Last night I made this delicious vegan “ricotta” dip for my parents who are in town visiting us.  The boys and I are having a blast with them, though I am having an especially great time, since I have extra mouths to feed, which means more guinea pigs to test my creations!

Luckily, the parents (and husband) approved of, and devoured, this tangy vegan cheese dip, based on a recipe from the phenomenal book Entertaining in the Raw by Matthew Kenney.

Creamy Ricotta Dip
1 cup pine nuts, soaked overnight
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
1 scallion (green and white parts, remove and discard tip), minced
1-2 teaspoons fresh thyme
¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt

1. Rinse pine nuts in cold water; then discard both soaking and rinsing water
2. Place pine nuts in a food processor, along with lemon juice and water
3. Process for 1-2 minutes, scraping down side of processor frequently, until smooth
4. Process in scallions, thyme and salt, until texture of ricotta
5. Remove from food processor to a serving dish
6. Serve with your favorite dipping veggies

I had a bit of a challenge getting this mixture to process; if that happens to you, just add a bit more liquid (lemon juice or water) very sparingly until mixture blends more easily and keep scraping down the mixture into the center of the food processor.

In addition to an abundance of cooking and baking, a lot is going on over here and I’m trying to keep up!  Below is a list of interviews and appearances that I have coming up in the next few weeks to promote the release of my book, The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.

• Interview with Martha Stewart Living Radio’s Whole Living program, August 26th
• Book signing at the Culinary Institute of America’s 4th Annual Gluten-Free Summit, Hyde Park, New York, September 12th
• Speaker at the 2009 BlogHer Food Agenda Conference in San Francisco, September 26th

If you’re in the area of any of these events and would like to say “hello,” tune in or drop by!