Artichoke Towers! GF, V, SCD, BED opt'n!

Super Bowl Sunday!! Wooo!!

Who's watching the game?! Right now, you can find me at a bar surrounded by 49ers fans. However, let me make something clear...I am *not* a 49ers fan. In fact, I am wearing black...mourning the loss of my Bengals and Packers:)

I've got a confession...I'm watching for the commercials:) And Beyonce's half time show. Since my teams aren't in it, I don't care who wins!

Anywho, yesterday, I made an AMAAAZING dinner. We're talking D. Lic. Iious! Stacks of tomatoes and a fabulous artichoke puree, garnished with browned mushrooms. MMM!!

And they're Gluten Free, Vegan, Specific Carb Diet friendly, with a BED option!?

Yep! And super quick to throw together too! We're talking 30 minutes tops!

Here's what you need: (Serves 1)

2 slicing tomatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds

2 1/4 cups frozen artichoke hearts, steamed and excess water squeezed out
2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted
salt and pepper

5 button mushrooms, sliced and browned
1 cup baby spinach

Toast your pine nuts in a sauce pan. (I used the same pan I was going to steam my artichokes in). Then, steam your artichoke hearts for about 8-10 minutes, until tender. Meanwhile, slice your tomatoes and brown your artichokes in a spritz of olive oil. Here's how I did it: Spray a big pan with olive oil spray, and place your slices of mushrooms in a single layer. Don't salt them yet and don't disturb them while they're browning. Then, after about 3 minutes, flip them over and let them brown on the other side.

After your artichokes have steamed, allow them to cool slightly, and then wring out the excess water in a paper towel. You don't want all the liquid gone, but most of it.

Place your artichokes, pine nuts, salt and pepper in the food processor and process until creamy. You'll need to scrape down the sides several times. It will be the consistency of tuna salad.

To assemble, place one tomato round on your plate. Place about 3-4 leaves on spinach on top. Top that with about 2 Tbsps of the artichoke puree. Top with another tomato, a dot of artichoke, and garnish with mushrooms. Serve on a bed of spinach.

For a BED option, omit the tomatoes, use shiitake mushrooms, and serve with my Garlicky Buckwheat Chips!

Wow. Wow. Wow. What a treat! This little guy was briny from the artichokes, and earthy from the mushrooms, and then had an amazing, bright - sweetness from the tomatoes! Combined with the spinach, it was unreal!

And the textures were fabulous! The artichoke puree had the consistency of tuna salad, which sounds kinda weird, but trust me, it was so good. That, complimented by the chewy mushrooms and the juicy tomatoes made for one dynamite bite!

And they were so pretty too! So colorful. I love the red. And the mushroom on top was picture perfect. :)

Hope you're having fun watching the game!

Until next time!

My food processor and olive oil mister were MVP's in this recipe (get it?! Super Bowl joke??? hahaha oh brother...)...Here are the ones I use and LOVE: