Monday, October 4, 2010

Mere shadows of dairy puppets.. or something


At an appetizer get together, I chose to make an artichoke and spinach dip.  I remember well the deliciousness of these warm dips and really wanted to have some.  It does break a rule of mine though.  As a vegan I try to stay away from meat and dairy mimicking products.  I feel that if I'm choosing to not eat something, it's for a reason and it seems silly to use things that just pretend to be what you want to avoid.  But, I really wanted to make this.  So I'm sharing it with everyone in hopes that if you do feel the urge to go out and buy a big pile of pretend dairy products, this is what you'll make.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Ingredients:

    1 pkg chopped frozen spinach, thawed
    1 can artichoke hearts, chopped
    1 pkg vegan cream cheese
    1/4 cup soy milk
    4 tablespoons Veganaise
    1/3 cup nutritional yeast
    1/4 cup vegan soy parmesan
    1 cup chopped green onion
    1/4 cup chopped chives
    1 red bell pepper, chopped
    4 tablespoons olive oil
    1/2 block vegan cheddar (I use Follow your heart)
    1 tomato, chopped
    5 cloves minced garlic

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat oil in skillet, add peppers and garlic, saute 4 min over medium heat, add soy milk, heat for 1 min. Add chopped artichoke, heat 2 mins. Add cream cheese, green onions and chives, heat through till melted. Add soy parmesan, nutritional yeast, 1/2 vegan cheddar and Veganaise.  Let heat until completely melted and add spinach. Stir and let heat for 3 min. Add pepper to taste.  Pour into oven safe dish, top with the rest of the vegan cheese and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top with chopped tomato.

Serve hot with tortilla chips or crostini.