Ribboned Asparagus Salad

I heard someone say today that days like these are what Pacific Northwest dreams are made of.

I smiled, I understand. Days like these, when everything is perfect, mainly the sun is shining with all its Spring time might without the clouds in that way, the air is calm and the mercury rises to new highs for the year, will burn off any ones blues.

These are the days when you come home tired, hungry and happy.

These are the days that make it all worth while, three (four, five?) months of rain and gray skies are a distant memory and the energy saved during those endlessly long months comes bursting at the seams today.

Everything starts to grow, grow fast and furious. Grass is neon green, flowers are crisp and buds are ready to explode with enthusiasm. This is why we choose to endure long winters that blend in to fall and spring.

How do you celebrate a day like this? I eat the freshest, greenest, crunchiest food I can find and thank the full moon that I made it through the winter eating countless potatoes and onions.

I go back for seconds.

I wish I made more.

Ribboned Asparagus Salad 
 
Inspired by the Smitten Kitchen

There are no exact measurements in this recipe. Everything is to taste, make it your perfect flavor. Deb at the Smitten uses olive oil, lemon, toasted nuts and shaved Parmesan cheese which is amazing.


1 pound asparagus, rinsed
1 lemon, halved
Rice vinegar
Olive oil
Toasted sesame seeds
Coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper

No need to snap off the tough ends of your asparagus. Lay a single stalk on its side on a cutting board. Holding onto the tough end, use a vegetable peeler to shave off thin asparagus ribbons from stalk to tip, peeling away from the tough end in your hand. Discard the tough ends once you’re done peeling ( save mine for making stock). Gently pile your ribbons on a medium-sized serving platter. Squeeze some lemon juice over the asparagus, drizzle it with a bit of olive oil and and vinegar, sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Toss gently and then sprinkle on toasted sesame seeds. Repeat with remaining asparagus, a third of the remaining bundle at a time. Eat immediately.

Banana Ice Cream

I don't like ice cream, you know that hard packed heavy ice cream.

I love soft serve and certain gelato flavors makes me bounce around on my toes with excitement.

Big scoops of ice cream just doesn't put wind my skirt.

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest where there might be five days a year in which in might actually get warm. Those days are treasured, everyone saves up their sick days for the beautiful August and September weather, the few days in which shorts are comfortable and it is okay if you leave your jacket by the door. There are a very special handful of warm days in Bellingham, Washington in a good year. The rest of the days, I always tossed a long sleeve shirt in my purse and wore shorts while being active, relying on my own body heat for warmth. Seriously. I remember watching the forth of July fire works in my big down puffy jacket.

Ice cream in the PNW is well kind of an after thought in my book 360 days a year. It may induce hypothermia.

Things change. We moved to the desert. I have a sunburn and awful tan lines before June. It is 80 degrees here in the arm pit of Washington. 80 in May, come visit, you can sit poolside with me and we can ice cream for breakfast and sip iced tea all day while soaking up all the vitamin D you can handle.

Ice cream for breakfast? Yes, I went from turning my nose to cold creaminess to whipping it up for breakfast. It is hot before 9 am and what better way to cool off than cold banana ice cream. But wait, there is no cream, there isn't even any soy, dairy, sugar, gluten or what ever else you might be trying to ween yourself off of for some reason. Just cold smooth banana and a splash of almond milk (or whatever milk you may fancy).

This my friends in breakfast in the desert, creamy and cold, utterly delicious.

This is me eating out of my wine glasses.

Desert and dessert look alike. Don't be fooled.


Banana Ice Cream 
adapted from Kitchn

4 bananas ripe, chopped and frozen

splash of milk (cow, almond, soy, rice, oat)

Optional:

Scoop of peanut butter

1 teaspoon coco powder

1 teaspoon flaxmeal

Coconut



Toss the bananas and milk into a food processor and blend until smooth, about 1 minute, if texture is grainy, add another splash of milk. Add any additional ingredients that will make your mouth happy.

Caramelized Onion Hummus

I made it through college alive, amazing feat as I think back upon it, some people didn't. Time has slipped in several years between now and those dazed college years, I warmed many different houses, churned through a couple of boyfriends, and phased out a few different hair cuts. 

The first two years were uummmmm..... well I can't really remember them. The truth comes out, don't be like me. The first two years of college in my quiet but increasingly eclectic hometown,  I lived with my best friend in a cute little cookie cutter house on Sunset Drive, across the street from a beautiful Greek church. I had my first compost pile and I grew dahlias from my grandma at this house. There was lots of natural light that I did not appreciate and a wall of my bedroom was wood paneling, teek wood paneling, it was gorgeous. We had an apple tree as old as time and a useful clothes line in the back yard. We laid in the grass, next to the apple tree, for hours working on our tans and sipping iced tea. We were young and carefree, she sang all day long and let me wear her clothes, she listened, rolled her eyes and gave me big hugs as I churned through a couple boys, looking until I found the keeper, she forgave me as I grew into the much more sensible woman I am now. A true friend.

My friend skipped the whole college gig and went straight to work, we lived in completely different worlds but managed to see past this and enjoy each other immensely. She came home from work one summer day and I remember asking her if she would take me to Germany, crazy, she said yes. We went that Christmas and stayed with her family and friends in Berlin for three weeks. She met the love her life, a German chef and I was glad I made it home safe and sound. A few months later, her knight in shining armor came state side to ask for her hand in marriage and by that summer she got rid of everything that did not fit in her suitcase and moved to Germany. I had returned from Germany, in one piece and within a couple of months met J and as I said goodbye to one friend, I said hello to a new one.

I remember making hummus every week while balancing school, work, a boyfriend and all the other bells and whistles of college life. My kitchen was bare-boned and hand me down, my boyfriend's kitchen at the time was even sparser. We figured out how to use potato mashers and forks to smash the chickpeas to a chunky consistency, we used lots of olive oil and spoonfuls of tahnini. It worked, we were young and hungry and probably hung over.

A couple years pass, I am deeply in love with J and we are living in a one bedroom apartment about a mile from that house on Sunset Drive. Still in school, I much happier and healthier with a fresh outlook on life. J makes hummus for a dinner party and it was another sign that he was the one. His hummus was full of roasted vegetables rather then heavy with oils and tahini, it was the best I have ever had.  

Caramelized Onion Hummus

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 sweet onion, caramelized
• 4 garlic cloves, minced and then mashed
• 2 15-oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
• 2/3 cup of roasted tahini 
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• parsley, chopped for garnish
• smoked paprika for garnish

Over medium heat cook until caramelized a sweet onion.
 
In a food processor, combine the onion, mashed garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt, starting at a half a teaspoon, to taste.

Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with toasted chopped parsley.

Serve with crackers, raw vegetables such as carrots or celery, or with pita bread.


**next up: those cute little crackers that I used to inhale this entire batch of hummus. you will love them!