Day 364 Buttery Asparagus

Buttery Asparagus

3 Pounds Fresh Asparagus, tough ends chopped off
1/4 Cup Earth Balance
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Pepper

1. Place asparagus in a large skillet with water to slightly cover.  Bring to a boil and cook until crisp tender.  Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

2.  Melt the Earth Balance, salt and pepper in a small saucepan. Pour over the asparagus and cook until thoroughly heated.  Serve immediately.

Goes well with roasted winter vegetables.

Pairs well with 2015 Alsace Pinot Blanc

Soundtrack Phish - 12/30/2015 Madison Square Garden

Day 350 Asparagus Artichoke Casserole

Asparagus Artichoke Casserole

1 Green Pepper, chopped
1 Pound Asparagus, sliced
1 Tablespoon Earth Balance
10 Ounces Mushroom Soup
1 Can Artichoke Hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 Cup Nicoise Olives
4 Ounces Dried Mushrooms
2 5 Ounce Cans Water Chestnuts, chopped
1/2 Cup Dry Croutons
1 1/2 Cups Daiya Cheddar Cheese Shreds
Salt to taste

Ingredients

1.  Cover the dried mushrooms with hot water and let sit for 1 hour.  Chop the mushrooms and reserve the stock.

Reconstituted mushrooms

2.  Saute pepper and asparagus in a skillet with the Earth Balance.

Asparagus and pepper sauteing

3.  Mix the artichoke, olives, mushrooms and water chestnuts with the asparagus mix.  Pour into a casserole dish.

Casserole ready to cook

4.  Mix the mushroom soup with 1/4 cup of the mushroom water.  Pour over the vegetables.  Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

5.  Remove from the oven and add the croutons.  Mix well.  Top with the cheese.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Goes well with Red Pepper Broccoli

Pairs well with 2013 Domaine Pichot Vouvray

Soundtrack Spotify's Rock Christmas Playlist.

Day 193 Asparagus Soup

Asparagus Soup

1 Pound Thin Asparagus, rough ends removed and chopped
3 Tablespoons Earth Balance
2 Leeks, white parts only and chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
4 Tablespoons Parsley, chopped
5 Cups Asparagus Stock (Day 192)
1/2 Cup Almond Milk
Pepper to taste
Peel of 1 Lemon, grated
Nutritional Yeast, for garnish

sauteed asparagus and leeks

1.  Melt the Earth Balance in a soup pot, add the leeks and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.  Add the asparagus, salt and parsley.  Pour in the stock and bring to a boil.  Cook at a simmer until the asparagus is tender.  Blend the soup with and immersion blender.  Reheat and stir in the almond milk and lemon peel.

Soup before blending

2.  Pepper to taste.  Pour into serving bowls and sprinkle with nutritional yeast.

Goes well with Wilted Spinach Salad

Soundtrack 4Reign Trips - The Resurgence

Day 192 Aspagus Stock

Asparagus Stock

The lower ends of a pound of Asparagus
Greens of two Leeks
1 Bay Leaf
1 Carrot, peeled and chopped
1 Celery Stalk, chopped
4 Parsley Branches
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
8 Cups Water

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.  Strain.

Use for Asparagus Soup.

Soundtrack  R3ne - Origin

Day 74 Creamy Asparagus Pasta

Creamy Asparagus Pasta

8 Ounces Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
1 Bunch Asparagus, trimmed and cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 1/2 Cups Quinoa Milk
4 Teaspoons Whole Grain Mustard
1/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper, freshly ground
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Garlic, minced
1 Teaspoon Dried Tarragon
Zest of one Lemon
Juice of 1 Lemon
1/2 Cup Nutritional Yeast

1.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook till almost done.  Add the asparagus and continue cooking until tender.  Drain and return to the pot.

Cooking pasta and asparagus

2.  Meanwhile, whisk the milk, mustard, flour, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant and lightly browned.  Whisk in the milk mixture.  Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly, and cooked till thickened.  Stir in tarragon, zest and juice.

Cream Sauce

3.  Stir the sauce into the pasta mixture.  Cook over medium heat until the sauce is thick, creamy and coats the pasta.  Stir in the nutritional yeast.

Soundtrack Escape the Fate - Hate Me

Day 12 Leek, Aspargus and Herb Soup

Leek, Asparagus and Herb Soup

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
2 Leeks, trimmed, washed and finely chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 Pound New Potatoes, scrubbed and diced
2 Cups Vegetable Broth
1 Pound Asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2/3 Cup Sugar Snap Peas, stemmed and cut into 1/2 pieces
3 Tablespoons fresh Chives, chopped
2 Tablespoons and 2 Teaspoons fresh Parsley, chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh Dill, chopped
2 Cups Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1 Lemon, juiced
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
1/3 Cup Plain Coconut Yogurt, for garnish

Soup indgredients

1. Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.  Add leeks, stirring often, until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Sauted leeks

2. Add potatoes and broth.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.

Boiled vegetables

3.  Stir in the asparagus and peas, simmer, covered, until tender, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in chives, 2 Tablespoons parsley and dill.  Using an immersion blender, blend till smooth.  If you do not have an immersion blender, then a regular blender will work.  You may need to blend in several batches,

Blending soup

4.  Return soup to the pan and add milk.  Simmer while stirring over medium heat.  Stir in lemon juice, salt and pepper.  Ladle into soup bowls.  Garnish with yogurt and remaining parsley.

6 servings

Goes well with quinoa and black beans.

Soundtrack  Leon Bridges - Coming Home

Addicted to Results 5/1

Apple Pecan Pancakes

Pancakes for breakfast!  This version used coconut oil, silken tofu, rice milk and apples. The texture was a little to spongy for me.  I have had better luck with pancakes by using a non vegan recipe then converting it. The recipes meant to be vegan always seem to have texture problems.  These were served with broken pecans and maple syrup.

 For lunch I had a vegan sausage with tomatilla avocado salsa and ketchup.  Cabbage slaw was on the side.  Snacks during the day included a apple banana muffin and a seeded granola bar from Atwaters.  Yes, Atwaters is open in Canton now!

Lemon Garlic Asparagus

We had dinner at the Canton Waterfront Park.  It was the first of the First Thursdays concerts in the park.  Joan Osburn was the headliner.  Even though it rained during the middle act, it was a fun night.  I started out with a winter seasonal Woodchuck Cider.  As the night progressed, the lines to the beer tents were ridiculous, so I made a run to Chesapeake Wine Company for a rose.  For dinner we had Sundried Tomato Risotto and Lemon Garlic Asparagus in the park.  The risotto was made with short grain brown rice, onions, sundried tomatoes, basil and parsley.  The asparagus was roasted in the oven with the garlic, lemon, salt and pepper.

Sundried Tomato Risotto