Tonight, I get a night off from cooking! Sort of. My boyfriend and his roommates are firing up the grill and doing the hard part, so all I have to do is make various marinades for the food. We had some asparagus lying around so I decided to just make a simple marinade to make this Grilled Marinated Asparagus.
Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 2 large garlic cloves)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon chopped onion flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste
Combine all the ingredients not including the asparagus. Mix well.
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| asparagus ends |
Place the asparagus on a large piece of tin foil. You will make a little packet out of the tin foil.
Fold up each side of the tin foil, twisting the ends so that they stay together.
Pour the marinade over the asparagus.
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| there it is. in the tin foil |
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| Tim |
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| Kevin |
for not letting my asparagus get soggy. It was great to only have to do the prep work on a dish… a girl could get used to this!
Ingredients
Instructions
Ingredients:
1 loaf of French Bread
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon parsley
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
Divide the butter mixture evenly between each piece.
Wrap the bread in aluminum foil and cook for 15 minutes.
Ingredients:
3 slices of applewood-smoked bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used about 1/3 of an onion)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, more for additional heat
1/4 teaspoon salt
6-10 leaves of collard greens, torn with the tough stem removed
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar (I used rice vinegar)
Begin by cooking your bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
Cook until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Add the onion to the bacon drippings in the Dutch oven.
Stir in the crumbled bacon, broth, water, wine, and vinegar.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hours or until greens are tender.
Ingredients:
1 bunch of collard greens, stems removed and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 spring garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon, optional
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a teaspoon of salt. Prepare your collard greens while waiting for the water to boil.
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| remove large stem in center of leaf |
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| roughly chop |
When the water is boiling, add the collard greens and cook for ten minutes.
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| when initially added |
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| ten minutes in |
Chop the spring garlic.
Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.
Add the collard greens and season with salt and pepper.
Cook until wilted, about three to four minutes.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup boiling water
1/3 cup golden raisins
4 cups spinach
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted
First place golden raisins in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup boiling water and let stand for 15 minutes or until raisins expand. Drain and set aside.
Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and 2 tablespoons water.
Cook for 3 minutes or until the spinach wilts.
Cook for 1 minute or until heated. Stir in pine nuts and serve.
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| Asparagus soup? |
I Signed up for a CSA vegetable half share through the Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative. Once a week, I pick up a box of local, organic and (obviously) in-season vegetables. This week my bundle included pink radishes. I have never tried to make anything with radishes so I was excited to see what kind of recipes were out there for this ingredient. I decided to try a salad recipe from Martha Stewart.
Ingredients:
1 English cucumber (or 3 Kirby cucumbers) halved lengthwise, seeded, thinly sliced
4 radishes, thinly sliced
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
A handful of feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed with the flat side of a cutting knife
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
Once seeded, thinly slice the cucumber.
Add the sliced cucumber and radishes to a bowl. Zest the lemon into the same bowl.
Add the feta cheese and set aside.
Whisk in the oil in a slow, steady stream until emulsified.
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| That just means mixed so the vinegar/oil don’t separate |
Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 red pears, peeled, cored & chopped
6 cups trimmed arugula (about 6 ounces)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved fresh Parmesan cheese
A handful of walnuts
Combine the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Whisk to combine.
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| Very exciting photo, I know |
Peel pears.
Cut in half and remove the seeds and stem. (You can use a melon baller or just a spoon)
Chop into bite-size pieces.
Add the pear pieces to the vinaigrette and toss to coat.
Cover and let marinate for 20 minutes. In another bowl, add the arugula.
You can add raw walnuts, or if you’re up for it, saute them in some butter until fragrant.
Remove and place on a paper towel to drain the butter.
Allow to cool and add to the arugula. Add the cheese. After 20 minutes, add the pear pieces.
Ingredients:
6 ounces bacon, diced
2 cups frozen baby peas, thawed, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, minced (I used 1/2 of a leftover onion I had)
2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
7 cups simmering chicken stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
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| I forgot to put the wine in this photo. Whoops |
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| Not terribly appetizing.. |
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| You can tell I burnt some of the onions… |
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| The rice really expands! |
I had some left over asparagus from making the Orzo Risotto with Buttery Shrimp dish a few days ago so this dish was perfect to use ingredients I mostly had on hand.
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| I only needed the top half of the butternut squash |
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| Keep the skins on the apple |
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| So many colors! |
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| Walnuts after tossed in powdered sugar |
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| How good does that look?? |
I made my weekly trip to Reading Terminal’s Iovine Brothers Produce and noticed huge display of Brussels sprouts. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had Brussels sprouts and felt the need to try them out. I always feel bad for Brussels sprouts, everyone always hates on them. Essentially tiny cabbages (in look and taste), Brussels sprouts are loaded with antioxidants, vitamins C and A, and cancer fighting properties. I may or may not have negated a lot of the benefits of these little guys in my cooking preparation though, so I hope to make a healthier version in the coming weeks.
As a heads up, Brussels sprouts should most certainly not be overcooked; they begin to release a sulfur odor which will really ruin your appetite.
This recipe for Bacon Braised Brussels Sprouts is a good introduction to Brussels sprouts in my opinion. It includes bacon, and honestly, what isn’t better with bacon? I used a recipe from foodnetwork.com as a base, and just changed the recipe to fit my tastes and what was in my fridge. The original recipe can be found here.
Ingredients:
