Beef with Asparagus

They're here! The asparagus have finally arrived. Having an asparagus bed in the garden is like money in the bank, the dividends come each spring like clock work.

Asparagus is a perennial, and that means it is planted once and will produce for 15 years or more. If you have a garden and don't have an asparagus bed, spring is a good time to do it. Growing asparagus is easy but only for the patient. Plant the roots this spring but no harvesting until next year and even then only very lightly. On the third year and every year thereafter they're yours for the pickin', forgive the pun. Here's more info on how to plant an asparagus bed.

We love asparagus in every which way--roasted, grilled, steamed, in stir fry and pasta dishes. An old family favorite is Stir-Fried Beef with Vegetables--asparagus, green beans, broccoli, whatever is in season and available, but for us this week asparagus has center stage.

Beef with Asparagus
1/2 lb flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
oil for frying
4 scallions, cut in 1 1/2-inch lengths
Salt
1 lb asparagus cut diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths
2 TBS oyster sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 TBS water

Marinate meat with cornstarch, soy sauce, salt, sugar, and garlic for 10 minutes.
Heat wok or large frying pan, add 2 tablespoons oil and heat. Toss in scallions and cook 30 seconds. Add meat and stir-fry over high hear for a minute until browned on the outside and pink in the middle. Remove from pan. Heat 2 more tablespoons oil in the same pan, add asparagus, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and stir-fry over high heat for a minute or two until asparagus is tender but still al dente. Add a bit of water if the pan is too dry. Return meat and scallions to pan, add oyster sauce and soy sauce. Add cornstarch-water mixture and give a quick stir until thickened. Serve over jasmine rice or short grain brown rice. This is a seasonal delight that will wean you from Chinese take-out forever. Serves 4.

Links to easy asparagus recipes:
Grilled Asparagus
Roastd Asparagus
Wok-Seared Chicken with Asparagus & Pistachios

Do you have a favorite asparagus recipes? Do share them below in the comment section.

What's Growing in the Garden

We're starting to get some serious heat and the garden is exploding...

The front garden

Pink Magnolia

A welcome weed--these violas grow wild in the paths and in the beds

First asparagus

Young rhubarb

Sugar Snap Peas planted April 2nd.

Garlic shares a bed with spring greens--radish, lettuce and arugula

Instant Tamale

The task at hand is four cords of wood to be stacked. It seems like we just got over winter to be thinking about firewood but, in a way, the job is made easier by the recent memory of knitting by the fire when snow is falling outside.

Work in progress

"You get some kind of zen satisfaction from stacking firewood" my husband observes. I'll admit, I do. There's something good and honest about it, like growing your own food. On top of that you get as your reward, neatly stacked firewood all ready for when the north wind blows. How does that not make you feel cozy?

This Instant Tamale is what I make when I've been outdoors all day stacking wood or weeding the garden. It's based on a recipe from my dog eared copy of Moosewood Restaurant New Classics cookbook, not an authentic tamale but when you're too busy to cook, this one is fast and easy. The leftover is reason enough to make this dish, and the flavor is even better the next day.

Instant Tamale fresh from the oven

With pre-made polenta and store bought salsa, dinner takes no more than 15 minutes to put together and the rest is done by the oven.

26.5 oz can black beans with juice
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1 cup tomato salsa
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground chipotle (or to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
18 oz roll prepared polenta
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil 8" x 11 1/2" baking pan. Empty the beans and their juice into a large bowl and mash with a potato masher. Add the corn, salsa, cumin, chipotle and salt and mix well. Set aside. Slice polenta into 1/4" thick rounds. Arrange the rounds in the prepared baking pan slightly overlapping. Pour the bean mixture evenly over the polenta. Sprinkle on the cilantro and top with the grated cheese. Cover and bake 15 minutes, uncover and bake for another 15 - 20 minutes until the beans are bubbly and the cheese is melted. Let sit 10 minutes before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Is it Gin or is it Vodka?

We really are just a knitting group and don't drink anything besides wine--red or white is as hard core as we get, until Emily, one of the knitters, started making her own gin. Ian's Gin Recipe was the recipe she used and the recipe she left on my counter top complete with a bottle of vodka (from which will come the gin) along with all the herbs and spices needed to make homemade gin. Now who can resist that?

And so I set out to make my own version, changing it slightly by adding some dried hot peppers.

It starts with a 750 ml bottle of vodka infused with:

2 Tbsp juniper berries
3/4 tsp coriander seed
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp fennel seed
3 green cardamom pods
2 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf, torn into pieces
1 tsp dried lavender
1 (3-inch) sprig fresh rosemary
1 (2-inch-long) fresh lemon or lime peel
3 dried Thai hot chili peppers

Infuse juniper berries in the vodka overnight. Add remaining spices and herbs in the morning and let infuse all day.

When you get home from work, strain out the botanicals and you have gin.

Now, I'm not a gin connoisseur and the only gin I've ever had is in the form of a gin and tonic during the hot summer months. Putting Emily's gin to the test, the knitters put away the wine glasses and drank home made gin and tonic. It was surprisingly good and fresh, with a slight floral bouquet and our winter weary spirits were temporarily lifted.

Did it taste like gin? I think so, but fresher and lighter. It was good in gin and tonic, as well as in a pomegranate martini, but I like it best frozen and straight up in a shot glass, like vodka, for I can't help but think of it as infused vodka .

Gin and tonic with home made gin

Here are a few other aromatics I might add when I make it again:

More hot pepper
Kaffir lime leaves
Orange peel

Have fun, and if you get a chance to play with the recipe, leave a comment below and let me know whether you think its gin or vodka and how you like to drink it.

Deviled Eggs with Chives

Chives are at their peak right now, about 10"-12" tall here in my zone 5 garden. They're best before they start to bloom for once they bloom they become stronger and not quiet as tender. So on the way home from my walk I picked up these beautiful free range eggs at a neighboring farm.

Besides the fact that I adore eggs in any shape or form, they also go really well with chives. I thought about making an omelet with Cheese and Chives or Scrambled Eggs with Cheese and Chives and before chive season is over I'll probably make both those things but today I'm in the mood for deviled eggs, my all time favorite forbidden food.

Start with perfectly cooked eggs. Hard boiled eggs are easily overcooked causing a dark green circle around the yolk with a tinny after taste. Here's my technique for perfect hard boiled eggs--put eggs in a pan, in a single layer, cover the eggs with cold water, plus an inch more. Bring to a gentle boil over medium high heat. When water starts to boil, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain the hot water and soak the eggs in cold water until completely cooled. Farm fresh eggs are harder to peel than older eggs so I usually put my boiled eggs, if they resist peeling, in the fridge until they're very cold. Or I use older eggs.

I don't actually have a recipe for deviled eggs but I did measure as I was making this batch. They came out creamy and decadent and the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for a crowd.

Deviled Eggs with Chives

6 eggs
2 TBS chopped chives
3-4 TBS mayonnaise
1 TBS sweet pickle relish
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Few drops of Tabasco
Few drops of Maggi Sauce
1/4 tsp ground chipotle peppers
salt to taste

Carefully peel the eggs, cut in half lengthwise, remove the yolks and put in a mixing bowl.


Mash the yolks with a fork, add the rest of the ingredients and blend well. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Spoon egg yolk mixture into the egg white halves, arrange on a platter and sprinkle with more chives. Enjoy as hors d'oeuvres or part of a "this 'n that" meal.

A rainy day picnic

What's Growing in the Garden

It's been a wet and rainy kind of day but I was prepared for the rain. When soaking rain is expected, I try to get as much in the ground as possible. Before today's rain, I planted a bed of spinach and another bed of radishes, arugula and mesclun.I cover the newly seeded beds with row covers to help germination and to keep garden critters out. Then I sit back and let rain do its thing.

Soaking up the cool, spring rain are...

Garlic planted last fall

Chives - a perennial that keeps coming back year after year.
A must for every kitchen garden.

Tête-à-tête daffodils - only 6" tall but the first to bloom.

Spring Roll Lettuce Wrap

Spring roll lettuce wrap for two

When I make spring rolls I will usually double the recipe and stash them away in the freezer. Later in the season when I'm lost in the garden, these spring rolls are a god send.

When the garden is overflowing with salad greens and herbs, is the time to do the Wrap. Decoratively arrange a large platter of your favorite salad vegetables. Mine usually includes some or all of these:

Leaf lettuce
Sprigs of cilantro
Mint leaves
Bean sprouts
Cucumbers, sliced into thin half moons
Thin slices of raw onion
Cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quarters
Cooked rice noodles
Cooked Spring rolls, cut in half or bite size pieces, with kitchen scissors
Spicy Fish Sauce

At the table take a leaf of lettuce and fill it with a couple of cilantro leaves, one or two mint leaves, five or six bean sprouts, cucumber and onion slices, a piece of tomato, a few strands of noodles and a piece of spring roll. The idea is to add a little of everything but keep the bundle small enough to eat in one huge bite.

Wrap lettuce tightly around the whole bundle.

Drizzle with a generous amount of fish sauce.

Lean over your plate as you take a bite for this is not an elegant meal...it'll be messy...but dig in, eat with your fingers, play with your food.

Kitchen tips:
- Bake frozen spring rolls in a preheated 450 F oven for 30 minutes, turning once, until brown and crunchy.
- If you don't happen to have spring rolls lying around, you can wrap with pieces of cooked fish, chicken or beef.
- Spicy fish sauce, in a jar, will keep almost indefinitely in the refrigerator. It can be whatever you need it to be, a condiment, a salad dressing or a dipping sauce.

Zucchini Bread for Knitting Foodies

Spring is definitely in the air...

and while I wait for the last snow to melt, I'm on a mission to use up everything I put up last summer and fall. We have been eating from the freezer all winter long and now it's looking quite bare. What I do still have is a few bags of shredded zucchini. Frozen in three cup portions, the exact amount called for in the zucchini bread recipe I've been wanting to try. This was originally a recipe for banana bread and a favorite of Christine's, a fellow knitter. Christine would often show up for our weekly knitting with her moist and not too sweet banana bread, which she serves with whipped cream cheese.

This week, I made my zucchini version for the knitters. Usually we all bring food to share but don't coordinate our efforts so every week is a surprise. Sometimes we all show up with crackers and cheese, sometimes we end up with lots of desserts. Last Tuesday, though, the stars and the moon were aligned and we had tremendous food....

Laura's Spinach, Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Caramelized Walnuts

Lynne's Everything Quiche and Emily's Bacon and Mushroom

Christine's baguette with goat cheese and fig preserves

Ellen's red cabbage and carrot coleslaw

My Zucchini Bread

Sue's Lazy Daisy cake and a parade of other goodies...

...but Karl prefers my homemade waffles with new 2009 vintage maple syrup

Among all that fancy food, my zucchini bread may seem quite ordinary, but don't be fooled, it's yummy, gorgeous and versatile. It's just right with afternoon tea, excellent for dessert and whether its my zucchini bread or Christine's banana version, we all pounce on it whenever it makes an appearance on knitting night. And best of all, it's so easy to make and handy to have around.

One Bowl Zucchini Bread
2 cups flour (I use King Arthur Flour's unbleached all purpose flour)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
3 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnut
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil two loaf pans. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix well with your fingers breaking up the lumps of brown sugar. With a wooden spoon, blend in the remaining ingredients in the order given. Beat the batter for 1 or 2 minutes. Bake about 45 minutes, until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool before slicing. Makes two loaves.

Snow Day Sourdough Waffles

Yesterday the temperature was in the mid forties and sunny. I sat outside in the warm sunshine, boiling sap, making syrup. Today snow...


So I made Sourdough Waffles to go with yesterday's fresh syrup. When my starter needs to be used and I don't have time to make bread, these waffles are my answer. Set it up the night before, stir in a few ingredients the next morning, and you have the best breakfast ever. They're crisp on the outside, light, fluffy and moist on the inside with a mild sourdough tang. Cook up the whole batch and throw any leftovers in the freezer. They're just as good toasted on a busy morning.

You just have to drag out the old waffle iron and give these a try. Once you've tasted them you'll want to make them over and over again.

Back in 2001 I ordered some sourdough starter from King Arthur Flour and it came with a recipe. I've tweaked and adjusted it over the years and it continues to be our family favorite, with or without the blueberries.

The night before sponge:

1 cup All-Purpose Flour

1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry flour

2 tablespoons sugar

2 cups buttermilk (I use Saco dry buttermilk, very convenient and keeps a long time in the fridge)

1 cup sourdough starter

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the above ingredients. Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight.

The next morning, while the waffle iron is pre-heating, make the batter

• All of the overnight sponge
• 2 large eggs
  
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
  

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, and oil. Add to the overnight sponge, stir in the salt and baking soda. Add the blueberries. Pour batter onto your hot greased waffle iron. For the crispiest waffles, let most of the steam escape and the waffle will be very brown. Serve with butter and hot maple syrup. Serves 4.

How to Make Maple Syrup

One and a half quarts of maple syrup made from eight 2 gallon buckets of sap, collected over a period of three days and twelve hours of boiling. Is it worth it, you might ask. That depends...to me there's something magical about sugaring. Maybe its the promise of the coming spring, or the miracle of the running sap when all the landscape is still frozen. The drip drip sound of sap hitting the buckets and the snail-pace of the boiling process ground me somehow, connecting me to the land and the trees. If you have one or two maple trees in your yard, give sugaring a try. Your reward will be golden, delicious maple syrup, nectar of the gods.

Here are some simple steps for successful backyard sugaring.

First identify your trees. This is usually easier in the fall, when you can look at the leaves and see their colors, mark the trees and wait for the sap to run. Here in my corner of southern New Hampshire, sap rises in late February when day time temperature is above freezing and night temperature below freezing.

Use a 7/16" drill bit to drill 1 - 1 1/2" tap hole into a mature and healthy sugar maple. Locate the hole directly below the largest, healthiest limb, on the south, southeast or southwest side of the trunk.

This is a standard metal sap spout you can buy at the local hardware store, if you live in sugaring country like I do, or you can mail order them from Bascom Maple Farms.

Gently tap the spout into the drilled hole.

Almost immediately the sap, clear as spring water, will spurt out and drip even before you can get the spout in.

Hang the buckets to catch the drip.

These are used aluminum sap buckets, available from Bascom's for a mere $3.50. They're available used because big syrup producers no longer use buckets, they use tubing to deliver sap to a big holding tank at the bottom 0f the hill.

Collect and boil the sap.

I start the boiling process outdoors, over a gas burner. The long process boils 40 gallons of sap down to 1 gallon of syrup. I fill a large shallow roasting pan with sap that I've strained through a sieve, lined with several layers of cheese cloth, to filter out the big pieces of debris--chunks of wood bark, dead moths, ants, etc. Turn the heat on full blast and boil at full steam, add more sap as the level goes down, skim away the foam and scum that form on the surface, continue evaporating until all collected sap is used up. When the sap in the pan turns amber with concentrated sugar and the temperature begins to rise above the boiling point of water, 212 degrees F, I move to the kitchen for better control.

I strain the liquid , slightly thick at this point, through a dampened felt filter bag, into a large, deep stock pot and clip on a candy thermometer. This is the critical stage that can make or break the final product. The pot can boil over in an instant, going from syrup to burnt at lightning speed. I watch like a hawk. When the temperature reaches 7 degrees above the boiling point of water (219 degrees F), it is syrup. I must admit though, I don't fret too much about all this. I try to get it as close to 220 degrees as possible but, frankly, after 12 hours of boiling, I settle for less than perfect. If my syrup is too thick or too thin my family will never complain, they're lost in the pure pleasure of fresh maple syrup on their waffles and crepes.

To can syrup for longer shelf life, pour hot syrup, at least 180 degrees F, into sterilized jars, cap and let cool in the jars, after which they can be safely stored in the pantry. Having said all that, I still store my jars in the freezer, just in case. Last year I made 9 quarts, and didn't want to risk losing them.

Try making your own syrup at least once, you'll never complain about the cost of pure maple syrup again.

Warm on sourdough waffles and sweet butter. Sublime!

Maple syrup links:
Homemade Maple Syrup
Maple Syrup Facts
Sugaring at Middlebrook Farm School