Rosemary White Bean Dip

This spread is buttery, rich and tasty. So simple in flavors. I was inspired to do this dip thanks to a good friend of mine who made it for me once. I loved it so much that I made it within days of first trying it. Since it is a very simple dip or spread it can easily be paired. I like it most on some raw onion crackers.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked white beans
• 1/2 cup milk (I used almond)
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1 sprig of rosemary

Steps:

• in a pan, heat the oil and simmer the garlic and rosemary (leave it on the stick!) until you smell the aromas, about 5 to 8 minutes
• once garlic done, remove the rosemary sprig from oil and toss or keep for decoration
• put everything in a food processor and blend until desired texture.
• to fancy it up you can save a few pieces of the toasted garlic as decoration
• this dip will save at least 5 days in the fridge

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Eggplant Dip

I always have raw crackers laying around, therefor, I try to have some sort of dip laying around as well. Dips and crackers are such a nice, satisfying quick snack. (It actually ended up being my dinner my dinner tonight since I couldn’t stop eating it as I was letting it cool before putting in to containers.) I made this dip several weeks ago and really liked it, so I made it again tonight and wrote down the ingredients this time so I could share it with you.

I love eating as a dip with crackers and raw vegetables, but I could see it being tasty as a spread in a sandwich or with rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, cut into small pieces
• 1 red onion cut in quarters
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/2 TBS cumin
• 1/2 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp of salt
• dash of cayenne (or more for extra spice)

Steps:

• preheat oven to 350 F
• put first 4 ingredients in a pan and roast covered for about 45 minutes or until the eggplants is nice and soft
• put everything in a food processor and pulse to combine well
• I left some pieces for texture. You can make this as smooth or chunky as you like.

Basil Pesto Sauce

The basil has been so lush and abundant at the farmers market that I just cannot help and buy a few bundles every time I smell it!! For that reason, I have been making a lot of pesto this summer. I love pesto for how versatile it is: on pizza, with raw crackers, as a dip with veggies, as a spread on a sandwich, with zucchini pasta, you get the drift 😉 

This is my version of pesto. I omit the pine nuts, mainly because those are not something I ever have on hand. When creating recipes, I try to create things with ingredients that are frequently in my kitchen. It keeps things simple and convenient. 

 

 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups tightly packed basil
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 TBS lemon juice
• 1 TBS nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt

Steps:

• put everything in the food processor and blend until desired consistency. I left it a little chunky this time because I felt like 🙂 Sometimes I like it really smooth and will process it longer. 

Nut and Seed Spread

I had just made some almond milk and had the leftover almond pulp I needed to use. I was going to visit my friend who had just had a baby and bring a lunch to share with her. I know how hard it can be to put effort into eating deliciously healthy when having a newborn so I thought I’d whip up something fresh and nutritious for us.

The texture resembles that of ricotta cheese a bit, but the flavor is absolutely unique and delicious. You can use this as dip with some crackers, spread it on bread before making sandwiches, eat it with a spoon, or stuff it in a cabbage leaf and top it off with avocado and fresh tomatoes, which is what I did for my friend and I. (I wish I had taken a picture of the finished product, it was beautiful and held really nicely together, but I assembled it fresh once I got to my friends house).

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for 4 hours, or if like me you are doing this last minute, soak them in boiling hot water for about 30 minutes, while you prep the rest
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 3/4 cups almond pulp (which is approximately what should be left from one almond milk recipe
• 2 TBS chopped cilantro
• 2 TBS green chopped green olives

Blend first 5 ingredients in food processor, then transfer to a bowl with last 3 ingredients, mix well, and voila! The stuffed cabbage leaves were such a fulfilling meal, and left us feeling great and energized.