The Kind Life

 

Laura Linney and I cooked up some of my favorite recipes from The Kind Diet the other day for The Oprah Show.  Of course I had to make this crostini dish! 

It’s ridiculously good... Great to serve at your next party, or just to make for a nice dinner at home!  The best part is that you can use the leftover pesto and artichoke spread for sandwiches and other meals long after the crostini have been eaten!  I urge you to make these... And then let me know how much you love them!



You can watch the video of Laura and I making these crostini HERE.

And if you missed it, you can check out the whole Oprah episode HERE. 

SERVES 2

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons mirin

2 teaspoons shoyu

Salt

3-4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 cups thinly sliced leek
2 cups sliced button mushrooms



ARTICHOKE SPREAD
1 can whole, water-packed artichoke hearts, drained

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2-1 teaspoon umeboshi vinegar



PESTO
1 cup fresh basil leaves

3/4 cup raw pine nuts

1/4 cup lemon juice

1-2 tablespoons umeboshi vinegar

1/4 cup olive 
oil
4-6 slices whole grain baguette

Finely chopped flat leaf parsley

STEPS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine the oil, vinegar, mirin, shoyu and 2 pinches of salt in a skillet over medium heat.

Add the garlic, leek, and mushrooms.

Cover the pan and when you hear sizzling, gently shake the skillet, holding the lid in place.

Reduce the heat to low and braise until the leek is quite tender and deeply browned (5-10 minutes).

Remove the lid and allow any remaining liquid to cook off.

Remove from heat and stir gently to combine.
Blend the artichoke hearts, olive oil, and umeboshi vinegar in a food processor until smooth.

Remove from the food processor and set aside.
Blend the basil, pine nuts, lemon juice, umeboshi vinegar, and oil in the food processor until smooth.

Adjust seasonings to taste.

Brush the bread lightly with oil on both sides.

Arrange the bread on a baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Bake until the bread is lightly browned and crispy at the edges.
Spread the artichoke mixture on the bread, mound the leek mixture generously on top, and finish with a dollop of pesto and a sprinkle of parsley.  

Serve and enjoy!

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  • Categories: food , the kind diet , recipes
I received leeks in my CSA bag this week...now I know what I want to make with them!
http://www.appletreehouse.etsy.com

I cannot express how excited I was to see Alicia on Oprah last week. I have been a vegetarian for 3 years now and I am still asked regularly why I choose this lifestyle. The combination of "Food Inc" which I purchased and passed on to many friends, family members and co-worker’s, and Alicia's book has made answering these questions substantially easier! I am very anxious to try out the recipes and read the abundant information written in Alicia's own lovely, funny and above all else, honest words.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
A. Knight

Alicia you were awesome on Oprah.  I'm certain you reached a ton of people to consider The Kind Diet.
I made this recipe finally, and it is DELICIOUS! I felt so naughty eating it since it tasted so good, but I had to keep reminding myself how healthy it actually was ;) My non-vegan friends tasted them and they immediately asked for the recipe. This is a great recipe for an appetizer, snack or lunch - love it!
  • Rini
  • Feb 2, 2010
  • 51
I just ordered the book! So excited for it to come in the mail!! =) I am a vegetarian and am always looking for newer vegetarian/vegan lifestyle choices.. =)
Thank you for starting this site.  I've been living in southeast Colorado, having moved here from northern California just over ten years ago.  A desert experience for me, both environmentally, culturally, socially & even spiritually, I've looked everywhere for like-minded people to no avail.  I recently visited my brother in the Bay Area to take care of him after his surgery.  I swear I could hear the angels sing when I walked in to the produce section of Whole Foods .. five kinds of mushrooms, lemons the shape of a hand (Buddha finger lemons) .. I could go on.  I miss it so much here in the conservative part of Colorado I'm in where a salad is half a cup of iceberg lettuce with a slice or two of pale yellow, sour "tomato".   The cultural & spiritual landscape is just as baron & washed out as the produce department of the local market, so I look forward to connecting with people here.  I love the story you tell of how you contacted Woody & he invited you to hang out.  That is so important.  It really is true that birds of a feather smell as sweet.
i'm not at home to write down the tofu cream recipe to put on the thin crust mushroom pizza.... can some one post it so i can pick up ingredients on way home from work?  thank you, thank you.  Have you tried it?  did you love?
Hi SY I love Daves Organic Killer Breads:) Here is a post I did on it with some other yummy recipes! Thank-you Alicia for inspiring us all! The recipes in The Kind Diet rock!!!HUGS all! Loving the support! XO Lhttp://spiritoflivingwell.com/index.php?/blog/day-8-the-foodie-goes-vegan-project/
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