My menu came from Veganomicon, with cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.
Asparagus and Spinach Dip
This is the first time I made this dip. It starts by sauteing asparagus in olive oil and garlic then mixing in chopped spinach. You puree that with raw cashews and capers. It has a bright, fresh taste, and the capers give it a little zest. It was good that night, but I took the leftovers (it makes three cups) to a party Saturday night, and after 24 hours it was so much better (everyone loved it on Saturday).
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Everyone loved this salad dressing. Olive oil and fresh lemon juice are combined with lots of minced garlic, oregano, thyme, and basil. Over a salad of fresh, soft red leaf lettuce with cucumber, tomatoes, and red onion, it was awesome.
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I made this once before and loved it just as much this time. It is soooooo good. Definitely one of my favorite Veganomicon recipes. The combination of spinach linguine with sauteed red onions, a flavorful, fragrant, unique pesto, and salty artichoke hearts makes this a huge winner. And it takes like 15 minutes to put together. You can't go wrong with this dish. Everyone loved it. (I forgot to take a picture until half-way through...)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguAoWahIVXkDQRLNl-yHYzEJtELvOTGNOY_hiqBbY7kqgEjzjp2wKTnJq5JS8ujg1KHwEyTbok5MOWZdNxV_Ao0Jt_fJPUFYHXN107bIrEvIopT6zjCuSpZZJyeJkL7WwYZV88i-4Y0dY/s400/pasta.jpg)
This is the first time the vanilla cupcakes weren't fabulous! I think it's because I halved the recipe, and I had to do a little guesswork on trying to halve 3/4 teaspoon of something. The cupcakes were just okay--not as moist as usual. But the chocolate mousse frosting was rich and decadent and made up for the sub-par cupcakes.
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Hehe, sneaky! We've got a dinner party coming up next week too - maybe I'll try to make the asparagus-spinach dip. Thanks for the tip on the "next day" taste too - I'm always happy to have something made the day before to cut back on prep time!
ReplyDeleteawesome-looking meal all around! your guests are lucky :)
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