Asparagus cannot go unmentioned!

Well, here it is, my asparagus post.

Thank goodness I love to cook, I'd be way more stressed out if I didn't (although sometimes I get so excited about what I'm going to cook my heart beats in leaps and bounds) and it's the best way to spend time with people, especially if they are equal food enthusiasts.

Here's what happened: a friend from work, Leigh, with whom I talk constantly about food instead of putting the Arcteryx and North Face jackets back in order, came for dinner with her boyfriend Pat. We made a tomato soup with cream and cognac from the Vegetarian Epicure (if you don't own this, you should get it quick out of the library, or purchase a copy), grilled cheese with gruyère, bacon and roasted asparagus, and tapioca pudding à la vanille.

As far as I'm concerned grilled cheese never fails to impress. In Belgium, they got me through some fiercely lonely rainy days. And in high school, I frequently came home, collapsed dramatically into a chair and said, "Dad, will you please make me something to eat?" He'd say, after a bit of convincing on my part "How 'bout a grilled cheese." And then he'd whip up these neatly browned and buttered cheesy sandwiches, adorned with some ham and tomato we had lying around = comfort food to the T. However, if I ever tried to replicate this experience, it was never quite the same; I always impatiently burned the bread and never let the cheese melt.

So, aside from growing older and much wiser, here are some notes about grilled cheese:

Turn the pan on to medium high, when drops of water sizzle, turn the heat down to medium low. In the meantime, assemble your sandwiches. Then put some fat into the pan. I used bacon fat tonight, but butter is lovely, and even olive oil is supreme. Place your sandwiches in the pan, cover with a lid and wait. Then, when you see the cheese is melting (doesn't have to be completely) and the underside is browning, flip them over.

Make sure you use your imagination! I think my next one will involve black beans, cilantro and chipoltle chile powder.


Hooray for spring and deliciousness!

Spring has sprung, and so has the Asperagus.

I recently started reading Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. And given that I read at the pace of a turtle, I may be able to follow her farming exploits in perfect synchronization with actual events. For instance, I just finished up her ode to asparagus, and it is in fact asparagus season. The market has been absolutely bursting with it, and vendors sell out quickly. Late coming patrons wander frantically up to me asking, "Where is the asparagus?" and I have to tell them that they must arrive earlier if they would like to share in the bounty of spring.

I have thus, been dabbling in this lovely veg, although Matt refuses to partake. In fact, when i brought home a bundle his comment to me was "I hope you got that for free." It is my goal to someday turn him, but as of yet, her remains staunchly anti-asparagus.

The asparagus I bought at the market was lovely, fresh and sweet. So in other words, perfect. I roasted a generous handful for myself in a grill pan to top a fake pasta carbanora, which is a staple around our house because it is cheap and delicious. We buy bacon, not pancetta, at our local socialist grocery, Aldi (you pay a quarter to "rent" the cart, and the checkers sit in high rolling chairs. Plastic bags cost a nickel, and you must follow the trajectory they lay out through the store. It reminds me of Finland, I love it) and then I cut it up into chunks and freeze it. One package lasts us a month. I love that I can consider "BUY BACON" a cost cutting tip, but it really is. Needless to say, Bacon & Asparagus = magic.

A few days later I whipped up a cream of asparagus soup for one. I tried to tempt Matt but was unsuccessful. He had Raman. Certainly his loss.

I know the asparagus season is fleeting so I am trying to eat up now. Someday I hope to have a permanent home rather than a rental, where I could really invest in an asparagus patch of my own. Perhaps then, I can convince the man that asparagus is indeed, the sign, and the taste, of spring.

Suito Pasta Carbonara with Roasted Asparagus
Really this is just pasta in a homemade cream sauce...but we like to think we are fancy.

• Boil enough spaghetti to feed your crew. I believe in a glug of olive oil and a generous dash of salt in all pasta water.
  
• While that is happening, cut up enough bacon for every diner to have a handful of lovely little squares. Toss these in a small fry pan over medium-high heat, and cook until golden.
• Scoop the bacon out with a fork and drain on a paper towel (or toilet paper, whatever you've got that's absorbent).
• Return the pan with fat in-tact to burner, turn heat down to low. Add spoonfuls of flour and stir into fat until you have a paste the consistency of shampoo. Be careful that everything remains at a low temperature. If your pan gets to hot, this roux will burn and that would be, well, sucky.
• When your roux is ready, add a few generous glugs of milk, half & half, or cream. Stir constantly, and be sure to scrape down around the corners of your pan. You will see the roux separate into little bits within the cold milk, that is fine. As the milk heats up, the roux will also.
  
• Season the mixture as you like good additions are Italian seasoning, white or black pepper, garlic, and of course salt. Be sure to taste as you go.
• With a little time and constant attention the sauce will thicken. If it seems too thick, add more dairy, too thin, whip up some extra roux with butter and flour and add until you reach the consistency you desire. My dad keeps prepared roux in the freezer for this, I do not have that much forethought and thus periodically end up dirtying an unnecessary number of pans.
  
• When the sauce is ready, mix with drained pasta and prepared bacon.
  
• Top with whatever veg you like, pan roasted asparagus, spinach chiffonade, etc.
  
• CHOW DOWN.
  

Cream of Asparagus Soup for One ("on a budget" style)

Ingredients
five spears fresh Asparagus
1 shallot or half an onion
olive oil
1 tbsp. prepared roux
1/2 can condensed milk
thyme
salt and pepper

Snap the ends of asparagus spears and par boil until they are bright green. While asparagus is boiling chop up a shallot or 1/2 an onion. Fry in a bit of olive oil until sweaty. Drain asparagus and place in food processor, along with the onion/oil mixture. Process 1-2 minutes until everything is very smooth. Place mixture in sauce pan with roux and milk. Stir constantly over low heat until thickened. Season with thyme, salt and pepper. Serve with toast, and garnish with a dash of plain yogurt or fine oil.

Happy Happy Spring!

Here I am. And here's the first self portrait I've taken in months. I guess it was time, which is an excellent sign. I believe I can safely say that spring is here, or at least so close around the corner that I can just FEEL it, everywhere. The air has become soft and gentle, sweet almost. I ran up Mont Royal this morning and only wore a long-sleeved shirt and shorts. That's the least amount of clothes I've worn outside in Montreal since I arrived. There are shoots of green popping up in yards (daffodils and tulips?) People are starting to wear shorts to show off their shocking bright white legs. I wore sandals to work the other day. Sandals! But the most important occasion is the pending arrival of asparagus and rhubarb. You can bet there'll be a few articles about those two lovely vegetables (is rhubarb a vegetable? maybe a fruit? I have a feeling it's a fruit...the Oxford Dictionnary classified it as "food". Hmmm. Well, anyways, it's super high in vitamin C, so take note.)

After the run I was pretty hungry. So I took a cold shower, danced in my room to the Jesus and Mary Chain, and made migas, or my version of migas, in fact the first and only version that I've ever made of migas. I got this brilliant idea to fry up old tortillas, onions, jalepenos, and eggs from the Homesick Texan. I however was lacking cilantro and jalepenos, but it's quite a versatile recipe; you could do anything with it as long as you have eggs and tortillas and spice, I imagine. I sliced up some onion, threw it into hot canola oil, stirred it around, added strips of tortillas and let them get nice and brown. Then in went some spinach and sweet smoked paprika. I stirred the mixture around, added two eggs mixed with a bit of milk, when it was cooked I dumped it onto a plate and grated tons of cheese on top. During this time, I also heated up some black beans, added salt and pepper, dumped those next to the eggs, added a dollop of salsa on top and boom! I was ready to go. Of course, the water for my coffee was ready at the exact moment the eggs were ready in the pan, nearly burning, and then the beans were sticking to their pan, kinda smoking.... Libby was also asking me from the other room how she should dress and if it was warm enough to wear capris. I gave a rather disjointed answer, mumbling that she should just go see for herself. She left the house in jeans, but not before she had a bite of my creation, exclaiming, "oh wow, that's so good!" Yes sir, it was delicious.

The key of course was the smoked paprika. I've decided that the ingredients you buy are the most important things. You can cook very very simply (but so deliciously!) with very few key ingredients and once you stock up your kitchen, it's cheap.

Then to finish off the whole experience, which was unreal, there was one square of white pepper and cardamom chocolate sitting on the table. I gently savoured it and gulped down the last mouthful of coffee.

mmmmmm! delicious, as we like to say at the Murphy house.

So today, here's to spring, here's to new life, here's to new beginnings in new places, even if it's horribly uncomfortable and scary. Here's to being open to life and meeting challenges. Here's to new spring vegetables (and fruits!). Here's to good quality ingredients. Here's to great friends who love to cook and share good food. Here's to those who match my enthusiasm and feed it. Here's to the sun. Here's to Mont Royal Park, I wouldn't survive this city without you.

Rock on and until next time, make some migas!

- chef murph