Adventures with Asparagus

Asparagus has always seemed rather enigmatic to me. Not always sure what to pair it with, it usually ends up on my plate sauteed and plain. I could tell, though, it had potential. Albeit, concerned with wrongly tainting its meaty flavor, I decided to through caution to the wind the other night and dive in deep.

To begin my foray into culinary adventure, I bravely sliced a few crimini mushrooms to sautee alongside the asparagus in a generous pat of butter. To brighten to the dish, I squeezed about a quarter of a lemon over the asparagus and mushrooms. This tiny addition literally brings sunshine to your palate upon first bite!

Really going out on a limb, I chose to add a couple hard-boiled eggs to the dish. Eggs never cease to amaze me with the great variety of dishes they complement. French vanilla ice cream, potato salad, macaroons, salad nicoise, heuvos rancheros... Not just for breakfast!! :)

To complete this fantastic dish, I adorned my plated asparagus with shavings of parmesan. A delightful flourish to a mission accomplished.

Kiss Me, I'm Irish!

St. Patty's Day is just around the corner and it's time to break out the green in your closet. If you're brave, like my brothers, you'll go all out and don a kilt complete with sporran and tassled socks. They are mighty proud of their Irish heritage.

Personally, I'm more concerned about the yummy food I'll be enjoying tomorrow....corned beef, colcannon, Guinness, Shamrock shakes. :) Do these have to be relegated to only one day a year? They seem to only make an appearance on the day when everyone is traipsing around like leprechauns. Hmmm...perhaps these things turn people into leprechauns. I never saw the connection until now....


One of my favorite Irish recipes which, fortunately, makes an appearance at least once a month on my breakfast table is Irish soda bread. A breeze to make, it is a hearty bread that goes well with stew or smeared with jam first thing in the morning.

IRISH SODA BREAD

3 c. flour (all-purpose, whole wheat or a combo)

2 T. sugar

1 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/4 c. buttermilk

1 c. raisins (opt.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix dry ingredients together. Make well in center and pour in buttermilk. Bring dough together with your hands. (Add raisins.)

Knead dough on floured surface. Form into an 8-in. round, about 1/2 in. thick. Cut an X on top. Place on baking sheet and bake 25-30 minutes.

Roasted Pepper Chicken with Mexican Rice

Working full-time lately has left me with little energy for cooking elaborate meals when I return home in the evening. Plus, I'm not big on creativity when it is just me eating. It is difficult to elicit the creative spark when you don't have another to enjoy it with, ya know? (Oh dear, this is making me sound like a loner with no friends... ;-) As a matter of fact, we enjoy meals together all the time, I've just been remiss in recording lately...and the fact I keep forgetting to visually document. :-p) Nonetheless, I don't like to skimp on zesty flavor combinations so I've been mixing and matching flavors recently that come together in a jiffy. My penchant for Mexican fare churned up this tasty meal the other evening....

ROASTED PEPPER CHICKEN WITH MEXICAN RICE

2 chicken breasts

salt and pepper, to season

3-4 pieces of roasted bell peppers (Trader Joe's come in a jar with garlic)

a handful of spinach

1/2 c. cooked rice

1/2 c. black beans

1/4 c. picante salsa

Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until cooked through. Toss in bell peppers and spinach, cooking until spinach is wilted.

Heat rice, beans and salsa mixed together in a pot.

Serves 1.

C'est tres mignon....

J'adore!!!

Je voudrais un petit morceau de chocolat francais, s'il vous plait...et peut etre un garcon doux francais. ;-)

It Isn't Easy Being Green

My friends' nearly 2-year-old son does not like green foods. (Except for guacamole, which I cannot account for as this food disgusted me when I was young.) This is not unusual for individuals in his age group....or any age group for that matter. :-p Something about sticking something green in one's mouth tends to be unappealing.

His mom has been devising ways of getting him to eat his greens. She said she was going to try adding shredded zucchini to his bran muffins. It is nearly invisible and the flavor entirely disappears. This method has been successful for me in the past with my siblings. As long as I keep it a secret as well. Because as soon as they know it is in there, they can't handle chomping down on something they know contains a substance they don't like. Even if they can't taste it. Weird.

I was eating pasta the other night at my friends' house which included in the mix some small pieces of zucchini. Their son was systematically fishing them out and setting them to the side of his plate. At least he was polite about it. ;-) She had also surrepticiously used tricolored fettucine noodles. He failed to notice the first few bites, but then became aware of the malicious color infesting his plate of food and began selecting bites around them.

Next day, when he asked for a 'nack' (snack), she served him up a plate of leftover pasta, this time run through the food processor. No luck removing the greens. Mom had outsmarted him this time around!! ;-) He was a bit frustrated at first but his hunger got the best of him....