In celebration of Vegan MoFo, I’m doing a month of themed dinner party ideas! The theme for the second week is a pajama party!
If I was 11 or 12 and coming to your slumber party, there’s one thing you wouldn’t want me to be in charge of – the prank phone calls. It’s not that I was shy about calling people. I loved talking on the phone. In fact, at that age if you were to ask me about my favorite hobbies, talking on the phone would have been pretty high up on the list. No, the problem with me being in charge of the prank phone calls was that my ideas about what constituted a good prank phone call were fairly… unusual.
Let me give you an example. One of my favorite prank phone calls to do was to figure out some kind of survey regarding people’s school memories or favorite foods or whatever, and then I’d call random strangers and tell them that for school I had to get answers to the survey and would they answer the questions for me. I didn’t ask any embarrassing questions or silly questions. They were just run of the mill, ordinary questions… that I didn’t really need the answer to. For whatever reason, I thought this was great fun.
My other favorite prank phone call to make was to pretend that I had a band, and I was trying to market the band to people in the community. I’d call random numbers and tell them that I had a group, and I’d like to sing my demo for them in case they’d ever need to hire me for a wedding or birthday. Then I’d start crooning the theme song to The Golden Girls. I don’t know why I always picked that song. I just liked it, I guess. You should know too, I wasn’t exactly a star singer – very average. So I’d sing the song, all the while shocked that they were letting me sing the whole thing, just waiting for me to finish politely. As an eleven year old, that really cracked me up. Sadly, I’m still waiting for my first gig, but hey, thank you for being a friend.
So while I would not be the best candidate for the prank phone call portion of the slumber party, I knew my way around hairspray and creating that “wing effect” that everyone was going for those days. I have pictures to prove it, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. Those pictures are going with me to the grave. So if you find yourself in need of bangs two or three inches tall, a French braid, a French twist, or any number of effects that can be achieved with the use of mousse and a pick, I’m your woman. After all, what’s a slumber party without a little makeover session? All right, now get the face masks, cucumbers for our eyes, toe nail polish, curlers and curling iron. Let the beautifying begin.
Spinach & Artichoke Bean Dip
Serves 4 as an appetizer
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup spinach, roughly chopped
- 2 artichoke hearts, drained from water-packed jar and roughly chopped
- 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast flakes
- 1 1/2 cups (or 1 15 ounce can) Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 teaspoon onion granules
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon low-sodium tamari
- 1/4 cup Light & Garlicky Cashew Cream
- Salt, to taste
- Vegetables for decorating: cucumbers for eyes, sun-dried tomato for mouth, cabbage leaf for hat
- Vegetables for dipping: Carrots, cauliflower, celery
In a skillet, sauté garlic in extra virgin olive oil until fragrant and translucent, a couple of minutes. Add spinach to the skillet and continue to sauté until it wilts, about a minute or so. Pour the spinach and garlic in a food processor and add artichoke hearts, nutritional yeast flakes, onion granules, lemon juice, and tamari. Process until smooth, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides. Add the Light & Garlicky Cashew Cream and blend until fully combined. Add salt to taste. Refrigerate until needed. Decorate with cucumbers, sun-dried tomato, and cabbage leaf. Serve with carrots, cauliflower, and/or celery for dipping.
artichoke dip usually has so much fat in it, but this one doesn’t and it looks GREAT! i have a thing with dips and parties. i’m pretty sure i’d stand by this and eat the entire dish.
now, prank phone calls…when i was 11/12, i was a very different type of prank phone caller. my best friend and i would call places and just be plain disturbing. one time, we called a clown(who did parties), and left about 20 messages on her machine, inventing tons of different characters and a storyline. she eventually called back and we got in A LOT of trouble.
I’m glad you said something about the fat! I looked back over the ingredient list and realized I omitted the cashew cream, which does add some fat and creaminess. This hummus-style dip can be made without it, but it does add some oomph. So it’s not quite as fat-free as it was before, but it’s still not much in comparison to the ones with cheese, cream cheese, and mayo.
Oh, my gosh! I can’t believe you prank called a clown! That seems like something from a sit-com.
cashew cream is fine
it’s the 1/2-1 cup of oil or cream cheese(or both) that’s usually in it 
I am a big fan of most dips. Especially cute faced dips. This is definitely classier than something I would have eaten at a sleepover when I was 11 though.
Thanks, FoodFeud! Oh, yes! Definitely classier than what I was eating at sleepovers too, but I thought a post about ordering pizza might be a little underwhelming.
Awwww, you brought back a lot of great memories of the old ring-dial phones and getting up to change the channel on the t.v. I remember when I was I think only like eight, I pranked someone once and he asked my name, I went for it and just said, “Dawn!” he was like, “Oh, hey, are we meeting at the mall?” And I went with it–for like 15 minutes. This poor guy totally went to the mall at 8:15 or something to meet his friend Dawn, who, obvs, wasn’t me. I did feel bad, but my friends loved it and couldn’t believe my luck
I LOVE your survey idea, are you the founder of telemarketing?
Oh, and the recipe looks great, too, I’m always looking for a good spinach artichoke dip recipe!
XOXO
Yes, caller ID has ruined (or fixed depending on your vantage point) prank calls forever! That’s too funny that you actually told the person your REAL name! Although, I suppose it’s a little safer than it would be with the name Cadry.
I may just be the founder of telemarketing. You have my apologies.
I love, LOVE the slip of cabbage leaf for hair on your cute-faced dip! I’ve heard that presentation is everything when it comes to food, but I think especially for kids, this cute face would make them dig right in.
You should write a story about the responses to your prank phone calls. How original!
Thanks, Trista! Cute food definitely makes lunch or dinner more fun for any age. Good idea on a story about the responses! I’ll have to think about that one…
I read your blog earlier, but didn’t want to comment yet. I just spent an hour in the bathroom teasingand mousseing my hair. Now I look suitable. All these years I’ve been calling it a crank call.The entire post had me howling.
Hello Hello Cadry. My sister and I used to imitations of famous people. I used to do Alfred Hitchock. We ‘d call people up and tell them that we were running a contest and asked if they could guess who we were impersonating. That was just last year.
I love the spinach dip who likes she is at the spa with a mud pack. Sundried smirk. Great post. LMAO
Thank you for doing a little makeover before commenting. It does not go unnoticed!
I’ve always thought the terms “prank call” or “crank call” were interchangeable, but I just looked it up and there’s some disagreement about that. Some people say that a prank call is done by a child, while a crank call is done by an adult with malice.
Oh, I would love to hear your impersonations! Did people ever get them right? I would have done Ronald Reagan impressions. I was no good at them, but I liked doing it anyway. “Well…”
I wouldn’t want to dip in your dip. It looks so awesome.
xo
kittee
Thanks, Kittee! David also said he felt bad about it when he dipped into the spa girl’s cheek. I guess that’s a danger with anthropomorphized food!
This dip looks awesome. I think I might make it this weekend for our monthly Appetizers for Dinner night!
Excellent! If you make it, I hope you’ll enjoy it! I realized I omitted one of the ingredients when I first posted the recipe, and so you’ll want to keep that in mind if you decide to make it.
Wow you put a lot of thought into your prank calls. When I was a kid, we just used to cue up the bit in Ghost where the bad spirits take the baddies to hell and play that noise down the phone when people answered. Then pee ourselves laughing.
I love that your dip has a face! Cuteness.
I’m enjoying all of these prank call stories! Kids can amuse themselves with the strangest stuff, huh?
We used to do that all the time! Not quite as intricate as your prank calls but we used to call random 1-800 numbers and do the typical “Is your fridge running?” and then fall into fits of laughter.
That’s the cutest looking bean dip I’ve ever seen
I hope they were able to catch it in time!
In thinking about prank calls, I was wondering if anyone ever does the Prince Albert in a can joke. That was old even when I was a kid. I remember having no idea what it was even referring to.
I always feel so left out when the spinach-artichoke isn’t vegan. This looks like a great starter for my next party — though I hope it won’t inspire the guests to spend the night.
You would have been the perfect companion when I was making prank calls — they were similarly interesting. One time the random dialing was answered by the Philadelphia morgue. That was really weird and put a real damper on our fun.
I agree! Spinach and artichoke dip used to be one of my all time favorites. When it was first released as a frozen item, I thought it was a red letter day.
This bean dip is more reminiscent of hummus with a creamy flair, rather than gooey or melty. (Obviously there are loads of vegan recipes out there for those too!) For something on the healthier side, it’s quite tasty! I don’t think it would inspire guests to spend the night, but I can’t make any guarantees!
This dip looks amazing, and it sounds like it is super delicious! I would probably eat the whole bowl. Your prank phone call stories cracked me up and I LOVE the golden girls!
Thanks, Melissa! The 80′s & early 90′s were at the top of their game when it came to TV show theme songs!
I know 3 kiddos who would eat a ton of this dip, especially with a face. You really were a good prank caller. And your prank calls just sound so nice and fun. Ours tended to be either secret admirer-ish or kinda mean. Darn caller ID; you came along and ruined all of our fun.
I know! It was all so much simpler before caller ID!
ha ha, you are so naughty! I’ve made a few crank calls in my day, but I was usually too chicken.
I like that you weren’t mean. I was always afraid to be mean. I LOVE the smiley dip. It sounds so good, and it’s super cute!
Thanks, Amey! Anthropomorphic food is always more fun!
That’s a new one to me.
Oh, Prince Albert was a kind of tobacco that would sometimes come in a can. So like the refrigerator joke, jokesters would call stores and ask, “Do you have Prince Albert in a can?” Then when the employee said yes, the caller would say, “Well, you’d better let him out.” I’ve never actually seen the Prince Albert tobacco, but that’s a joke I’ve heard over the years regardless.
I love how healthy this dip is! Not that the unhealthiness of other spinach & artichoke dips ever stopped me. I could drink the stuff if I didn’t feel that other people would judge me.
I was the the worst prank caller. I could never keep a straight face or keep from laughing. I would just have to hang up really quickly. Pathetic.
The unhealthiness of other spinach & artichoke dips never stopped me either! In my pre-vegan days, the cheesy, melty version was my favorite appetizer. Although, I’ve never made a Daiya/Vegenaise/Tofutti veganized version, I’m sure it would taste incredible.
What kind of pajama party would it be without some prank calls? I used to love spinach and artichoke dip — I have a version going up next week, but yours just looks way too cool for school
Oh, yay! I can’t wait to see your version!