Tag Archives: asparagus

Recipes for Eater Sunday Brunch

Easter Sunday is one of the most popular days of the year for restaurants serving Sunday brunch (Mother’s Day is No.1). However, with the economy in disarray many families are planning to celebrate the holiday at home this year. If you are planning to nix the expensive restaurant brunch this Easter and create your own homemade holiday feast, then consider these simple and affordable recipes: ELEGANT EGGS AND BACON Ingredients: 1 tablespoon butter 1 tablespoon chopped chives 1/4 cup milk 2 ounces cream cheese, cut into chunks 2 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled 4 extra large eggs Pinch of … Continue reading →

Comfort Foods: Soup and Sandwiches

I grew up in Hawaii where the mercury rarely dips below 60 degrees. Needless to say, growing up, I didn’t crave soup as much as I do now that I live in the Upper Midwest where the average winter last about 8 months. These days soup and sandwiches are the ideal comfort food on a bitterly cold day. I’ve warmed up with the following recipes for the last decade. Hopefully, you will find them as warm and comforting as I do, regardless of where you reside. PATTY MELT Ingredients: 3 tablespoons butter 2 large onions, peeled and thinly sliced 8 … Continue reading →

Getting Your Greens—Simple Recipes for Meatless Meals

You can always tell when Lent is near because fast food companies start inundating the airwaves with ads for their fish sandwiches. Last night I saw a commercial for Wendy’s fish sandwich six times in less than two hours. Personally, I can’t stand those deep-fried filets and question whether they contain actual fish. But I digress. With Ash Wednesday just a week away, Catholics will undoubtedly be looking for meatless dishes to serve up on Friday night. The following recipes are great additions to meatless meals. What’s more, they’re almost as easy to make as pulling into a drive-thru. SPINACH … Continue reading →

Autumn Recipes: Q is for Quiche

When I first considered featuring an alphabet of autumn recipes I wondered if I would have an adequate variety of recipes to support all 26 letters. Today is one of the days I was most concerned about (today and later next week when I hit X). Luckily, my mom reminded me that one of the dishes our family used to eat at least once a week during the autumn months when I was growing up begins with the letter Q. I adore quiche. Not only is it extremely easy to prepare, it’s also one of those versatile all-in-one dishes that … Continue reading →

Incorporating Asparagus into Everyday Dishes

In a previous guest blog I excitedly told you about the notice I received from our local farm announcing that the asparagus season had begun and that my share of the crop was ready to be picked up. Well, I just got back from the farm and I am now the proud owner of six pounds of fresh asparagus. (At $2 a pound how can you go wrong?) My mom was flabbergasted that I bought six pounds given that I am the only one in my family who really enjoys eating asparagus. “You’ll have to eat asparagus morning, noon and … Continue reading →

All About Asparagus

I just got an email from a local farm that we frequent informing me, “It’s that time of year again… Asparagus season.” I love fresh asparagus and this particular farm grows some of the best asparagus I have ever happily devoured. Each year a few weeks prior to the start of strawberry picking season the owner notifies his best customers that his asparagus crop is ready for harvest and we pre-order our supply. For those of you who don’t purchase produce directly from a farm you will soon notice that the price of fresh asparagus will be decreasing at the … Continue reading →

What to do with Leftover Easter Ham

If you are like me you made way too much for Easter dinner and have a refrigerator full of leftovers to prove it. Don’t despair; after all, Easter is an entire season not just a single day. Which means that leftover Easter ham can be a welcome addition to a host of meals to come (unless your family is already sick of it). The following recipe is a perfect way to use up leftover ham and if you whipped up my “Super Simple Side” recipe it is also a wonderful way to incorporate unused asparagus. Similar to my “Easter Egg … Continue reading →

Super Simple Sides

If you are looking for an easy side dish to serve with your glazed Easter ham or spicy Easter lamb then you’ve come to the right place. The following recipes are not only super simple to prepare they are also easy on your wallet. The first dish take less than 30 minutes to make and calls for only a handful of ingredients. However, its simplicity only adds to the dish’s overall flavor. The trick is finding the walnut oil. I buy my flavored oils from gourmet stores, but every once in a while you can find walnut oil at larger … Continue reading →

Simple and Tasty Ways to Use Extra Ground Beef

Ordinarily there is nothing remotely close to “extra” ground beef anywhere near my kitchen, but since I committed to making Spicy Sloppy Joes (among other dishes) to take to a football viewing party tomorrow I happened to have a few extra pounds of beef in my refrigerator. As such I was able to prepare two tasty and affordable one-dish meals to feed my family this weekend. (Both can be modified to feed more than four people.) Two other perks of these dishes are their simplicity (all of the ingredients are kid-friendly and take less than 30 minutes to prepare) and … Continue reading →

Gardening Tips: Asparagus and More

I mentioned previously that growing asparagus requires more time and effort than many other plantings. I just learned this from the helpful folks at the ranch and farm supply center. You don’t just plant asparagus and then start picking the delicious, healthy, green vegetables soon thereafter. It actually requires over a year to get them going and about three years before you’ll have anything to pick. You begin as you would with other starter plants, but the seeds will become “crowns.” These crowns must be nurtured for about a year before they can be transplanted into the ground. Once transplanted, … Continue reading →