I hit the jackpot at the grocery store this week: fiddleheads and ramps. We ate some of the fiddleheads for dinner the other night – I just boiled them then tossed with butter, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. I used the leftovers in this recipe.

This is my adaption of a recipe in April Food Network Magazine (“Asparagus and Cheese Tart” p. 149) but I used some other veggies and switched up the cheeses. It was really delicious. Ramps just make me swoon. Here’s my version:

Spring Veggie Tart

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

4 ramps (roots cut off)

1/2 cup cooked fiddleheads

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

1/2 cup grated fontina cheese

1 cup grated Swiss cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 egg yolks

3 tbsp milk

pinch nutmeg

salt and pepper

Olive oil

Blanch the asparagus. Roll out the puff pastry to about 10×16 and prick all over with fork. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes until it is light golden brown.

Mix cheeses, eggs, milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Spread over puff pastry. Arrange vegetables on top and sprinkle with olive oil. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until the cheese mixture is slightly puffy. Cut into squares.

I hit the jackpot at the grocery store this week: fiddleheads and ramps. We ate some of the fiddleheads for dinner the other night – I just boiled them then tossed with butter, lemon juice, and salt and pepper. I used the leftovers in this recipe. This is my adaption of a recipe in April … Read more →

Asparagus is one my favorite vegetables to cook in parchment. It’s just the right size and it cooks perfectly. I made this for dinner the other night. It’s got the right balance of creaminess and lemon and the garlic gives it some punch.

1 bunch asparagus

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

3 garlic cloves, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon dill

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Place the asparagus on the parchment. Mix the other ingredients in a small bowl and spread over the asparagus. Fold the parchment (see the Technique page on this blog) and bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, until the asparagus reaches your level of doneness. This is great with chicken or fish.

Asparagus is one my favorite vegetables to cook in parchment. It’s just the right size and it cooks perfectly. I made this for dinner the other night. It’s got the right balance of creaminess and lemon and the garlic gives it some punch. 1 bunch asparagus 1/3 cup light mayonnaise 3 garlic cloves, minced salt … Read more →

We eat a lot of asparagus here since my dad has an asparagus bed. Soon there will bags of it being sent over here. While I love it, I’m always looking for new ways to make it. This recipe is so easy and really tasty:

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

1/4 cup light bleu cheese dressing

salt and pepper

That’s it. Place the asparagus on the parchment, drizzle the dressing over it and season it with salt and pepper. Fold up the parchment and bake for 20 minutes at 400.

We eat a lot of asparagus here since my dad has an asparagus bed. Soon there will bags of it being sent over here. While I love it, I’m always looking for new ways to make it. This recipe is so easy and really tasty: 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed 1/4 cup light bleu cheese dressing … Read more →

I’m always looking for ways to make vegetables more exciting, hoping to entice my kids and husband into not only eating them, but enjoying them. My latest attempt was to dress up asparagus and it was quite successful.

1 bunch asparagus

1/4 cup light sour cream

1 1/2 tsp mustard (I used a ground mustard, but a Dijon would also work)

1 tsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

Place asparagus on parchment (see Technique page for instructions). Mix other ingredients in a small bowl or custard cup and spread over asparagus. Fold the parchment and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.

I really liked this. It was light but had lots of flavor and made the asparagus taste like something new and exciting!

I’m always looking for ways to make vegetables more exciting, hoping to entice my kids and husband into not only eating them, but enjoying them. My latest attempt was to dress up asparagus and it was quite successful. 1 bunch asparagus 1/4 cup light sour cream 1 1/2 tsp mustard (I used a ground mustard, … Read more →

My father has an asparagus patch, so in the spring, we have lots of asparagus to use. And I am always looking for news ways to make it. Recently I decided to make it with a sesame flavor and was thrilled with my no-mess, no-pot results

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

1/4 tsp toasted sesame seeds

1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

Place the asparagus in the center of a sheet of parchment. Drizzle oils and soy sauce. Sprinkle with the seeds. Seal and bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Allow it to rest for about 5 minutes.

The asparagus comes out nicely cooked with a light sesame flavor that really livens it up. My kids liked this a lot because to them it tasted more like Chinese food and less like vegetables!

My father has an asparagus patch, so in the spring, we have lots of asparagus to use. And I am always looking for news ways to make it. Recently I decided to make it with a sesame flavor and was thrilled with my no-mess, no-pot results 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed 1/4 tsp toasted sesame seeds … Read more →

I loved the asparagus article in the April issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food. I was excited to discover some new ways to make asparagus, so please join me for my personal asparagus festival, also known as the Festival of Spears.

I make asparagus a lot, and particularly when my father’s crop comes in, I get bored with it. There are a few ways I normally make it. The first is just cut up and boiled with butter and salt and pepper. My preferred method is to roast it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Sometimes I coat it in panko and pan fry it.

First up is the asparagus with goat cheese. I cooked my whole asparagus stalks in a pan with a tiny bit of water. They cooked very quickly. I sliced the goat cheese into rounds and coated them with flour then panko and froze them and quickly browned them in a pan. I loved the goat cheese on this! The rounds looked gorgeous and brown and so very professional. This is a terrific way to dress up plain asparagus with not a lot of work and I will definitely be making it again. This one is truly fab.

Asparagus experiment number two is Spaghetti with Shaved Asparagus. I was intrigued by this- I had never thought of shaving asparagus. Martha says to take a vegetable peeler and peel shavings off your asparagus. This was a totally weird thing to do and let me just say it is pretty wasteful. You do not use the tops (and as my mother, Big MarthaAndMe will tell you, the tops are the best part, since she and her brother used to fight over them) and you end up wasting a good portion of the spear itself.

You boil some spaghetti (I used whole wheat) and reserve some of the cooking water. Then you add the shaved asparagus and lemon shavings. Drain it and add butter, salt, pepper, lemon juice and reserved water which comes together to make a very light sauce. You shave some parmesan over the top at the end.

This is interesting looking, but the thing is you do not taste the asparagus at all! It just tastes like a mouthful of pasta with something green in it. I was quite disappointed by that. First you waste so much of the asparagus, then you don’t even taste it? Bah! Skip this one – I wouldn’t make it again. Asparagus tally? One yes, one no.

Now for asparagus recipe number three, Asparagus with Creamy Mustard Sauce. This tells you to steam your asaparagus and chill it. Then you mix up a quick cold sauce with mayo, olive oil, white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and salt and pepper. That’s it! Pour the sauce over your asparagus and go to town. I thought the mustard sauce had a nice flavor. This strikes me as a summer dish though. It would taste wonderful for a supper on a hot day. At this time of year it was not so terrific as a cold dish, although it had a nice flavor, it just was not palate pleasing to eat a cold vegetable.

Total tally: One definite, one maybe and one no.

I loved the asparagus article in the April issue of Martha Stewart Everyday Food. I was excited to discover some new ways to make asparagus, so please join me for my personal asparagus festival, also known as the Festival of Spears. I make asparagus a lot, and particularly when my father’s crop comes in, I … Read more →