Tapenade \ˌtä-pə-ˈnäd\

So ~ December’s Improv Cooking Challenge, hosted by Lesa, simply called for RED & GREEN ingredients. Because of the busy-ness of this season, I was sorely tempted to make some crisped rice squares topped with red & green candies/sprinkles! However, I decided to “upgrade” and share the recipe for my fellas’ favorite condiment.

The lovely thing about tapenades is their versatility & adaptability to ingredients on hand. In dark, desperate days my pantry has been raided for a can of black olives, a little granulated garlic, olive oil and a handful of green olives sent through the chopper.

Today, however, we’re going to plan ahead and be a little more selective with the components of our dish. Here are the basic ingredients:

• 1/4 lb. each of kalamata, stuffed green & plain ol’ black olives - rough chopped
• scant 1/2 cup capers
• 1 fresh red pepper (smoking optional, of course & jarred are easier to use) 
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh lemon thyme
• 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil

There were a few remaining red peppers hanging about my fall-depleted garden. We sliced then tossed one of those on the smoker for a bit, along with a large garlic clove. And, I found some basil and lemon thyme in my patio pots. The remaining ingredients we gleaned from Sprouts!And since you can’t consume tapenade usually is not consumed straight out of the jar, I made some crostini from gluten free baguettes I baked off of this bread recipe.

(BTW -- tapenade is also a good gift for olive lovers…)

Need more RED & GREEN recipe ideas? Check out my friends’ creations at these links:

An InLinkz Link-up