Chargrilled Salmon with Asparagus in a Lime Vinaigrette

I got this recipe out of the same delicious magazine as the fish recipe.

I made a couple of changes ... here you go with my modified recipe:

salmon fillets. i used 2 big ones for the four of us.
olive oil (to cook fish)
bunch of asparagus
grated zest and juice of 1/2 a lime
2 tbls capers ... I used ones in salt ... DON'T do that !! Way too salty !!
a couple of cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
fresh tarragon, finely chopped

Rory always cooks the fish on the BBQ with a bit of olive oil and salt/pepper.  He does that while I get the rest of the stuff ready ...

Meanwhile, roast asparagus in oven. (10/15 minutes).

Top asparagus with remaining ingredients. Season.

Place fish on plates. Top with asparagus mix.

I served this with greek croustade.

Haloumi and Lime? Ok, I'll try it!

This is delicious. We all really liked it.  I'm making it again this week! I don't have to tell you that I found the recipe through Pinterest, my go to place for recipe searching! I did take a few shortcuts though ... like, I cooked the quinoa in my rice cooker and I used lentils out of a can.  And you may notice that the recipe calls for asparagus but there is none in my photo.  Would you believe that both stores I went to were SOLD OUT!?!  Ugh.  I substituted mushrooms and that was delicious but I can't wait to try it again this week with asparagus!  I doubled this recipe but you didn't really need to double everything (like the haloumi) so here is how I did it and the measurements I used.

1x400g can puy lentils

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

salt and pepper

200g cooked quinoa (I did mine in the rice cooker with a bit of chicken stock)

2 bunches of asparagus, chopped

a handful of mushrooms, sliced

180g piece haloumi, sliced 

2 to 4 limes 

500g cherry tomatoes, halved

6 spring onions, chopped

1 long green chilli, deseeded and finely diced

a handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped

Sautee the asparagus and mushrooms with a little bit of olive oil.  

In a big bowl, combine lentils, quinoa, asparagus and mushrooms.  Add olive oil, red wine vinegar, tomatoes, spring onions, chilli, mint and zest of 2 limes (add zest to taste).

Heat a fry pan (or chargrill pan if you have one) over medium heat.  Add haloumi,  drizzle with lime juice and cook on both sides til golden brown.  Cut into smaller pieces and add to salad.  Season entire salad with salt and pepper.

Garnish with extra limes if desired.

We served with chunks of toasted turkish bread, buttered, sprinkled will all-purpose seasoning and toasted in the sandwich press.

Kale, Avo & Asparagus Salad

I have kale growing out my ears in our garden ! I've done the Roasted Kale a number of times and last night tried Khrista's Raw Kale and Avocado Salad for the first time. It is DELICIOUS ! I can't wait to make it again ! In fact, I might be making more for my lunch today ...

I changed it a bit though ... I made this to serve four.

A colander full of kale from my garden, stems removed & shredded
A punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, chopped
Asparagus, 2 bunches
Olive Oil
Juice from 1 small lemon
Sea salt, to taste
Sesame seeds

Put the kale in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice and sprinkled with salt to taste. Now get your hands in there and massage it a bit. This softens the kale (and according to Khris, makes it tastier and easier to digest)

Saute asparagus in a bit of olive oil til cooked to desired tenderness.

While that is cooking, chop your tomatoes and avocado and mix into kale leaves.

Top with sauteed asparagus and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

YUM YUM YUM !

Asparagus Artichoke Salad *EDITED

When the weather turns a bit warmer and the stores start displaying green lovely asparagus I HAVE to make this salad.
The recipe is incredibly simple and was inspired whilst shopping at Whole Foods for a dish to contribute to a family Easter dinner.
While perusing the deli case for something pre-made I glimpsed this delicious looking salad!
I scrutinized it and at $5.99/lb. I knew I could re-create it for far less. So I went about the store collecting all the items I thought might be in the dish. It turned out splendidly and was well received at our family gathering.

Without further adieu...
My Favorite Spring Salad
1 bunch fresh asparagus*
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1-15 oz. can artichoke hearts (packed in water)
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic chopped or minced
Salt & Pepper

Wash asparagus and trim ends, then cut to desired size.
Place in large bowl.
Wash and halve cherry tomatoes.
Add to asparagus.
Cut artichoke hearts into desired size and add to bowl.
Heat olive oil in pan and warm the garlic until fragrant and soft.
Drizzle over vegetables and gently toss.
Season with salt & pepper.

*When choosing asparagus, select firm, green spears with tight, crisp tips. I prefer thin asparagus as the thicker ones tend to come from older plants and can be tough.


Printable recipe:
Asparagus Artichoke Salad

Chicken, Proscuitto, Pastry, Cream Cheese ... oh yeah !

so ... a few weeks ago, i found this recipe for pastry wrapped chicken
not only was it wrapped, it was stuffed ! i HAD to try it !!

but ... i changed it a bit ...

2 chicken breasts
2 frozen puff pastry sheets
a couple spoon fulls of cream cheese
prosciutto, 4 pieces (or more if you like)
parsley
1 spring onion, chopped
1 egg
pepper
salt

Mix together the cream cheese, parsley, spring onion, salt and pepper.

Slice each chicken breast in half through the side of it lengthwise, so it folds open. Put half the cream cheese mixture into each chicken breast and fold the chicken back over itself.

Wrap each breast in 2 pieces of prosciutto. Wrap prosciutto wrapped chicken in puff pastry.

Beat the egg, and brush the top of the pastry with the egg.

Pop them in a preheated oven, and bake at 400F (200C) for 30 to 35 minutes. (or until chicken is cooked)

One of these fed two adults ... with a side of asparagus and potato bake. (potato bake recipe coming soon)

Printable Recipe

It's all in the blossom end (Spicy Garlic Dill Pickles!)

So last summer I attempted to pickle...asparagus, okra, baby onions and of course dill pickles...They were SO DELICIOUS I can hardly stand to wait for the cucumbers to grow this year so I can have a go at it again!

My mom and I looked around for a recipe but finally decided to just do what was easiest (and sounded good). So here is our recipe:

• 8-10 pounds of pickling cucumbers (all that means is little baby cucumbers that have a nice firm skin)

• 4 cups apple cider vinegar (you can use white as well)

• 12 cups of water

• 2/3 cups pickling salt

• At least 16 cloves of garlic (lots more if you like)

• 10 sprigs of fresh dill weed (again more if you like)

• 10 heads of fresh dill weed

• 20 hot peppers. Any kind you find at the Farmer's Market...I can not remember what kind we used...we just picked ones that looked good. They ended up being really spicy! (You can omit these if you just want garlic dill pickles with out the bite.)

• 8-10 one quart canning jars and lids. (sterilized)

• A bit of Alum (we forgot this for the first few jars...the last few got it)
  

Throw all the cucumbers into sink. Wash with cold water. Then let them sit in ICE COLD WATER as you cut the blossom end off of each cucumber.

Peel garlic and onions (if you plan on pickling onions too. at the last minute we decided to try a few)

In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, water, and the pickling salt. Bring the brine to a rapid boil.

Throw a couple garlic cloves and hot peppers into the bottom of each jar. One or two heads of dill as well.

Fill up with cucumbers. Don't skimp. Then add at least one more garlic clove, perhaps another hot pepper and a sprig of dill.

Fill jars with hot brine. Be careful to not burn yourself!

(If you want to use Alum here is where you would throw a pinch in to each jar and mix. It supposedly helps keep the pickles firm. We didn't notice a difference in the ones that didn't get any...but maybe because we couldn't wait that long to eat them!)

Seal jars. Make sure you have wiped down the jar's rims with a dish rag.

Place sealed jars in a boiling water bath. Process quart jars for 15 minutes.

A lot of recipes say to wait around 8 weeks before eating...we marked our calendars but could hardly wait a week before trying our first jar.

They were delicious! In fact the longer we waited the spicier they got! So it just depends on what you like.

And as I said, we also made a few jars of asparagus, onions and okra using the same dill pickle brine. They tasted great!

Simple Sesame Asparagus

I just whipped this up as a side dish the other night.
I often whip this up ... or something similar ... as I adore asparagus !

1 or 2 bunches of asparagus, chopped into 1/5 inch pieces

sesame oil
rice wine vinegar
soy sauce

I use a big cast iron fry pan with a bit of olive oil and cook these puppies up til they are tender. I don't like mushy asparagus but I like them not too firm either. Once they are cooked, I turn off the heat, add one cap full (approx. equal amounts of each) of sesame oil, rice wine (or you could use balsalmic but I don't as I haven't yet found one without added colors ...) and soy sauce. That's it. Sometimes I sprinkle with sesame seeds. Sometimes I don't.

Asparagus and Whole Wheat Pasta

I made this the other night when Rory's Mum was staying with us.
It was a hit ! So yummy ... such an interesting mix of flavors.
I got the original recipe out of a Rachael Ray cookbook that my cousin, Jill, gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I modified it a bit ... here's what I did ... if you want to do what
Rachel did you'll have to go buy her cookbook ...

2 bunches of asparagus, chopped into one inch pieces
1 bag of whole wheat penne pasta
1 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
garlic ... minced ... i used about 4 cloves ... but do what you like
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
3/4 cup veggie stock
3/4 cup thickened cream
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
juice and zest of one lemon
a couple twists of the pepper grinder
sea salt flakes ... or whatever salt you like
2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, finely chopped
fresh parmesan cheese, grated

Boil your water for the pasta. Then cook it ...

In my cast iron skillet, I used a bit of olive oil and sauteed the asparagus and set aside.

In my electric fry pan, I added the (1 tbls) olive oil and the butter ... then the garlic and cooked for a couple minutes, til it smells like you'd like to stop there and just eat that. But don't. Sprinkle your flour into the pan and stir. Add the stock, cream, mustard and lemon zest. Stir. Add salt, pepper and tarragon. Cook for a couple minutes, til it thickens. Add the lemon juice, asparagus and cooked pasta.

Grate your cheese on top and you're done.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

When Pam and Mom posted this recipe the other day, I just HAD to try it.
I was going to wait til next week
but I had to go into the store for something else and just couldn't resist !
I did however, only spend $4 on this plate of deliciousness.

In reading the recipe I see that I forgot to cut the prosciutto into two inch strips.
Oops.
I also didn't spray any olive oil onto the baking sheet.
I did line it with baking paper.

In a nutshell.
You make this by wrapping prosciutto around asparagus.
Bake in 200C/400F oven for 20 minutes.

DONE.

Try to let them cool for more than 3 seconds or you will burn your mouth like I did.
But ... I did it again and again until my 3.5 of these little beauties was gone !

Fritters

My friend Toni gave me the idea for fritters.
We had these the other night when we were scrounging around,
trying to figure out what to eat because we weren't shopping
that week ! These were a great idea and so easy.

All you need is ...

1 cup self raising flour
1 cup milk
1 egg
Mix it into a batter.

... and then whatever you want to put inside. So ... I sauteed some onion, garlic, asparagus, green chili, and mustard seeds. I added some tumeric, chili powder and a bit of salt.

Mix that little sauteed mixture into the batter and then cook like pancakes.

Rory topped his with salsa.

Grilled Steak Continued ...

Step 13:

Wave a magic wand over the plates...and look what appears!

One Blizzard BBQ ready to enjoy!

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

Clip ends off of asparagus spears. Cut prosciutto into two inch wide strips (usually that's in half length wise). Barber pole wrap one strip of prosciutto around each spear of asparagus. Place wrapped asparagus in single layer on baking sheet. (We sprayed Olive Oil Pam spray on the sheet. Not sure if we needed to or not) Bake in 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes (depending on how thick your asparagus is and how tender you prefer your veggies). Enjoy!

Oh so easy asparagus alfredo pasta

(Edited later by Bonnie to add photo...)

This recipe claimed to be fast and easy.......it truly only takes as long as takes to boil the pasta! Dinner on the table in 30 minutes just can't be beat! Here is the link to the original recipe that I found on line, and following is how I now make it!

Ingredients
1 pound asparagus
1 pound fettuccine
4-5 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions
1. Snap the tough ends off the asparagus and discard them. Cut the asparagus spears into 1-inch pieces. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the fettuccine and asparagus stems until almost done, about 8 minutes. Add the asparagus tips; cook until it and the pasta are just done, about 4 minutes longer. (Don't worry about the longer cooking time...the addition of the asparagus slows the process)

2. In a large saute pan, heat the butter, cream, salt, pepper, and parmesean cheese till hot and bubbly.

3. Drain the pasta and asparagus. Toss into the sauce. Serve with additional Parmesan.

My Yummy Asparagus Pastry

Oops .. I said I'd post this ages ago ...

This was so easy.

I just got out a piece of puff pastry, laid it out on a cookie sheet lined with baking paper.
To the top, I added :
Chopped Spring Onions
Chopped Garlic Shoots
Chopped Asparagus
Pine Nuts
Kalamata Olives
Feta Cheese

I think I drizzled with olive oil.

Baked in oven til pastry was cooked.

Easy.

Yummy.

Rory said it was even better for leftovers the next day.

Asparagus Hash

This is not my recipe...I tore it out of the February 2008 issue of Oxygen Magazine.
I made it for the first time this evening and we loved it. Very yummy and a great "one-dish-meal." I took the skillet right to the table on a hot pad.

1 tbs. olive oil
2 red potatoes
1/2 bundle asparagus
1/2 med. yellow onion
1 small red bell pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Add olive oil to a frying pan, on medium heat.
2. While the oil heats up, wash and shop the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes. Scoop them into the pan and place the lid on. Remember to flip them regularly.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, chop the asparagus, onion and red bell pepper into small 1/2 inch pieces.
4. Check to make sure that the potatoes are partially cooked before adding the other ingredients. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes from the time you put them in the pan.
5. Once you have added all the veggies to the pan, sprinkle on the garlic, rosemary, basil, and salt.
6. Let the hash browns cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.

*I added real minced garlic instead of powdered. I also used my mortal and pestle to combine the dried rosemary and Himalayan sea salt.
Very yummy dish!

Fish a la Bonnie

Rory had a big fat steak for dinner tonight.

The kids had sausages.

I had fish.

Gotta love the versatility of a BBQ dinner !

The fish I chose was called "Basa". A white fleshed fish.

I love fish wrapped in tin foil and cooked on the BBQ.

The way I made it tonight was delicious.

And easy.

All I did was put the fish in the tin foil.

Chopped a spring onion and slivered some garlic ~ put them on top of the fish.

And two spears of asparagus.

Then I topped with a bit of lemon juice, soy sauce, sesame oil and sea salt.

Wrapped it up and Rory BBQ'd it.

I served it with an artichoke and patatas alioli !

DELICIOUS !!

Asparagus Pizza

I made Bonnie's asparagus pizza last night, but changed a few things because of certain circumstances. It was SUCH a huge hit that I was told I HAD to write down EXACTLY what I did so that we can make it JUST that way EVERY TIME! :-) So, here is my modified version of Bonnie's asparagus pizza.

The mushrooms (1 1/2 packages) we had gotten were going a little bad so I sauted they with corsely chopped garlic (~ 5 large cloves) and the asparagus (cut into bit size-ish pieces) in a bit of olive oil. Then I needed more oil because the mushrooms soaked up all of it, so I threw in a couple squirts of this roasted garlic and onion oil. Then, I didn't want to overpower the dish, but I still needed more oil so I threw in a glug (like my exactness??) of peanut oil. The last minute or so of sauting I threw in a couple of generous handfuls of pine nuts. After the last minute I turned off the heat, but did not remove the pan from the hot burner.

I mixed 1 small can of tomato sauce and 1 can of chopped black olives and spooned that over the crusts (I also discovered that the bobali crusts are nice if thrown in a 250 degree oven for 5 minutes or so - just on the rack). I spinkled a bit of italian seasoning over the the sauce. I then spread the veggie mixture on. Next, I sprinkled a generous amount of green olives, which I had cut in half. Then, I sprinkled a generous amount of kalamata olives around. I sprinkled one package of feta around and topped with a three cheese pizza mix. Into the oven till the cheese was melted and just barely starting to turn brown in a couple of spots. Serve and enjoy! YUM!!!!!!

A Bonnie Original

Tonight, Rory is out ... hence all the posting !!
I hate cooking dinner twice when he is out so tonight I decided
to make something that I could feed the kids earlier
and Rory and I could eat once he gets home.
~
I also decided I needed to do a "throw together" meal since I didn't
want to go buy anything and the meal I had planned for
tonight will be better saved for another night. It's a BBQ cooked one
and it's raining and besides that, I don't even know how to
turn the BBQ on, let alone cook on it !!
~
Here's what I dug out of the pantry and fridge to work with.
~

I had a little bit with the kids ... hey, it's a long time 'til he gets home !

Here's how I made it.
Use your own measurments.
While the pasta is boiling:
Saute garlic, onion and red onion.
Add mushrooms.
Add diced tomatoes and tomato puree.
Add basil, oregano and parsley.
Add red wine.
Add brown sugar. (just a bit)
Add kalamata olives.
Bring to the boil.
Reduce heat.
Simmer.
~
I mixed the pasta in with the sauce.
~
I've got asparagus, garlic and cauliflower cut up and tossed with
a bit of oil in a tupperware. When Rory get's home I'll
roast them like this to go with the pasta.
Easy. Yummy.
~
Mission accomplished.
~

Calamari Made Simple

Ok ... this is so easy and so yummy. Start with squid tubes. I don't like to start with a whole squid, I've done it once and that was enough. Should you though, for some reason, start with a whole one, here's a little lesson on how to clean it.
~

Slice the squid tubes into rings ... or if you prefer, you can do them in strips. Here, I've done rings. They are a little thicker than I usually do them but they had thawed all the way so were super slippery. I find if they are not quite thawed when I'm cutting them, they are much easier to cut !

Mix flour, salt and chili powder. ( or you can just do flour if you prefer ) I do about 1 cup flour and maybe a tsp salt and a tsp chili powder. The chili flavor is very subtle. Sometimes I dip them individually, sometimes I put them in a zip lock bag with the flour and shake 'em up, sometimes I pour the flour on top as shown in next photo. ( this is not the best option but suitable for when needing to do things quickly )

You can either deep fry or shallow fry. I have done both and both are good. I use olive oil.

I served these this night with lemon wedges, fresh bread, and asparagus made like this on top of a bed of rocket, with cherry tomatoes and feta cheese.

Delicious !
~

Turkey Loaf To Live By

Turkey Loaf To Live By
The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp best-quality olive oil
2 purple onions or Vidalia onions
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
6 cups baby spinach leaves, washed
6 cups baby arugula leaves
1 tsp water
1 cup basil leaves
1/4 cup minced cilantro
4 egg whites + one yolk
1 Tbsp tomato paste mixed with one tablespoon water
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
2 1/2 lb ground turkey breast, no skin or fat included or use textured vegetable protein
3/4 cup oat bran (if you don't have oat bran use oatmeal that has been ground in the blender)
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
Cooking spray

Preparation:
1 Heat oven to 375°F. Make sure there is a rack in the center of the oven. Heat olive oil in nonstick pan and cook onions and celery until they are translucent but not brown. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a small bowl to cool.
2 Add baby spinach and arugula leaves to the pan with one teaspoon of water. Cook until the greens are wilted. Remove from heat and let cool. Add basil and cilantro to the wilted greens and mix well.
3 In a large bowl add egg whites, yolk, tomato paste mixture and stock. Mix well. Add ground turkey or TVP (textured vegetable protein) oat bran and flax seed along with cooked onions and celery. Spray clean hands with cooking spray and mix the turkey concoction well.
4 In a 10" loaf pan coated with cooking spray, place half the turkey mixture. Spread evenly. Using clean hands, transfer wilted greens and herbs to loaf pan. Distribute evenly on top of the turkey mixture already in pan. Now place remaining ground turkey mixture on top of the wilted greens. Make the top smooth with your hands.
5 Bake the turkey loaf for 1 1/2 hours or until a meat thermometer registers 160°F. Remove loaf from oven and let cool for 15 minutes so everything sets properly. Once cool, remove loaf from pan and cut into one-inch-thick slices using a very sharp knife. Arrange on a serving platter and serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers and use for lunch.

*Notes* I ended up using a smaller amount of the spinach and arugula. I used what I had but it did not amount to 12 cups. I wanted to go a little light on the greens the first time around too, so I didn't gross out the hubby. I will add more next time. It was very tasty with the fresh herbs.
I divided the recipe between two 9 1/4 x 5 1/4 x 2 3/4 pans. We ate one loaf for dinner with enough leftover for one of us to eat at lunch today. I froze the second loaf for another night. My hubby topped his slices with ketchup. I served our Turkey Loaf with roasted asparagus spears, and a fresh salad. Yummy! We will eat this dish again!

Asparagus Pizza

I don't think I've posted any pizza recipes yet ... this one is my current favorite. And it's an original. Came from my brain, it did.

~

Here's what it looked like before the cheese ...

So ... use whatever crust you like. Khrista has posted one that I am going to try next time I make pizza ... I use Bertolli Five Brothers - Roasted Garlic and Onion Pasta Sauce for the base. Sprinkle with basil, oregano, parsley and garlic powder. I chop a couple asparagus spears up, slice some mushrooms and a bit of red onion. Add kalamata olives and some nice marinated green olives. Sprinkle with a good handful of pine nuts. Add some crumbled feta cheese.

Then top with the mozarella. Put in a hot oven ... 200C ... 400 F. Usually takes about 10 - 15 minutes but watch it at the end so it doesn't burn !

This is a yummy yummy pizza. No, I don't cook the asparagus before I put it on. It cooks perfectly with the pizza !!!