Asparagus part two!

A delicious Easter breakfast, which lasted all of about two minutes!

So I had about half a bunch of asparagus left over from yesterday, and decided to make it this morning as a delicious Easter breakfast.

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables, and I'm always so excited for spring when its in season. Easter was this morning, which means that all good college students were out running through the forest in search of kegs. After this I decided it was time for some real food ( and coffee!).

First step is to clean and wash the asparagus. I had about a half bunch on hand. Heat up some olive oil in a saute pan and cook the asparagus over medium heat. I seasoned mine with sea salt and garlic powder.

When the asparagus is about half cooked through add the juice of half a lemon and a cup of chicken broth. Let the asparagus continue cooking until it is just cooked through but still crisp. Add 3 table spoons of chevre, mine was flavored with horseradish, and mix to allow it to melt into the broth. Leave the pan on the heat for about a minute, and then devour!

Turkey breast with asparagus

My mother sent my a gift card to a local grocery store. So it was definitely splurge time in my kitchen. My girlfriend also bought me a hand held brulee torch. Which is pretty much the best gift anyone could have sent my way. I'm really excited to use it, but I need to get a butane tank first. (Maybe I can just make one in the lab!!)

Anyway, for dinner tonight we had turkey breasts stuffed with asparagus and goat cheese and penne with a mushroom rosemary cream sauce. Both were really easy and totally delicious.

2 Turkey breasts, rubbed with a small amount of salt, pepper and all purpose flour
10 stalks of asparagus, blanched in boiling salt water for two minutes, then submurged in ice water and dried.
4 tablespoons of goat cheese (I used horseradish goat cheese)
balsamic vinegar
butter, olive oil
fresh rosemary

Preheat the oven to 350Put 2 tbs of the cheese into each turkey breast, sprinkle with finely chopped rosemary. Pour a drizzle of balsamic vinegar onto the goat cheese. Place 5 stalks of asparagus into each breast, pressing firmly into the cheese. Fold the turkey over the asparagus, so that as little of the cheese as possible is exposed.

Melt some butter into a pan with olive oil over medium high heat. Brown both sides of the turkey, place onto a baking sheet and place in the oven.

While the turkey is in the oven work on the penne.

1 carton baby bella mushroom, thoroughly washed and thinly sliced

1/3 cup finely grated romano cheese

3 tbs fresh rosemary

3 tbs butter

1 tbs flour

1 cup whole milk

cayanne pepper, black pepper to taste.

2 cups cooked penne

Add the rosemary to the milk and let sit. Melt the butter and add the mushrooms. Let the mushrooms cook for about two minutes, add the flour and allow them to continue to cook until they are soft. Add the milk and the rosemary. Continue to stir and add the romano cheese, keep mixing so that the cheese melts into the sauce. Add the pepper to taste, and let the sauce cook down a little.

When the turkey is cooked through, let it rest for a few minutes. Place the penne on a plate and add the mushroom sauce, place the turkey on top and put a little more of the sauce on top of the turkey.

Enjoy!

Yellow curry with peppers and potatoes

I made a delicious curry tonight with peppers, potatoes, zucchini and bean sprouts. No pictures,because we ate it a little too quickly. I spent a good chunk of time in the lab this afternoon mounting neural tissue slices. Its kind of fun, in a sit very still and arrange very tiny delicate things sort of way. Regardless, by the time I got home it was pretty late and I just wanted to throw together something quick and tasty.

Yellow curry with peppers and potatoes:

4 small potatoes, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
3 small zucchini, cut into disks 2 cm thick
1 red bell pepper, cut into very thin slices
2 handfulls bean sprouts
1 can coconut milk
300 mL water
Yellow curry powder, cumin, siracha, powdered ginger to taste
Olive oil

Boil the potatoes until just soft, strain and rinse with cold water until the potatoes are cool. In a deep saute pan heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onion and garlic, cook until softened but not browned. Add the bell pepper, and let it start to soften. Add about half the water, and start to add the curry powder, cumin and ginger to coat the vegetables. Add the zucchini, and the rest of the water. Let the vegetables keep cooking until they are all soft (but not mushy). Add the potatoes, and coconut milk. Allow the curry to continue to cook until it has thickened. Add more spices and siracha to taste, and toss in the bean sprouts for about a minute to soften them.

I served mine over rice, and it was delicious!