Product Review: Rice Thins and Recipe: Artichoke-Olive Tapenade (Gluten Free and Vegan)

I was at Albertson's earlier this week trying to hunt down some gluten free crackers. Crackers and cheese is

always my easy go-to snack... I was having difficulty finding any speciality section in the store when I happened onto Nabisco's newest product, Rice Thins. You will find Rice Thins beside Wheat thins on the shelf and are clearly labeled as GLUTEN FREE. I have to wonder if this is their response to the fact that they had earlier released a brown rice Triscuit cracker which was NOT GLUTEN FREE and people were kind of irritated because it seemed unfortunate that this new cracker had been released that seemed like it had gluten free potential but was not. I, for one, am very pleased to see more gluten free options being released by mainstream larger companies because while I live in a large city with a lot of options for shopping there are a lot of people who can not eat wheat and live in smaller town with fewer options. 

I bought the plain flavor and the cheddar flavor of the crackers. I think they are both really good. They do taste as expected, they are the plain rice crackers, very similar to the ones you get in like as asian style mix of little crunchies. The crackers are not crumbly, nor do they have a chalky taste and the cheddar ones are seasoned in such a way that I think would be very palatable to a kid too so they are a great thing to pack as a snack for a child's lunch. 

They are definitely a product worth having around and I'd say they are a darn good cracker as far as crackers go. 

Now on to my recipe... On the same shopping trip I picked up a jar of something that was called artichoke pesto... It was basically a artichoke puree and I ate it with crackers and feta and polished off the whole small overpriced jar within a few days. I've had a can of artichokes, the unseasoned kind, sitting on my shelf for a few weeks now, not entirely sure what to do with it and so today I decided to make my own version of said artichoke dip but modify it a bit. Here are the delicious results!

Artichoke- Olive Tapenade

• 14 oz can of artichokes (I used the Trader Joes brand, you can probably use the frozen ones too.)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup black kalamata olives
• 1 cup green olives
• 1/4 of one red bell pepper

Directions:

Artichoke-Olive Tapenade on Cheddar Rice Thins

1. Chop up artichokes, peel and split garlic cloves in half and add to a pan with olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt and water. 

2. Simmer over low heat until garlic pieces are soft and tender. 

3. Turn off heat and transfer to the bowl of your food processor. Blend till smooth. 

4. Rough chop red bell pepper and add along with olives to the food processor. 

5. Pulse till desired texture is achieved. 

6. Serve on crackers or bread. 

Enjoy! xoxo - Iris