spinach artichoke asiago dip

a few weeks ago it suddenly occurred to me that i should attempt to make some sort of artichoke dip. i was going to go all out and prepare my own artichokes even. in the end, i was lazy and used canned artichokes. but i was just un-lazy enough to actually make the dip. i tried following recipes, but i couldn't follow just one, due to either a lack of ingredients or my hidden inner need for complexity of some sort.

but, i actually wrote down what i ended up putting into my conglomeration. and it turned out not half bad.

1/2 cup (or more) shredded cheese (i used asiago & parmesan)
1 can artichokes
1 tsp lemon
100 g (approx) cream cheese
1 cup (ish) blanched spinach
1/2 cup mayo (or veganaise, which is what i used. i realize how pointless it is to use veganaise when i'm using cheese, but the stuff that's in the veganaise is way better than the crap they put in the name-brand mayonnaise. in my opinion.)
salt & pepper

basically, if i can remember properly, i blanched the spinach first. the other option is to use frozen spinach. anyways, i boiled water, threw the spinach in, tossed it for a few seconds (using a tongs, not my hands), took the spinach out, drained it in a colander. after the spinach cools a bit, toss it into a blender or food processor and pulse it a few times till its choppy. if using frozen spinach i think you still need to chop it up a bit in the blender. then, mix everything together in a bowl. taste, add more cheese or salt & pepper to taste, and you are done! yay! apparently it tastes better if you let it sit (in the fridge) for a day, but you can probably eat it right away. best served warm with some type of carbohydrate to dip with.

rosemary-lemon white bean dip

my obsession with rosemary has taken up again. i made rosemary-lemon white bean dip again, but this time i had time to take pictures. and pictures i took.

i found the recipe while trying to find ways to use up the rosemary i got last time at my local farmer's market. i bought some more fresh rosemary on saturday (along with sage, lemon verbena & fresh garlic). and seriously, the fresh garlic was amazing. i'd never had it before, but it smelled great, and i'm pretty sure tasted more amazing than the regular dried garlic i normally use. (also, the lemon verbena makes fantastic tea)

back to the dip. i'm sure you can follow the link to get the recipe, but i'll copy it here with a few modifications i made. which aren't many.



ingredients:

* 2 cups cooked white beans, like cannelini, drained but moist (i used 1 can of white cannelini beans)
* 1 to 3 cloves garlic, peeled
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
* 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
* 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
* Grated rind of 2 lemons (i used only 1 lemon, & i added about half of the juice from 1 lemon)

- Blend the beans & garlic (start with 1 clove & taste to see if you need more) & a pinch of salt. (add some of the oil & lemon juice if your food processor doesn't blend dry stuff very well). process until the mixture is smooth. then taste & see if you want more garlic. if so, add more, blend more.
- Scoop the bean mixture into a bowl & beat in (with a spoon or spatula) the chopped rosemary, lemon zest, & the rest of the olive oil, along with salt & pepper to taste.
- Garnish, & serve with chips (i prefer rice chips)