Tapenade Files: Something from Nothing

1) clean fridge, 2) ..., 3) profit!

I have a long list of things to do today.

I tend to save the chores I dislike the most for last.

[ed. note: testify, sister. ]

After all, I am the Queen of Procrastination.

I grudgingly start to empty my fridge making 3 piles:

• Keep
• Fuzzy, in reusable containers to be emptied and washed out.
• What the hell is that?! Never mind the container, straight to the trash bin!

Among the "keep" pile I found a mostly full jar of kalamata olives. It was hiding way back on the top shelf. A place you could pretty much hide anything from me. Standing at only 5"1' things that end up shelved 'top-back' are pretty much completely lost to me.

I also found a jar of capers...with only about a half tablespoon left swimming in a cup of brine. I love capers, no wonder I kept the last bits.

Among the other few edible items I also found a tiny ham and a few packs of unopened cream cheese.

After I was done sorting the scary from the edible, I considered just how long the edible items would last. I had to make something that would be eaten quickly.

My answer: for the olives, make a tapanade. I also had some smoked, sundried tomatoes in the pantry I knew would be great for the tapanade.

For the ham: a cream cheese based dip. Easy!

My kids would be home from school and hungry very soon.


Kalamata Olive Tapanade

8oz kalamata olives
4 oz smoked sun-dried tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tablespoon capers
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
black pepper to taste.

If you can't find smoked sundried tomaotes, a 1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika should do the trick.

Add the smoked sundried tomatoes and garlic to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until chopped very small.

Scoop into to a medium bowl and set aside.

No need to rinse out your food processor, just add the olives and pulse a few times until the olives are roughly chopped.


Add the olives to the tomatoes and garlic. Then, add capers, salt, sugar, olive oil, and black pepper. Mix everything together with a wooden spoon until combined.

The Ham Dip:

• 1 cup minced ham
• 1/2 cup fine chopped green onion
• 1 8 oz package cream cheese, room temperature.
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• black pepper to taste

Stir all ingredients together until combined.

Unfortunately, I lost the pictures on this one, but trust me, it was delicious. My husband asked me to make it again soon. Perhaps I'll come back and add some pictures at a later date.

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Happy Snacking~ 99%BitterSweet