Crunchy Asparagus and Pea Salad

At the risk of being a tedious New Englander, I'm going to talk about the weather. It really is noteworthy this week. Six days ago, as I was contemplating which side dish to bring to my book club meeting, my priority was using as little heat as possible since it was 87 degrees and I don't have any air conditioning yet. Yesterday, the temps dropped by 40 degrees, it was pouring rain, and just like that it was bourbon weather again. On those days in between, I got in picnic mindset with variations of crunchy veggie salads and refreshing gin cocktails. So, here we are on probably the worst Memorial Day weekend weather that I can remember, but at least I now have some time to log these recipes.

This is the dish I brought to book club to accompany the delicious doughy pizzas Lisa got at Tendercrop Farm. This platter practically screamed "SPRING"! This was an exciting gathering for us because, while we have been meeting during the pandemic, we've done it either virtually or spaced out in someone's yard, sans food. It is so so so nice to be sharing food with others again. I cannot put enough of an emphasis on how happy I am to be doing this. I think we'll need to make up for lost time, so I want to be picnic ready. Stay tuned for more dishes to put in your picnic basket. 

To know me is to know that I adore shelling peas. I've mentioned this before, but there is something about seeing them all nestled together inside their pod that I find comforting. I also adored the characters in the book we read for this meeting for similar reasons. Perestroika in Paris was my choice and I was pleased to find that most of the book club gals had a similar experience to mine when reading it. It was laugh out loud funny at times and the interaction between the characters was so endearing. I should point out that it is told from the perspective of a race horse. While some members of my book group were skeptical at the start, they were soon won over by: the curiosity of Paras; the clever problem solving by Frida the shorthaired pointer; the strong opinions of Raoul, the raven; the quibbling of Sid and Nancy, a husband and wife team of mallards; and the antics of a father and son pair of rats. If you need an escape, this group of eclectic characters where there is just enough drama to keep it interesting is just the thing. 

In addition to the ladies enjoying the book, they also liked this salad and I will definitely make it, or a variation of it again. The avocado dressing is versatile and easy to make. Here's the link to the original recipe from Love and Lemons

Crunchy Asparagus and Pea Salad

2 bunches of asparagus, ends removed and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup of shelled fresh peas or frozen peas

4 radishes, sliced thin

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

1/4 cup feta cheese (optional)

chopped mint for garnishing

1 tblspn olive oil 

1 tblspn lemon juice

salt 

pepper 

Avocado dressing

1 ripe avocado, peeled and pit removed

juice from 1 lemon

tablespoon fresh dill, chopped

3/4 cup water

1/2 tspn salt 

pepper - a few shakes

Salad

1. Boil a pot of salted water. Add the asparagus and peas and cook for a minute or two, until the asparagus is tender but still bright green. Drain and rinse with cold water to arrest the cooking. 

2. In the bottom of a mixing bowl, add the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the asparagus and peas and mix. Transfer mixture to a serving platter. 

3. Garnish with pine nuts, radishes, mint and feta if using. Drizzle with the avocado dressing. Mix just prior to serving.  

Avocado dressing

1. Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more water if you want a thinner consistency. 

 

Aviation Cocktail

Finally, it is warm. Short-sleeve shirt and skirt warm. No need for another layer warm. No brisk breeze to chill you to the bone warm. The April air that was over-staying its welcome has finally bid adieu. To celebrate this, I finished up work a bit early on Friday and headed out for two forms of GT - goat therapy and gin therapy. I think my PT would agree that these are both important elements of my recovery. 

First, a grooming session with the girls. They were also quite content to be sitting in the sunshine receiving some brushing attention. While I was there, I picked some violets to be used for a garnish in the cocktails we would enjoy on Sandra's deck. An Aviation seemed like the perfect way to enhance this kind of spring day, both because gin is something I mostly associate with temps above 70F, with some exceptions, and the color reflects the massive blooming spurt happening. (I feel for those with seasonal allergies, but it is quite pretty.)

Aviation

2 oz of a London dry gin

3/4 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 oz maraschino liqueur

1/4 oz creme de violette

1. Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for at least 15 seconds.

2. Pour into a coupe or small martini glass and garnish with some pretty flowers, lemon rind, or a maraschino cherry. 

Pasta and broccoli with "cheesy" sauce

 One thing I'm grateful for now that I've been unable to ride a bike for seven weeks, is that I had an incredibly fun winter season of riding. The conditions were great for fat biking. I got out nearly every weekend, and when the snow was too deep for riding, we had some nice snowshoe treks. In addition, I had joined Henry and Rick's indoor trainer series again this year and twice a week, they guided the group through some hard efforts. I was feeling good and ready to take this fitness onto the road this spring. We were just going into our last week with that when I had my accident. I'm hoping all that time in the saddle has served my recovery well. 

There are many days from this winter that will be especially memorable for me well beyond my current reveries. Riding across the frozen reservoir at the Fells, cutting fresh tracks under a bluebird sky with Rachel was extraordinary. Floating over ice in a wide open space is liberating. Maybe this is what ice skaters feel like. Riding the Western Greenway snow highway and the local Pond in Rock Meadow with April and Carlos was a blast. Riding through endless tree tunnels with Jenny early in the season was beautiful. Hitting the groomed trails at Yudicky with Zabeth and Sandra for swoopy twist and turns while big fluffy flakes fell upon us was reminiscent of childhood joy. Morning cappucino meetups with Rachel were frigid, but a nice way to start the day during pandemic work from home times. 

One of my most memorable winter days on a bike didn't even include much pedaling. It was a dreary Sunday in late February and I was feeling very little motivation to get outside. April needed to get out and work off some energy, so I reluctantly agreed to meet her. The conditions were tough. The snow was melting with patches of ice in various stages of life mixed with sections of mud. Lots of bike walking. We started out with a visit to the goats at pasture and by the time we finished there I was cold and even less interested in riding. I had no route in mind and trails were out of the question, so I suggested we just start riding the bike path and see what happened. About a mile into this endeavor, April said, "I have an idea, let's go check out Revolution Hall."

Those were magic words. That was EXACTLY what I wanted to do. Revolution Hall is a new local brewery that only recently opened and is accessible from the bike path. I had watched it being built all summer on one of my common road routes, but hadn't yet had a chance to check it out. It has an outdoor patio with propane fire pits, french fries and beer, and I was ecstatic. 

Looking back on this I recently realized that part of the joy in this excursion was the spontaneity of it. That was one of the casualties of the pandemic. Both in work and leisure, mostly everything needed to be planned and deliberate. No more running into a co-worker in the hallway and catching up. Hungry and want some food? Sign up for another website to place your order and have it waiting for you at the door in an hour because you couldn't go into the restaurant. Feel like meeting a friend for a drink? Sorry - that will have to wait until the next night that it's warm enough to sit in someone's backyard for a fire pit gathering.

I am looking forward to more of this brand of last minute fun as the weather warms up and things start to re-open. Today I was resting my leg after a walk outside and scrolling through Instagram found this recipe by Cookie and Kate. Original recipe I was hungry for lunch and the leftovers I had in the fridge were not going to do. I had to have this mac n "cheese". I had all the ingredients in the pantry so went for it. Another spontaneous endeavor that made me very happy. 

Pasta and Broccoli with "cheesy" sauce

1/2 pound pasta of your choice (I may try a whole grain pasta next time)

1 large head broccoli, cut into small florets 

2 tblspn olive oil 

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced 

1 medium russet potato, peeled and grated

2/3 cup raw cashews (you may want to soak them, depending on how good your blender is)

1 cup water (or more depending on your consistency preference 

few shakes of chili pepper flakes 

1/2 tspn mustard powder

1/2 tspn onion powder

1/2 tspn garlic powder 

salt 

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 tspns cider vinegar

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. When there is 2 minutes left of cooking time, put the broccoli in with the pasta and cover the pot. When done, drain, put back in the pan and set aside.

2. While the pasta is cooking heat the olive oil in a deep sauté pan. Add the onions and a big pinch of salt. Cook for a few minutes, until translucent. Add the chili flakes and stir.

3. Add the potatoes, garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard powder and some salt, stirring constantly for a couple of minutes. The potatoes may stick easily to the pan. Add a bit of water if necessary.

4. Add the water and cashews, stir and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for about 8 minutes until the potatoes have cooked through.

5. Carefully put the potato mixture into the blender. Add the nutritional yeast, vinegar and blend for 2 minutes. Taste and adjust as necessary with salt vinegar or more water if you'd like a thinner consistency. Add to pasta and broccoli and blend together.