Artichoke Tapenade & Creamy Artichoke Spread

This is really only one and a half recipes, since the second one is really more a suggestion for awesomeness than what I’d call an actual recipe.  First, the tapenade.  It’s not a true tapenade, since it contains neither olives nor capers (tapenas being  the Provençal word for capers), but since I think of all minced vegetable spready things as tapenades, I’m calling it that anyway.  It’s a nice, light dish, low in calories and good for your heart (artichokes boost your HDL, which is the good cholesterol), so you can load up as much as you like.

Ingredients:
1-14 oz. can/jar/container artichoke hearts packed in water
1 clove garlic, pressed (or more, if you love garlic)
juice of one half lemon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1 splash (about 2 teaspoons and no more than a Tablespoon) extra virgin olive oil

To make:
Toss it all in your food processor or blender (I recommend a food processor both for thorough mixing and ease in getting it out of the thing) and blend on pulse.

Voila! Scoop it out and use it with abandon.  I like it spread on water crackers, either by itself, mixed with a dab of sour cream, or best of all, the “recipe” below.

(Makes 8 oz.)

Now for the really, really good part, the Creamy Artichoke Spread.  I took this to a party and thought I’d be the only one eating it, because its not your usual spread, but it didn’t last long once people tried it.

Ingredients:
5 oz.  artichoke tapenade, prepared as above
1 package (about 5 oz.) Snøfrisk spreadable cheese

To make:
Put them both in a bowl and mix well.

That’s it.  And I defy you not to eat the entire thing all by yourself.   Snofrisk tastes kind weird on its own, but mix it with this tapenade, and it’s crack. No kidding.

So now you know one of my guilty pleasures.  Let’s keep it between us, shall we?

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