Vegan Artichoke Dip

Exciting doings here at LTIR central: Rachel and I are actually cooking together because she is visiting the East Coast. Last night we whipped up this tasty dip inspired by a recipe from Blissful Bites by Christy Morgan (a cookbook we highly recommend).

Despite Rachel freaking out just a little because I don't own a single measuring spoon, meaning she had to "estimate" an actual tablespoon, we managed to make this without coming to blows. And I took just a little pleasure — okay, a lot — when it tasted just fine despite the inadequate cooking utensils chez Mom. Hah!

The original recipe calls for garam masala, but I didn't have any so we added a few different curry powders, cardomon and tumeric. My point is don't be afraid to experiment. Enjoy!

Indian Artichoke Dip

ingredients
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon spicy curry powder
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon cardomon
1 teaspoon sweet curry powder
2 tablespoons tamari
salt to taste
paprika to garnish on top

method
Puree in the food processor and adjust to taste. Yup, it's that easy.

Leeks and Leaks

Janet here: No this isn't a homonym lesson. I'm just noting an interesting concurrence: the week in which I make a fantastic leek dish was also the week the light fixture in the bathroom at Casa de Roomie (I live in two places if you're not a regular reader) decided to become an unofficial shower as water streamed out of it one day just as I was about to head out the door to work. It was, obviously, an awesome moment.

But first some housekeeping. We are happy to announce the winners of our Blissful Bites cookbook giveaway: Carje, Vegan Wheekers and VegAn are going to be cooking up a vegan holiday storm, thanks to Christy Morgan and BenBella Books' generosity. We hope to get these in the mail ASAP but only Vegan Wheekers followed directions and left her email address so you other two need to contact us ASAP at lifetoldinrecipesatgmaildotcom so you can have an early Christmas present.

Anyway back to the leeks, which have become a bit of a vegetable fetish for me. First a confession: Until I started this blog with Rachel nearly 3 (!) years ago, I had never cooked a leek. Ever. It fell somewhere in with the thought process I had about shallots (also wildly wrong and uninformed), which goes like this: They're in the onion family, right, so really how different can they be in taste? I'll just use an onion.

That was a stupid thought process and when I think of how many years I missed eating leeks and (shallots), it makes me just a titch sad. It may also explain my using them, oh, at least once a week ever since and why I was inspired by a recipe from Not My Mother's Casseroles.

You might think a casserole made almost entirely of leeks would be boring or too much of a good thing. You would be wrong. This is savory and a wonderful side. And tonight the leftovers are going to be added to a little pasta with maybe a bit of sauteed broccoli and some grated Parmesan and I'm already salivating typing this. So make the casserole and then be happy you'll have some terrific leftovers too.

Lovely Leek Bake
serves 6-8

ingredients
6 large leeks
6 tablespoons butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups white wine
1 cup broth
juice of half a lemon
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2-3 sprigs fresh thyme (leaves only)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I used premade, but if you make your own, add some spices of your choice: garlic? a little more thyme?, more cheese?)


method
Grease 5-6 quart Dutch oven
Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Trim the ends off the leeks and cut each in half lengthwise. Wash well. Pat dry. Cut into half-moons about 1/2-inch wide.

Melt the butter in the Dutch oven. Cook the garlic for a few minutes until soft. Then add the leeks and stir/cook for about 10 minutes until they begin to get golden brown and soft. Add the wine and broth. Bring to a simmer.

Then take off the heat and squeeze in the lemon juice. Stir in one cup of the Parmesan.

Sprinkle the bread crumb topping over the leeks. If you're making your own, pulse all the ingredients in the food processor first before spreading. Sprinkle the 1/2 cup Parmesan over the top and drizzle a little olive oil over it all.

Bake for 25 minutes uncovered until the topping is golden brown.

"Blissful Bites" Giveaway!

Rachel here.

So, it's that time of the year when two of our favorite things come together: gift giving and meal sharing. These aren't wholly separate entities either. Preparing a meal for people you love is nothing if not a gift and so, too, is receiving their satisfaction as they scrape their plates clean. The generosity of spirit that seeps through food--whether taking the time to nourish yourself, spending the weekend in the kitchen baking cookies for neighbors, or sitting down at a meal lovingly prepared by another for you--comes to the fore in the holiday season as we remember to pause and take stock of our good fortune which can be so easily obscured during the daily grind of the rest of the year.

With that said, there are certainly many strong and compelling arguments for the virtues of following a vegan lifestyle. It is responsible on so many levels, including environmental and social. It is a way of eating and living bolstered by a strong ethical spine and, though neither my mom nor I partakes, it is certainly a commitment we both admire in others. And so, today we offer a giveaway. Enter for yourself, enter for a friend. Adding "Blissful Bites" by Christy Morgan to your own cookbook inventory will help you create meals that are friendly to all of the people you feed, and giving it as a gift to somebody who is already following or interested in following a vegan lifestyle would be a lovely way to show them that you support their endeavor. With everything from breakfast staples to dessert delicacies (and organized seasonally to boot!), no matter who ends up with this cookbook in their hands, it's sure to be a hit. And did I mention that every recipe takes 45 minutes or less? Because it does, and as a mom that MATTERS to me.

So here's the deal, folks. Using the random number generator at random.org we will select a winner to receive "Blissful Bites" exactly one week from today (that would be Wednesday December 6th). You have until noon that day to leave a comment below. Tell us how you feel about veganism, how you love it or how you tried it for 45 minutes one time in college; tell us that nothing makes you happier than rare beef; tell us we're pretty (it won't help you win but, you know, it never hurts either); tell us ANYTHING and make sure to include an email address that we can contact you at should you win. From first to last comment, you'll be assigned a number in chronological order and then the random number generator will work its random magic and we'll have our winner. Easy as pie, right? WRONG--it's even easier.