Spinach and Artichokes? Yes, please!

Are there any two ingredients that go together any better than spinach and artichokes?  Chocolate and peanut butter?  Maybe.  Tomatoes and basil?  Possibly.  Tequila and margarita mix?  Oh yeah!  But I digress.  If there are other perfect matches, there can't be many of them.  It's a match made in heaven, and has been a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember.  

There is a pizza place near me here in NY that makes a spinach and artichoke pizza.  Need I say that it's absolutely delicious?!?  It's made on a thin crust with a creamy spinach and artichoke sauce and topped with mozzarella cheese.  Yum-my!  But, it uses real cheese and cream and I want to find a way to make this, or a variation of this, in vegan form.  One idea I had was to make a lasagna out of it.  I want to keep the sauce nice and creamy, but add in some hearty ingredients, too.  Maybe add in some cremini mushrooms, onions and garlic.  It's going to be my mission today to put together the ingredients I want to use and an idea of how I want to make it.  Once I test it out on my family, I'll let you all know how it turns out.

I have also become a bit obsessed with leeks and parsnips lately.  I've been putting them in a lot of the soups I've been making, and the leeks I've been using in just about everything I can come up with.  Come to think of it, maybe the leeks would be delicious in my spinach and artichoke lasagna!  Whoa, I'm getting ahead of myself here.  One thing at a time.

All of this got me thinking....what are your "can't live without" fruits or vegetables?  What ingredient do you sneak into any recipe you can?  And what ingredients do you consider to be the perfect match?

Well, since this is my second post of the day, I'll keep it short and sweet.  I'm off to brainstorm my lasagna recipe.  I hope you all enjoy this beautiful Wednesday!