Spring Green St. Patrick's Day Asparagus

I LOVE Spring! (I've mentioned that already, haven't I?)

One of the reasons I love it? Beautiful, "local" (OK, local = Walla Walla Valley, which is a couple hundred miles) asparagus is cheap, cheap, cheap right now so I'm taking advantage of the availability of one of my favorite vegetables... and since it's GREEN, I thought it'd be a nice St. Patrick's Day subject.

(Sorry, I can't get any more creative than that.)

First though, some fun with vegetables:

AN ASPARAGUS QUIZ

1.) Where was asparagus first grown?
2.) What do asparagus, onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives, and yucca have in common?
3.) What famous king had gardeners grow asparagus in greenhouses so he could eat asparagus year round?
4.) What state grows most of the asparagus in the United States?
5.) Ancient Greeks and Romans believed asparagus had what medicinal qualities?
6.) What kind of climate is best for asparagus?
7.) What are the two main varieties of asparagus?
8.) What civilization cultivated asparagus as an offering to the gods?
9.) In what section of this country was asparagus first grown?
10.) The word "asparagus" is derived from what language? What does it mean in that language?
11.) Does asparagus have aphrodisiac qualities?

(I'll give you the answers at the end of this post. No prizes, just pride in the knowledge that you know so much about asparagus!)

OK, on to the good stuff...

Our favorite method is ROASTING:

• Simply lay the spears on a cookie sheet.
• Drizzle some really good olive oil over.
• Add a sprinkle of sea salt (try a "fancy" salt here like Hawaiian red salt or smoked sea salt... :swoon:!!)
• Roast in oven about 7 min. or until done, tender-crisp. Heaven. And SO easy.

Next up, Asparagus with Pasta. They were MADE to go together. In fact, they should get married.

Here's a super-easy one I made the other night, all measurements are approximate:

Asparagus and Rigatoni

4 servings rigatoni, cooked and drained
3 Tbsp olive oil
About a pound of asparagus, nice thin stalks, washed and cut to the same length as the pasta
1 teaspoon lemon juice - FRESH squeezed
fresh grated lemon zest - just a pinch
pinch of red pepper flakes
About a handful of sun-dried tomatoes OR kalamata olives OR roasted red peppers (or a bit of all three), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
toasted nuts like pecans, hazelnuts or pinenuts

It works out well if you start the asparagus cooking at the same time as adding the pasta to the boiling water.
Heat the oil over med-high heat and add asparagus and red pepper flakes. Saute for 5 minutes, until asparagus just begins to brown a bit. Turn the heat down to low and add sun-dried tomatoes, the lemon juice and zest, and the garlic. Once the garlic begins to brown, remove from heat. Toss with pasta and divide between two bowls. Top with toasted nuts and enjoy.

And here's basically a simpler version of the same thing made with linguine instead. And we skipped the sundried tomatoes. Just asparagus, garlic, lemon, red pepper flakes and pasta... I think you can see a theme here.

Eat up.

Asparagus is very low in calories and sodium, but offers a a good deal of potassium, Vit. A, folic acid, B vitamins, copper and zinc. It's also one of the best vegetable sources for Vitamin E.

And I didn't forget the quiz answers:
1.) No one knows for sure. We do know it existed in the Mediterranean area in ancient times.
2.) They are all in the lily family.
3.) Louis XIV of France
4.) California (with WASHINGTON a close second, just thought I'd add that).
5.) Helped to prevent bee stings and relieve toothaches.
6.) One where the ground freezes in winter to a depth of two inches or more.
7.) Green and white.
8.) Egyptian.
9.) New England
10.) Greek word meaning "sprout" or "shoot."
11.) Hahaha... All through history asparagus has been trumpeted as an aphrodisiac. A 16th century Arabian love manual gave an asparagus recipe to create a stimulant for amorous desires. In 18th Century France Madame Pompadour had her asparagus concoction for sexual vigor. In his book Food, contemporary writer Waverley Root devotes a section to the sex life of the asparagus.
(Source: Wikipedia; Vegetarians in Paradise; Washington Asparagus Commission)

Poppyseed Noodles

Another Paula Deen comfort-food recipe turned deliciously vegan in my hot little hands... This one's mind-numbingly simple, and I admit I throw it together far too often when lack of creativity/time and ingredients strike.

Try it.

My kids really seem to like the slight 'crunch' of the little black seeds.

"Sour Cream" Poppyseed Noodles

• 1 pound pkg. rotini or other corkscrew-type pasta (whole wheat if you want)
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 1/2 cup Tofutti "Better-Than-Sour-Cream" or other sour-cream substitute
• 1/2 cup soy or other milk
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• dash of Tabasco (just to brighten the flavor, NOT to make it spicy)
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped chives (optional)
• Salt (to taste)
• Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Cook and drain pasta according to package instructions.

Melt the margarine in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stir in Tofutti "Sour Cream" and soymilk and lower heat. Stir until warmed through. Toss the cooked pasta, poppy seeds, Tabasco, chives, salt and pepper in the sauce. Serve immediately.

Green Tomatoes

I was asked for some suggestions in using up green tomatoes a few days back, which immediately sent me scrambling to the garden and the interwebs for some good ideas.

My Grandma used to use green tomatoes in a chow-chow relish sort of thing, but I was curious what else was out there. I had no idea there were so many great recipes!.

This has been a fun few days of experimenting!!

First, pretty much everyone has their own version of Fried Green Tomatoes. So I'll spare you there, though we did make these babies for supper one night and they were DEEELISH as always. Crunchy-fried stuff, who can't like that?!! If you haven't made them, please do, everyone needs to experience these!

Next, we tried Czech Green Tomato Soup from an old, yellowed cookbook called "Recipes From The Czechoslovakia" which (as the title suggests) seems to be a somewhat poorly translated version of old Czech recipes. Someone gave it to me years ago because I have Czech heritage. It's all pretty meat-centric but I tried this one (veganized of course) because I was basically curious. And I loved it!!

It was a little bit "weird and lumpy green" for my kids. Here's the recipe though, if anyone wants it, I thought it was simple, different and quite yummy. Don't let my kids palates discriminate for you...

Czech Green Tomato Soup

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 oz any vegetarian faux-meat sub for "ham", chopped (1/2 cup) I used Smart Bacon because

that's what I had, not "ham" exactly, but work with me here...
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced scallions
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 bay leaf
2 lb green unripe tomatoes, chopped
1 carrot sliced very thin
1 cup vegetable or vegetarian "chicken" broth
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Garnish: Tofutti or any vegan type sour cream and fresh cracked black pepper(optional)

Heat oil in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook vegetarian "ham or bacon" bits, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Add scallions, garlic, carrot and bay leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, until scallions are tender and lightly browned, 6 to 8 minutes.
Add tomatoes, broth, water, salt, and pepper and simmer, partially covered, until tomatoes and carrots are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf and season soup with salt and pepper. I blended this just a bit with my immersion blender but left it still fairly chunky. Really good the

next day!!

But the hit of my green-tomato cooking frenzy has got to be this wonderful spaghetti sauce I "veganized" from the FoodDay section of The Oregonian - everyone loved it and we've made it TWICE already. Here is my version:

Sausage and Green Tomato Pasta

2 Apple-Sage Field Roast Sausages, sliced thickly
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound green tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4-inch dice
Salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons minced pepperoncini (little pickled peppers)
1/2 pound pasta of your preference
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp lemon juice

1/2 cup soymilk
1/2 cup coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
Freshly ground black pepper

In a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, pan fry the sausage slices until lightly browned. Remove sausage and set aside.

Raise the heat to medium high. Add the tomatoes, salt and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes soften and start to turn golden brown, about 7 minutes. Add the wine and pepperoncini and cook until the some of the liquid evaporates and the tomatoes are a bit saucy. Add sausage back in to pan.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta of your choice in salted boiling water according to the package directions until al dente (if you like it that way). Drain the pasta.

Put the drained pasta back into the pot and add the cooked tomatoes and sausage, nutritional yeast and parsley. Toss until combined, adding soymilk to moisten and make sauce a bit creamy, as necessary. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper.

Pour into serving bowl, sprinkle with lots of additional parsley and serve immediately.

------------

------------

Now go pick those last green tomatoes and ENJOY!!!

Garlicky Brocolli Rabe with Pasta and Pine Nuts

Oh, this is an insanely good combination. Again, just one of those "things" that you accidently make and it's good so you keep making it.

I had a package of lovely Italian Orecchiette pasta I'd been wanting to use. They're little, slightly rounded pasta shaped roughly like small ears, hence the name (orecchio, ear, orecchiette, little ears). It seemed perfect to pair it with some Brocolli Rabe, a delicious, slightly "bitter" green originally from Italy. (And really not bitter at all.)It's just getting popular in markets around here and I'm thinking I'll grow some this summer - Of course, if you (or your children) prefer, use chard, spinach or brocolli. And shell pasta. Or whatever you want.

So without further explanation, here you go....

Broccoli Rabe with Orecchiette

1 /3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 1/2 lb. trimmed broccoli rabe
1 lb. dried orecchiette
1 cup vegetarian chicken-style broth (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or chopped, toasted pecans if you prefer...
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

In a large pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until the garlic is tender. Set aside.

Bring a large pot three-fourths full of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the broccoli rabe and cook until just tender. Using tongs, lift out and transfer to a bowl of ice water to shock. Leave the pot of water over high heat. Drain the broccoli rabe well and squeeze gently to remove water. Chop into pieces.

Add the pasta to the boiling water used to cook the broccoli rabe, and cook until done to your liking.

While the pasta is cooking, add the broccoli rabe to the pan holding the garlic. Return to medium heat, season generously with salt, pepper, additional red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the broccoli is hot throughout. (This is where you may also add the broth if you want it less "dry".)

Drain the pasta and return to the warm pot. Add the garlic/oil/rabe, nuts, lemon juice and nutritional yeast and toss with the pasta. YUMMMMM!

Pasta and Vegetables With Cream Sauce

Totally uninspiring picture, but really good pasta!!!

I don't often post recipes or ideas from other sources, mainly 'cause I'm lazy and rarely get around to trying them. But this recipe caught my eye. It comes from fellow blogger, Matt over at "My Veggie Kitchen".

Check out his blog, mostly all vegan and DELICIOUS!!

I was in the mood for a creamy psta sort of thing anyway, and have my own cashew-based Cream Sauce that, admittedly, I'm pretty fond of, (mainly because I know it by heart). But after seeing his drool-worthy pictures (which mine are not) I decided I needed try Matt's Pasta Primavera recipe.

And let me tell you , it was definitely a hit in our house. I did change up the vegetables a bit according to those I had. And I left out the miso, since one of my kids dislikes it a great deal, regardless of how I think I'm disguising it. But I'd recommend trying it with the miso if you have it.

Pasta Puttanesca

Not much to say except... you must make this. (Oh, and the picture doesn't do it justice!)

I know, normally Pasta Puttanesca has anchovies in it, but it's plenty easy enough to make without. You won't even miss the annoyingly salty dead fish. Do make sure you include the capers though, even if you're not sure you'll like them. They totally make this dish.


PASTA PUTTANESCA!

1 tbsp flavorful olive oil
3 cloves garlic, smashed through garlic press or grated finely with a microplane grater
1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
2 tbsp capers
1/4 cup chopped kalamata olives (not the generic black salad olives, please!)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or less to taste
dash salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp olive brine (adds that sharp salty taste!)
2 (28-ounce) cans Roma plum tomatoes, broken into pieces, (just crush them with your bare hands like Emeril does, or mash with a potato masher) with juice
About 1 lb. cooked pasta


Lightly saute the garlic in olive oil for a minute or two - really, just warm it enough to start it cooking, do NOT brown! Add the basil, capers, olives and red pepper flakes, and cook for another two minutes.
Reduce heat to low, and add the brine and tomatoes. Cover and simmer for at least fifteen minutes.

Serve over pasta, sprinkle with Nutritional Yeast if you want and I always add a few more capers (no, those are not overcooked peas in the picture! Please!) 'cause I love the things!!

Creamy Pasta with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Seriously worthless pictures. *kicks camera*.


But I'm posting the recipe because it's totally awesome and I served this Farfalle in Garlic Cream Sauce with Mushrooms and Asparagus to a houseful of omnis this weekend, and it was a huge success.

My Mom kept saying "Would anyone like the VEGAN dish?" as if she really couldn't bring herself to call it Pasta with (rich, decadent) CREAM Sauce, but I'm happy to say, the 'vegan' title didn't scare anyone off.

This is easy, tasty, omni AND vegan-pleasing comfort food at it's best. I still wish the pictures did it's rich, creamy garlicness more justice.


Pasta in Garlic Cream Sauce with Asparagus and Mushrooms

Sauce:
1/2 cup raw cashews (not roasted)
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice (I don't measure, just a good squeeze)
1 cup boiling water
2 cloves garlic (or more to taste)
2 Tbsp. extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup Tofutti Cream Cheeze
1 tsp umeboshi plum vinegar (or rice wine vinegar will be OK)
2 Tb. nutritional yeast (optional)
salt to taste


Soymilk


Pulverize raw cashews in the food processor until very fine powder. Add 1 cup boiling water. (*The BEST way to do this, is to make the sauce while the pasta cooks - scoop out 1 cup of lightly salted pasta-cooking water and use it - the starch from the pasta-cooking water thickens the sauce PERFECTLY!) Add water to cashews and process until smooth... this will take several minutes.


Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth and creamy. This will take a while. If it's too thick to process, add soymilk as needed. Taste and add salt or pepper as needed.


Cook enough pasta to go with the sauce. (Different people prefer "less" or "more" sauce depending on their tastes and how creamy they like their casseroles.) Mix sauce with pasta.


While pasta cooks:
Rinse 1 bunch of asparagus, cut the tender parts (not the tough stem ends) into 1 inch pieces.

Cut 10 large button mushrooms in half. Stir fry asparagus and mushrooms in a bit of olive oil until tender but asparagus is still a bit crisp.


Mix vegetables into pasta and sauce. Put pasta and veggies in a baking dish. You can refrigerate at this point until ready to bake.


When you're ready to bake the pasta:

Mix 2 Tbsp. cornstarch with 2 cups soymilk. Mix well with a wire whisk.

Pour over pasta until liquid comes 3/4 up side of dish.
Top with 1/2 cup buttered breadcrumbs.

Cover with foil and bake for 40 min. at 350. Remove foil. If it looks like it's drying out, add more soy milk.

Bake another 15 minutes. If breadcrumbs are not crispy-browned after 15 min. , broil for a few seconds, but watch carefully!


Enjoy, and happy Monday!!

Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce

Dinner tonight was pasta and sauce again. Mushrooms, summer squash, roasted peppers and caramelized onions on the side. :drool:
I don't eat pasta as often as I blog about it, but I'm beginning to think maybe it's the only time I remember to take a picture, as it's always so pretty and colorful and yummy looking. Or, I confess, I just like pasta, what can I say? Tonight I used Eden Organic Saffron Ribbons, they were wonderful!

We also had an awesome green salad with all sorts of veggies, SO pretty, and THAT I did forget to get a picture of. I'm slipping, I tell ya!

Pasta with Basil Cream Sauce:

2 cups fresh basil leaves
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 ounces pine nuts
2 oz. silken tofu (or a couple heaping Tablespoons)
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup vegan (Tofutti) sour "cream"
1 cup soymilk
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a food processor, combine basil and garlic. Begin processing, and pour in olive oil in a thin stream. Process for about 40 seconds, or until mixture begins to emulsify. Add pine nuts and silken tofu, then blend for 1 minute.
Heat sour "cream" and soymilk in a saucepan over low heat until simmering.
Pour 1/2 of the hot "cream" into the processor with basil pesto, and pulse for 20 seconds to incorporate. Pour mixture back into "cream", and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, serve over hot pasta or use in lasagna.
You can thicken with cornstarch while heating the "cream" part, if you want a thicker sauce, or just use more pine nuts (which is what I did).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'll leave you with a picture of the cat in his favorite new resting spot. Not MY favorite place for him to be, but it IS rather funny.