Tips

Grilled Asparagus

“We just picked these this morning” said the seller, pointing at the long stemmed asparagus. Some had a purple hue…good looking bunch indeed. Another round of Lake Oswego Farmer’s Market opened on the 17th of May.These are our catches of the day.

My husband and I always enjoy such an outing, and seldom decline offerings from vendors. Would you like to taste? Would I ever! It’s a ‘line’ I know…they are casting a line to lure in the customer. However, my purchase is helping the economy…the seller’s economy at least.

Unlike the previous week, this asparagus dish doesn’t look that pretty when cooked yet it tastes great. I like having this with warm cooked pasta. Add some chill powder in the herb mix if you like some kick.

Ingredients and Instructions (Print Recipe here)

Necessary Equipment: Gas or charcoal grill

• 4 Tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• *Herb mix -  parsley, dill, chives, mint and basil 1 Tablespoon each. *Use minced fresh herb if you have it.
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 2 Tablespoons mayonnaise
• 4 teaspoons of white wine vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tablespoons stone ground Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• Kosher salt  and freshly ground black pepper
• 8-10 asparagus, hard stem trimmed and peeled 2/3rd way up. Use whole or cut in 3 inch long pieces for easier consumption. You need a grilling basket or foil in that case.
• 1/2 purple onion (optional)
• 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil

1. Put cream cheese, herbs, milk, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, lemon zest and salt and pepper (perhaps 1/2 teaspoon each of the salt & pepper; more or less) in a bowl and blend with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until smooth. Set aside.
   
2. Heat gas or charcoal grill over medium high heat.
3. Toss the asparagus and purple onion wedge with olive oil, salt and pepper. Lay asparagus on the grill perpendicular so that asparagus won’t fall through the grill gate. Put the purple onion on the side. Put cut asparagus on the grilling basket or top of foil. We used this handy grilling mat.
4. Grill the asparagus for 1-2 minutes then brush with the cream cheese mixture* Grill for 1-2 minutes longer until the asparagus is tender but still crunchy. Do the same for onion (if using – it takes longer).
5. Chop or slice grilled onion and put it on the asparagus (optional). Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.

*Option #1: Instead of brushing asparagus with cream cheese mixture, Mix gently AFTER asparagus was grilled. This method is better for cut asparagus.

*Option #2: Forget brushing cream cheese mixture during grilling or mixing it after, instead use as dipping sauce.

Sweet! This vender gave me several spoonful's of sugar, I mean honey and jam to taste.

The peach blossom honey.

Aloha! He was from Hawaii, surprise, surprise! He went to Kahuku High School. Really? That’s where my daughter teaches. He now resides in Washington State.

Stopped by the nursery on the way home for a few veggie starts. The red Adirondack chairs are adorable, over $500 each…not that cute!.

We had  a few days of hot weather last week that helped ripen the strawberries in our back yard.We topped them on the sour dough waffles.Darling, this is great!In the mille-feuille.like dessert.  Thumbs up from my husband.

I’m responsible to do various activities with my church girls (8 to 11 years old) twice a month. I helped them make Angie’s flourless peanut butter cookies last week.It was fun! A bit messy but fun!

Just let you know….I’m leaving for Hawaii today…unplanned rather emergency trip though grateful to see my grand daughter. Thankful she is doing well.

My husband promised me he will post Kimchee-blue cheese croissant from Momofuku’s Milk Bar cook book next week… I have some reservations but it will be fine, right? See you in a couple weeks.

Side Effect

Steamed Lotus root and greens

‘It’s not easy being green’. Kermit the Frog is right. I know I will never be a vegetarian. However, my inner thoughts are telling me I should be more sparing on meats and stay away from sweets or was that my waist line talking? When I feel heavy (literally) I must go for a green (er) dish.

This dish’s crunchy lotus roots were satisfying and require only one skillet plus it is low-fat. The only thing I would do differently next time is omit the vinegar and use lemon juice instead. Vinegar gives this dish some tanginess but discolors the greens. Over all this is a simple dish yet the variations could be endless. Although we had it as a main dish, it would be a great side dish.

Ingredients for 2 servings

Equipment: non-stick skillet with lid

• Lotus root 2 tubes (see picture) Scrub skin well under running water. Slice into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces.
  
• Leafy greens – Swiss chard, collard greens or bok choy roughly chopped.
• Olive oil 3 Tablespoons
• Vinegar or lemon juice 2 Tablespoons
• Whole grain mustard 1 Tablespoon
• Water 1-2 Tablespoons

1. Soak sliced lotus roots in a bowl full of water for 2-3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare sauce by combining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, vinegar(or lemon juice) and mustard in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Pat dry lotus roots with paper towel. Heat remaining 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick skillet at medium high heat. Lay lotus roots in the skillet and slightly brown both sides.
   
4. Pour water in the skillet then immediately cover with lid. Steam for 2-3 minutes.
5. Coat greens with prepared sauce then place over the lotus roots, cover with lid again and steam for additional 1-2 minutes.
6. Serve as is or with a little bit of soy sauce or ponzu sauce.

My husband had a business conference to attend and give a presentation at Emerald City. 4 days of movie madness on Netflix at home or 4 days of exploring the city (and some shopping), it was a hard choice but I chose the latter and went with him. This patch of land is near our hotel.It rained practically every day in the Seattle area. I was forced to be inside of the mall…not really. The weather was dry enough one afternoon, I strolled through Bellevue City Park next to Bellevue Square Mall. Still quite chilly, blossom of double cherry could still be seen here.Tiny Japanese cake shop Fumie’s Gold was at the edge of the park. I bought a Mount Blanc cake.

I ate at a section of the park called Belvedere.One single red rose I spotted stood out against the green back ground.

We had pretty good ramen at Kukai (空海) restaurant in Bellevue.

2nd visit to Lynn's Bistro in downtown Kirkland was again a pleasure. We tried three course dinner for $30 per person (They also offer three course for $40). Marvelous dinner rolls were welcomingly warm.

Before heading home, we stopped at KiKi’s delivery service. Just kidding. It’s a Taiwanese bakery. Most breads are $1.75. $5 if you buy three.The vanilla pudding we ate in the car. I don’t want to brag but mine are a notch silkier.The side effect of good eating is already happening. More green diet have to be enforced.

These calla lilies are gift from neighbor. She kindly pointed out that I spelled calla lily wrong in the last post. I like her and her mom!Too much light maybe? Taking good photos is difficult but correcting photos using computer program is even harder.