Spring 2009 is HERE!!!

Well, living in the great Midwest, there are a few months where not much is happening on the fresh food front - a prime reason why our grandparents and great-grandparents canned, stored items in root cellars, and dried their fresh spring/summer/fall bounty. Things that I have not yet begun to conquer myself, but hope to start putting a dent in that list this summer if I can make the time. ANYWAY, it is spring now, and the garden pick-up will start this week!! And for the lucky few who signed up early enough, we have been LOVING the spring greens early share that farmer Kris grows for us! Delicious.

But at the end of last week, my husband brought home five pounds of asparagus from work! FIVE POUNDS. What did he pay for this bounty? $10.00! What a steal! So, what do I do with five pounds of this deliciously tasty special spring veggie? I made soup of course! And it was delicious if I do say so myself. Bob had two giant bowls of it, which is a big thumbs up from him. I couldn't locate a recipe that I thought looked like it would justify the deliciousness of asparagus, so I made up my own, and here it is.

Asparagus Soup
Asparagus (yes, we had 5#, but it made quite a bit, you could do this recipe with 2#)
1-2 medium size white onions, chopped (I used two vidalias)
1/2 stick butter
salt to taste
fresh lemon juice to taste (I probably used about 2 TBSPs)
water

1. Wash and trim (break woody ends off) the asparagus. Break off the heads, and reserve them in a bowl. Break the rest of the asparagus stems into 2-3 inch chunks.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan, and saute the onions until very soft over medium heat. Do not let the onions brown or get burnt, just turn clear and soft.
3. In a large stock pot, pour enough water in to completely cover the asparagus, but do not leave the asparagus in the pot just now, you want to boil the water first, and then add the asparagus. So cover the pot, and heat water to boiling. Add a generous amount of salt to the water, add the asparagus (except for the heads), and then add a bit more salt on top of that. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Remove asparagus from water (DO NOT DISCARD THE WATER YET), and place in a blender or food processor. Using a liquid measuring cup, pour some of the stock water into the blender, so the water line reaches half as high as the asparagus level. Meanwhile, add the asparagus tips to the boiling water, and let simmer for 5 minutes only.
5. Add the onions and the butter they were sauted in to the asparagus and stock water in the blender. Blend, letting the soup rest every couple of seconds so that it blends thoroughly. (I had to do this in two batches). Pour out into a serving bowl, and taste for salt - add some if neccessary, stir well, and taste again. Add lemon juice to taste. Remove asparagus tips from stock water and use them to garnish the soup.



Originally I planned to add a dollop of sour cream to each bowl to enhance creaminess, but I didn't even use it - the soup was so creamy all on its own it needed no help in that department. It would have probably tasted good with some fresh parmesan cheese on top, and would look even prettier with a couple strips of lemon zest on top of that - but I wasn't interested in pretty tonight! Actually, I am already wishing we had some more asparagus so I could freeze the leftovers. Asparagus comes but once a year after all!

Pancakes

When I was a kid, my mom would make pancakes from scratch at least once a week. Occasionally she would make waffles, but usually it was pancakes. My mom and little sister even used to have contests to see who could eat more :-) I am not really much of a breakfast person (I always eat breakfast, but it is usually a pretty quick and small meal), but on my weekends off I like to make something that tastes good, is warm, and isn't just toast! This recipe is the same one my mom used - the only thing I do differently is I use Whole Wheat Pastry Flour in place of all-purpose white flour. For my wheat/gluten sensitive friends, let me know if you have a favorite substitute for the wheat flour for a recipe like this. I think Amanda likes the Whole Foods 365 brand all purpose baking mix. I think you can substitute that 1:1 for the flour. Oh, and I double the recipe that you see below when I make these. After we eat our fill I let the leftover pancakes cool, then set them on lined baking sheets in a single layer, and freeze. When they are frozen, I put them in a container in the freezer for a quick breakfast during the week. Just microwave or toast them in the toaster to reheat - they are so much better than the hockey pucks you can buy at the store! And don't even get me started on Bisquick.

Fast Pancakes
adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook

1 C Whole wheat pastry flour (Bob's Red Mill, Hodgson Mill, and King Arthur brands are ones I have seen)
1 Tbsp cane sugar or honey
2 tsp baking powder (aluminum free) (Rumford's is good, or you can make your own)
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
1 Cup milk
2 Tbsp oil (melted butter or olive oil works well)

Before I continue with the recipe, a note about whole wheat flour. Once the wheat berries are ground into flour, they lose their defense from going rancid. For this reason, you should always keep whole wheat flours in a tightly sealed container in your fridge or freezer. That being said, you can't bake with cold flour. It doesn't work. So anytime I bake with flour I measure it out, put it in a glass bowl and push it up the sides, kind of like I am making a bowl of flour. Then I pop the bowl in the oven and set it to preheat to 350. By the time the oven is preheated, the flour is warm, and I have finished getting out all my other ingredients and have them measured and set to go. You could also just set your measured flour out at room temp for a few hours, but I never think that far in advance.

OK, here is the rest:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture. Set aside.

2. In another medium mixing bowl combine the egg, milk and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture. Stir just until moistened. (the batter will be lumpy)

3. For standard size pancakes, pour about 1/4 Cup batter onto a hot, greased griddle or heavy skillet. For dollar size pancakes, use about 1 Tbsp batter. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side or till golden brown. Turn the pancakes when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and edges that look slightly dry.

This recipe makes 8-10 standard size pancakes. If you have a scoop like this, it is really helpful to make evenly sized pancakes.

BTW, I *love* blueberry pancakes. To make them, I just pop fresh or frozen blueberries into the pancake batter right after I pour it into the pan - that way I can space them evenly & choose just how many I want to add.

Top your pancakes with pure maple syrup, yogurt & fruit, or honey. YUMMY!!!

Sloppy Joes

This is my grandma's recipe for Sloppy Joe's, and it is awesome. I like to use organic ketchup in it for better taste.

1 lb ground beef (look for grass finished beef)
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 T white vinegar
2 T mustard
3/4 C ketchup

Brown the meat, drain fat (if any - the grass fed beef I get is very lean). Add the rest of the ingredients. Cover and simmer on low for an hour, stir occasionally.

Really keep the heat low, this is low on liquid, so it will scorch easily if it is too hot.

Serve with whole wheat bread and peas - or however you like your Joe!

Enjoy!!