post came at just the right time.

    talk to you later,
    Ali

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  21. lol love the sparkly from your family:) happy mothers day(late)

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  22. Michelle,

    Thanks, I love the girly pink color.

    Alicia

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  23. OMG...I go out of town over the weekend and come back to this--I am drooling!! I have LOVED spinach artichoke dip for years, and cannot wait to try your version--thank you!

    And how sweet is Dan?! That is so nice of him to get you a mother's day gift from your cat-kids :-)

    Courtney

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  24. Courtney,

    I am so happy to hear you like spinach and artichoke dip too. I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

    Thanks, I am a very lucky girl to be married to Dan. He really is the best guy, there are many reasons I adore him so much as I do. ;-)

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  25. That dip does look delicious! And that's a beautiful Mother's Day present! I love the color (bet it's lovely with your olive complexion and dark hair) and the beautiful setting too! Your kitties must have a hell of a paper route to be able to buy you bling like that! (Or does Dan just give them a really hefty allowance for laying around the house, sunning on windowsills, shedding and stealing your veggie wraps? Hey, I want a gig like that, ask Dan where I can sign up. LOL)

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  26. P.S. I love Laura Jill's take on Mother's Day! Big round of applause for Goddess energy! :-)

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  27. Lalo,

    Working kitties, that is funny! Clearly you are a dog person. The felines don't want to do anything that isn't their idea.

    Dan says you don't want to put up with torture the cats get, which he calls "tolerance training". They let their human father grab their ears, tails and told them upside down in the air. Shockingly they purr the entire time. But they are very good with children and strangers, only the vet needs to worry. LOL

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  28. Oh, right. Cats would make terrible paper carriers... they're more the CEO types! Which would explain the bling-buying income. And the chauffeur to drive them to the jeweler. LOL

    Is Dan actually saying that in order to get that gig I'd have to let him pull my ears and hold me upside down by my tail? Okay, that's just kinky, is what that is! ;-)~

    Tolerance training indeed, that sounds like something my dad would have LOVED to do to me! LOL

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  29. Lalo,

    You're killing me with the image of the cats doing a paper route...I'm telling you...comedienne all the way!

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  30. La,

    I was laughing so hard when I was trying to read your answer to Dan he had no idea what I was saying, LOL. You alway crack me up! Thanks for the great laugh. You had tears rolling down my cheeks!

    Alicia

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  31. Rose,

    I was laughing so hard I was cyying. Lalo is a riot. I agree with you. She needs to do standup.

    Alicia

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  32. LOL Rose and Ali! You're both just too adorable, and your laughing comments have ME cracking up, too! Good thing we weren't in school together, we'd have gotten detention every day for our hilarity and unruliness! :-)

    Ali, I don't know how you could just sit there and deny that your cats have paper routes. You should know by now that you can find anything on the "internets," and sure enough, I found this photo of Nicco delivering his newspapers, though he's definitely doing his job with feline nonchalance. :-) I also found this photo of his slacker siblings sleeping in, while Nicco was hard at work raising money to buy you your ring! So they're all totally busted, and you can stop trying to cover for them. ;-)

    Okay, obviously I can no longer ignore my fan club of two (I must hire staff!), telling me to go into standup. So this weekend you can catch me headlining at the Lost Springs Store & Post Office. Now's your chance to visit Lost Springs, WY! Tickets are selling fast, so be sure to get yours now and show up early for a good seat. I'll be signing autographs after the show over by the ancient, yellowed flashcubes display. ;-)

    Thank you, Ali and Rose, for totally making my day!! See you in detention. ;-)

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  33. La,

    LOL, you are so right about detention. That was great, and very accurate.

    Loved the pics and the sign of the town with the population of one. Where do you find these things?

    Alicia

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  34. I would love to be in detention with you guys....I'm still laughing today from last night. Those kitty pics are hilarious...count me in for your show Lalo...

    Ali, thanks for such a fun post! I'm definitely heading into the weekend with a smile on my face.

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  35. Ali, Lost Springs became a topic of conversation in the comments section of my Tiny Town Postal Pranks post when Molly, who had been through there, shared her photo of the sign and I shared that article. You should read that article if you haven't yet, it's a hoot!

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  36. Rose,

    I would happily be in detention with the two of you as well. We would have such a good time we would probably never get out. LOL

    talk to you later,
    Alicia

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  37. Lalo,

    A town of 3, now that is small. I bet there isn't much night life. I can't even imagine.

    Alicia

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  38. I think we should go back to school, you guys, just so we can spend time together in detention! We can get tattoos that say "LOL" on our biceps and stuff. And when the other students ask us how long we're in for, we can say in tough, gravelly, doin'-hard-time voices, "We're Lifers, kid." :-)

    Ali, do they give detention in your eCornell nutrition class? Hey, Rose... let's sign up! Wouldn't getting detention from T. Colin Campbell be the coolest? LOL

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  39. No, probably not much of a nightlife there, Ali, which is probably why those flashcubes never sold! ;-)

    But my comedy show will change all that! LOL

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  40. Lalo,

    First off I am still laughing. Clearly detention for life, no doubt about it. LOL!

    You crack me up!
    Ali

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