Artichoke and Leek Crostini: 38 Power Foods - #1 Artichoke

I've reach a bit of a milestone today . . . my 100th post!  I'm proud of myself for sticking to this little project and putting myself out there after years of thinking "I can do this".  Now I'm thinking why did I wait so long?  This blog gives me an opportunity to be creative and to take time for myself.  Not only that, I've met a lot of great new bloggy friends.  In that vein, let me introduce the next series that I'm participating in: 38 Power Foods!

Started by Mireya from My Healthy Eating Habits, it is based on the book Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients from the editors of Whole Living Magazine.  The first week's ingredient is artichoke.  The artichoke is high in antioxidants and fiber, helps to lower cholesterol, and aids in liver and gall bladder health.  There is a bit of a controversy in the scientific community if artichokes actually help hangovers (seriously, check out google scholar!) but I say they are so delicious that you should splurge on spinach and artichoke dip the next time you're dragging at brunch!

I made a quick crostini featuring the artichoke and caramelized leeks.  I always have a box of frozen artichoke hearts in my freezer; I just thawed a box, chopped them into bite sized pieces, and squeezed out any water before adding caramelized leeks.  There is a kick from crushed red pepper flakes, savory minced garlic, and a touch of sweetness from the leeks and a squirt of honey.  But the most important component to any artichoke dish?  A good squeeze of lemon juice.  There is something so harmonious about the combo of artichokes and lemon.  Paired with crisp crostini and a buttery cheddar cheese, these crostini are decadent AND healthful!

And here are the fellow bloggers investigating these 38 power foods:

Alyce - More Time at the Table,  Ansh - Spice Roots,

Jeanette - Jeanette’s Healthy Living, Jill - Saucy Cooks

Martha - Simple-Nourished-Living, Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits,

Sarah - Everything in the Kitchen Sink, Casey - Bookcase Foodie

Spinach and Artichoke Strata

Over Christmas, I was finally introduced to the wonders of strata.  There is a new bakery by my parent's house and we had a surplus of bread laying around as well as extra bacon from the butcher behind our house (spoiled, I know).  The bread was going stale so I made some french toast and a big pan of strata!  Basically a strata is like a savory bread pudding, with layers of bread, veggies, and cheese topped with a savory egg custard.  A new french bakery opened in my neighborhood, so I decided to grab a baguette and give it another go!

Because strata is a great way to use up leftovers, I stuck with that theme while constructing mine.  I had two lonely slices of bacon, opened packages of frozen artichoke hearts and spinach, half a container of sliced cremini mushrooms, and asiago cheese leftover from an attempt to stuff a deboned chicken thigh.  All beautiful ingredients that needed a home, and the deliciously fresh french bread was the perfect palette!

A custard of egg and milk is poured over the layers and allowed to mellow in the fridge over night.  This is the step is what makes this a perfect brunch dish!  I let it come to room temperature, while the oven was heating up, and baked it off in about 30 minutes.  Cheesy and eggy with crispy bacon on top?  This one is a winner!

Homemade Spinach Pasta with Lemon Artichoke Cream Sauce

My favorite toy I ever got for Christmas was not a barbie or a lego set, it was a pasta roller attachment for my stand mixer two years ago.  The funny thing - I didn't want it originally for pasta, it was for pierogis!  I hated rolling out the especially springy dough and thought that would be the easiest way to mass produce pierogis and not leave any filling behind.  While I still have not been able to do that, I have learned a thing or two about making pasta!

Frozen chopped spinach is the star of this dish for its flavor, color, and saved time!  Frozen vegetables are not only a great convenience, because they are flash frozen at their ripest they retain fresh flavor.  I always keep frozen corn, peas, edamame, and broccoli in my freezer for any dish that may require a quick vegetable addition.  In this instance, I also took advantage of frozen artichokes.  These are a great option because fresh artichokes are a pain to prepare and jarred marinated artichokes are a little too powerful to combine in light sauces.