Lately, my tastebuds have been all over the place.
All I want for breakfast is a big bowl of Morning O’s (Whole Foods’ answer to Cheerios) and almond milk. No oatmeal, no smoothies, or any kind of fancy breakfast. Just plain, cold cereal. And my sweet cravings seem to have disappeared. Instead of wanting a healthy dessert after dinner, I want popcorn. Plain ol’ popcorn.
When I would usually snack on a piece of fruit or perhaps some hummus and veggies, I’m craving all things salty and vinegar-y. It’s now become commonplace for me to be caught trying to squeeze my hand into the small jar to grab a handful of olives (and yes, I realize that this is what spoons are for). I’ll tell you all about my whole grain mustard sandwich (okay, it was piece of bread covered with mustard) later.
One day when my salty cravings were at their peak and a bunch of fresh parsley beginning to wilt in the fridge, I decided to make tapenade. I looked at several different recipes online, and then just started throwing stuff in my food processor. I did a lot of taste tests to “make sure it was perfect.” A lot.
This tapenade incorporates canned artichoke hearts, along with the olives and capers, giving one more layer of briny goodness. To put it simply, this spread is absolutely delicious. And addictive. If you manage to not eat it all with a spoon straight from the food processor, it makes for a lovely spread on some fresh bread as a snack or appetizer. It will also make any sandwich you add it to about 100 times better. Fact.
I hope you love this tapenade as much as I do. I’ve made two batches so far and it’s basically my most favorite thing in my refrigerator right now. I’m dying to dip popcorn in it, but I’m refraining so that I can maintain some level of classiness and self-respect. Let’s just hope my tastebuds get themselves figured out soon or I may have to retract that last statement.
artichoke olive tapenade
Ingredients
- about 20 black olives, pitted and rinsed
- about 20 green olives, pitted and rinsed
- 6-7 artichoke hearts from a can, rinsed
- 2-3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
- 3 generous tablespoons fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, if needed
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well-incorporated and all pieces are fairly uniform in size. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
What kinds of food cravings do you get?
Photography by Chris Miller
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how delicious does this look?! i LOVE olives so much and this tapenade reminds me of the last night of our honeymoon in greece when all the hotel restaurant could offer me was a huge bowl of olives. i had no complaints, though, and look back on that meal with great fondness. i think the one thing that could have made that meal even better was artichokes. i see this tapenade making an appearance in my life very very soon
Caitlin recently posted…Potato and Cheese Pierogies
Thanks, Caitlin! I could totally go for a whole bowl of olives for dinner these days. I can totally understand you would be fond of that meal.
This looks delicious, as usual! One thing about food cravings that I have been thinking about a lot– for years, actually. Nigel Slater writes, in Appetite (my GOD I love that book), that we often crave things our bodies are currently deficient in. I’ve been reading Healing with Whole Foods like it is a Bible (heck, it IS a Bible, really) and thinking a lot about traditional Chinese medicine. I don’t know about your neck of the woods, but my body has been noticing that spring is one the way (it is getting lighter earlier . . . darker later . . . this weekend I actually opened the sun roof to my car because, at around 50 degrees, it felt positively balmy!) and . . . Spring is the time of wood– and the liver. Regeneration.
So this is my long ’round about way of saying that perhaps you are craving sour/bitter flavors because those are the flavors of the liver.
I could say/write SO MUCH MORE about this, but for now . . . I just loved your blog post. Technically, I ALWAYS love your blog posts, but I particularly resonated with this one, as I keep flavoring soups with a dash of vinegar. My current favorite craving is a warm green pea hummus, flavored with roasted shallots, sauteed garlic, and spiked with sherry vinegar.
Much love to you, oh-she-caught-with-her-fingers-in-the-olive-jar!
Jen Whetham recently posted…A Spoonful of Good Luck
I totally agree with you- cravings do indeed come from a deficiency. I just figured my body needed salt to balance out potassium levels or something of that nature, but I never thought to look into it any further. I think I”m going to have to track down Appetite and start doing some research of my own!
And I quite agree with you about my body feeling spring coming too. I’m starting to feel much more energetic and less “I-want-to-curl-up-under-a-blanket-all-day-and-read,” so that’s kind of a good thing. And that green pea hummus sounds amazing!
Thank you so much for stopping by, Jen! xo
Always my pleasure, Kristy– I just love your writing/persona/pictures/recipes. I think of you every time I make a green chick pea hummus (the younger, newer-to-me (more exciting?) cousin of your Mr. Chick Pea?
I love Appetite, but I haven’t read it in YEARS (and while Nigel Slater loves his veggies, they are almost always paired with cheese and/or chicken stock or cream). The introduction is well worth reading (his writing is beautiful), but I think you would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE (if you don’t already) Healing with Whole Foods. I’m so into the whole vibrational energy of food and eating for the specific needs of the individual body/season sort of thing.
I also love that Chinese medicine operates with metaphors– perfect for a poet-foodie, right?
Much love to you, darling lady. Thanks for your words!
Jen Whetham recently posted…A Spoonful of Good Luck
Thank you so much, Jen! I have been going back and reading some of your posts too, and I love your writing, your honesty, and your sense of humor. And I am loving all of your hummus variations that you keep teasing me with here!
I will have to check out both books. Since our conversation, I’ve been doing some research and I think I’ve figured out where the salt cravings are coming from (along with a number of other symptoms I’ve just been ignoring). I’m going to talk to my doctor about it before I make some crazy self-diagnosis. I will keep you posted. Thank you so much for getting my brain going in this direction!
Much love to you too, my dear. xo
Your pictures are so pretty! I love the bright green and purple in this spread. Great pics!
Maria Tadic recently posted…Salmon With My Kitchen Companion
THank you, Maria, though I have to give the credit to my husband- he does most of the photography for Keepin’ It Kind.
2 of my favorite things: olives and artichokes. Just makes sense to combine them in a tapenade, great idea. I tried your taco shell with soy curls btw and the black beans and potatoes. Soo good.
Richgail @AstigVegan recently posted…Learning How to Smoothie
Thanks you and Yay! I am so happy that you liked the little taco bowls!
Hi there,
I agree with the above post that cravings tend to be your body’s need for dealing with deficiencies. I don’t crave foods very often, but when I do it is salt. I rarely use salt and I definitely don’t consume a lot of salt in my diet(not a bad thing) but when I get a craving it is always salt. I turn to olives as my salt fix! This tapenade sounds glorious. However, I have one question. I am new to this blog as of a few days ago when I followed the link from Angela’s blog (oh she glows). How are capers vegan???? Are there vegan capers out there?? Just curious. Thanks for the great post!
Thank you, Bre! I am so happy that you stopped by today! I also completely agree about cravings occuring due to deficiencies in the body. I figured it was a mineral thing, but I’m going to look into it further.
As for capers, they are a plant. They are actually the flower bud of the caper bush and they are usually pickled and found in jars with olives an other pickled items. I’m sorry for any confusion!
Oh my goodness Kristy, I love all things salty and briny and this looks simply amazing! I am not going to judge you at all on your weird food cravings at all- I eat mustard on everything (crackers and mustard is a legit snack right?) and always reach my hands into jars when a spoon would be easier.
I have some pesto I’m working through in my fridge at the moment but this will be next up
Gabby @ the veggie nook recently posted…healthy vegan friday #28
Thank you, my friend, and yes, mustard and crackers is not only a legit snack, but totally delicious!
Oh my gosh I’m so embarrassed! I always thought capers were big fish eggs…like giant caviar! Oh my gosh!! And to think I’ve been vegan for years and went to univesity for nutritional sciences…I feel like a huge dummy! Thank you Kristy for enlightening me! Makes me that much more excited to try this recipe out tmrw! I am craving lipton’s chicken noodle soup…I haven’t had it since I was a child but I crave it when I’m getting a cold and when I’m in dire need of salt. Thanks again!!
Don’t be embarrassed- I figured you had them confused with something else. I do it all the time!
I hope you enjoy the tapenade, Bre! Take care!
Kristy! My mouth totally started to water when I saw this on Instagram – nothing makes me happier than a salty, briny, tapenade when I crave something extra salty. Bring it on! XO
Shira recently posted…Recipe: Peanut Butter Breakfast Bites
Thanks, Shira! Is it bad that I begin salivating at the word “salty”?
It looks delicious! Too bad that I don’t really like olives…
Tanya @ Playful and Hungry recently posted…Lassi – The indian way of milkshake
Thank you, Tanya!
This tapenade looks fantastic! It reminds me of the olive & artichoke pate that I started making when, like you, I couldn’t control myself with tapenade. So I basically added chickpeas to the mix to fill it out a little. I’m always more of a salt & vinegar person. I love pickled jalapeños, olives, sauerkraut, pickles, stuffed grape leaves, artichokes in brine…
Cadry recently posted…Eating Vegan at Disney World
I am totally making your pate ASAP! I’ve always loved olives and artichokes and other salty, briny, pickled things, but I usually don’t have this strong of cravings for them. Now, it’s all I want to eat.
I eat at least one of the ingredients in the tapenade daily, so why not throw them all together! I’m such a sucker for a good olive tapenade, and I love the tanginess that capers add. I’ll have to give this a try!
jodye @ chocolate and chou fleur recently posted…Chocolate Chia Brownie Bites
Thank you, Jodye! You’re going to love this tapenade!
My chocolate craving that started sometime last year is still going strong:) i guess my body just had to give in after 30 odd years of almost no chocolate:)))
i miss a good non cheesy artichoke dip. i love salty food but olives, capers, sun dried tomato are on my no list since the past few months:) just like chewie. he doesnt like a sour strawberry but will eat a very ripe one any day!
Richa recently posted…Mushroom Frittata Hash-brown Sandwich and more Super Bowl Vegan Recipes.
I find cravings and tastes so interesting, especially how they change so often. I’ve always loved olives and tapenade but in the past, given a choice between that and say, a cookie, I would always choose the cookie. I love oatmeal, but right now, the thought of it right now makes me gag a little. So weird.
This tapenade looks delicious, I love it when there is little chunks of olives in a tapenade.
Thank you, Lysa!
This tapenade it totally my thing – I can almost taste the salty briny goodness through the screen! I don’t really ever have many food cravings – more often than not it more of a texture/sensory craving – crunchy, warm, cold…hmmm that’s kind of weird. I bet this tapenade would be awesome baked inside a baguette!
heather recently posted…bok choi & king oyster mushroom quinoa
Please, Heather, please- bake this tapenade in a baguette and take pictures and send them to me! If you don’t, I think I might just have to. That’s a genius idea!
And I totally get the texture/sensory cravings too. Everyday, in the early afternoon/evening, I crave something crunchy- usually a few raw veggies or pop chips will do the trick.
Making this this weekend during Snowmaggedon! I already had a sweet baguette version planned, this recipe couldn’t have come at a more perfect time – one sweet one savory!
Ooooh! I can’t wait to see them both!
This was absolutely delicious! I added a little crushed red pepper for an extra kick, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly! So good and easy…I will certainly make it again!
Yay! I am so happy to hear that, Lauren! And that red pepper idea sounds fantastic- I’m totally trying it on the next go!
First time commenter here.
I just had to get in on the whole cravings thing.
My cravings change from year to year (sometimes sweet stuff, sometimes, carbs, sometimes ANY kind of food will suffice
, but THIS year, come my “time of the month” all I want to eat is fat by way of nuts and nut butter. And, to round it out, dried fruit. (Dates and PB are my WEAKNESS; it’s like eating a PB cookie without having to dirty any dishes or get off my butt and actually DO something. LOL And figs and cashew butter? Yes, please! Almond butter and jelly sandwiches? You’re speaking my language.) It pretty much makes up 90% of my diet for a whole week every month. Though, I MUST find a way around that as all that nut butter has NOT been kind to my thighs. 
Oh my gosh, for as long as I can remember, nut butter has been my biggest craving that time of the month. More than chocolate, more than anything. In fact, one day, I ate almost an entire jar of cinnamon raisin peanut butter (and nothing else!). Then I didn’t know why I was so sick that night.
Thank you so much for piping in, Liz! It’s good to hear from you!
This looks amazing, and so flavorful! I’m the same way with my food cravings — they can go from something fancy to only wanting toast. The last two weeks all I’ve wanted are Froot Loops…no idea where that came from, but I’ve been refusing to cave
Bobbie {the vegan crew} recently posted…My 25 Kitchen Essentials
Thanks, Bobbie! I find food craving so interesting because there are so many reasons for them- chemical imbalances, hormone fluctuations, social eating, nostalgia… It’s very intriguing to me. And Fruit Loops- that’s a crazy one! Every now and again, I’ll crave Peanut Butter Panda Puffs, but that’s about as sweet as my cereal cravings go.
This sounds precisely like something I would love! : ) Thanks for sharing!
the bear and the blackberry recently posted…the most ridiculously delicious fudge brownies
Oh, thank you!