The Garden Apartment

Asparagus

Ah, let me count the ways I love asparagus: steamed, sauteed, grilled, broiled. .. or in a beer stein decorating the middle of my kitchen table.

Well, not for long anyway.  Keeping it in that stein (with my husband's not-so-nice nickname "Hot Plate") would be blasphemy since asparagus is best eaten when it has been just picked. 

It is mid-asparagus season here.  For you asparagus lovers out there, the season only lasts a few short weeks.  At my last encounter at the market, I was told asparagus would be available through early June. With advice from Animal Vegetable Miracle, I am doing my best to eat as much asparagus now so that I'm sick of it by the time it's out of season.  Apparently my gorging is in the same spirit as the Germans who have spargel (asparagus) festivals every spring.  Restaurants feature special asparagus menus with asparagus prepared every way you can imagine.  Maybe it's my German ancestry that causes me to get so excited over the twiggy little green guys.

I've made asparagus many different ways, but the following recipe is my tried and true most favorite way to serve asparagus.  It's really quite simple, healthy, and it keeps the focus on the main ingredient.

Sauteed Asparagus

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 1 TB olive oil
2. one bunch of asparagus
3. 1-2 tsp lemon juice (to your liking)
4. optional: 1/2-1 tsp dill (to your liking)
5. Kosher salt
6. fresh black pepper

Trim the asparagus:

Many people complain that asparagus has a stringy texture at the bottom.  The simple solution to this is to trim the bottoms.  In order to know where to trim, simply bend one piece of asparagus lightly.  Wherever it breaks is the place to cut.  Cut all the asparagus pieces in about the same place.

*Note: my market asparagus was advertised to be so fresh and tender that no trimming was required.  I had to see if this was true.  Since it had been two days since I bought the asparagus, I only cut the very end part off.  To my delight it was as tender and sweet as promised!

Saute the asparagus:

Heat olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add asparagus and cover.  Saute for 3-4 minutes.  Add lemon juice, and if necessary, a little bit of water.  Cover again and saute for another 1-2 minutes.  The asparagus is done when it turns bright green.  Always avoid overcooking asparagus since it will lose it's taste, firm texture, and most of its nutritional value. 

Season the asparagus:

Add dill, salt, and pepper to taste.  You can omit the dill if you are an asparagus purist.

Here is my new dill plant.  This photo also illustrates the best thing about our garden apartment: the window outside our kitchen.  It is the perfect place to grow basil, sage, oregano, dill, chives, and rosemary.  Whenever I want it, I just open the window and take what I need.  That's what I call local.

After seasoning, your asparagus is ready.  Serve alongside rice, angel hair pasta, or as an accompaniment to any meal. 

Di(sh)patch with a Mission: Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp

I usually trot off to the market with an open mind and a free spirit.  After all, the fun of the farmer's market is how meal ideas emerge while visiting various producers.  This Sunday, however, thanks to my Fresh Farms newsletter update I had the insiders scoop on two things I was going to find at the DuPont Circle market: strawberries and rhubarb.  I had also promised my mother-in-law that I would make a strawberry rhubarb crisp for Mother's Day dessert.  As a newlywed wanting to please, I knew I needed to deliver.

Not surprisingly, people were not pushing each other over for the rhubarb. I found beautiful bunches of it immediately at the Sunnyside Valley Farm stand. 

I have never made anything with rhubarb (of course) so I really didn't know what to look for.  Another market goer, who seemed to be a rhubarb veteran, was also buying these.  She said that the red ones were good, but it was okay if there were a few green parts.  I did see rhubarb at a few other stands, but these were really the best looking of the bunch. 

The strawberries were an entirely different story.  I only found one stand that had them and it seemed that every market shopper in all of DuPont Circle was in line for them.  I was reminded of going to Safeway on Sunday afternoons as I stood in line for ten minutes to get my coveted strawberries.

Now, before I discuss the end product, I must give credit to the other items I bought.  I was most excited to find goat cheese and herb pierogies from Highfield Dairy (they seem to sell out quickly).  I also got an abundance of vegetables, including asparagus, carrots, spring onions, and swiss chard.  Having enjoyed their Italian sausage in the past, I bought some more from Cedarbrook Farm.  I also found Poussin (whole baby chicken) which I will attempt to make delicious later this week.

This week's market abundance.

With all this in tow, I headed home to create strawberry rhubarb crisp.  My inspiration for this came from Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal Vegetable Miracle.  You can find their recipe   here.  The only changes I made were:

1) I added some cinnamon, vanilla extract, and nutmeg to the strawberry- rhubarb mixture.

2) I added some extra spice to the crumble as well.

The strawberries and rhubarb await the chopping block.  Cooks note: one stalk of rhubarb roughly equaled one cup chopped.  I bought eight stalks meaning that I will be making a pie with my leftovers.

chop chop chop

just add some crumble to the top and bake

Voila!  A perfect Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp to serve as a Mother's Day dessert.

A Short and Sweet Di(sh)patch: Strawberries!

Ah, the market just keeps getting better and better. 

I was surprised to find strawberries at Wednesday's Foggy Bottom market.  When I approached the market stand, I asked how they were at the market so early (I hadn't thought they would appear until late May or early June).  It turns out that this particular grower from southern Maryland has an early varietal that she places on elevated beds so that they come a little earlier.  Apparently hers will be around for a few weeks, and then the later varietals will become available from other farmers.  Oh joy!  One whole month of juicy red sweet strawberries.

Well, what could be better than a short and sweet little recipe for strawberries and cream?  For the sweet tooths in our house, this recipe makes enough whipped cream for two bowls of strawberries. 

Short and Sweet Strawberries and cream

Total Time: 5 Minutes

Serves: 2 people

Ingredients:

• Strawberries (however many you'd like!)
• 1/2 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Begin by slicing the strawberries, then placing them in two serving bowls. 

Pour the whipping cream into a small bowl and whip until heavy peaks begin to form.  Add sugar and vanilla, whip until combined.  Place a few dollops of cream on top of the strawberries.  Enjoy every last bite (and don't forget to lick the bowl from the whipped cream)! 

Sausage and Egg Skillet Scramble

What do you do with three leftover new potatoes, an 1/8 of a pound of sausage, a block of cheddar cheese, a sliver of an onion, and some fresh market eggs?  Throw it all into a skillet and scramble it up, of course.  This is one of my favorite breakfasts.  Depending on the leftovers, the ingredients vary, but this version is about as good as it gets. 

Cooks note: Feel free to get a little wild and ignore the exact amounts of the ingredients.  The fun of this is that it's different every time.

 

Sausage and Egg Skillet Scramble

Total Cooking Time: 20 minutes                                                                                                           prep time: 5 minutes, cook time 15 minutes

Ingredients:

1. 1 TBS oil
2. 1/4 cup chopped onion
3. 2-3 small new potatoes, diced into very small pieces
4. 1/4 lb. sausage (or meat of your choice)
5. a few sprinkles of steak seasoning or garlic salt
6. (optional) 1/2 tomato, diced
7. 3 large eggs
8. shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
9. (optional) fresh chives

Directions:

Begin by sprinkling seasoning on the onion and potatoes (I use a combination of garlic salt and steak seasoning, but garlic salt and paprika would also be great.) Saute the onion and potatoes in the oil.  Saute for about five- seven minutes, until the potatoes start to brown a little bit.   Add sausage and cook for a few more minutes, until sausage is browned.  Add diced tomatoes and saute for one more minute.

Here comes the fun part!  Spoon the mixture into the shape of bike spokes.  Then, crack the eggs so that they fall in between the mixture.  Allow this to cook for about two minutes.

Add the cheese and chives (optional).  Get ready, get set, scramble!  Scramble until eggs are completely cooked.  Serve immediately. 

Warning: the finished product will not look pretty, but the taste will be well worth it.