Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes

I always seem to miss the foodie holidays... Pi day, national pancake day, etc. I really need to get up with it a little more because it always looks like a lot of fun to participate in these days. One thing that I do know is that today is the first day of spring, so here is a "springy recipe" to celebrate :)

Side dishes are something I don't plan for very well... I usually will do okay with having a side of bread with soup but for most meat and casserole-type dishes, I really don't do sides. There are a couple of reasons behind this: 1) I'm already making the main dish and don't want to have to work too hard on another aspect of the meal and 2) I don't want sides that are loaded with calories. It has been a little while since I have made this, but this asparagus recipe meets both of those qualifications. Quick, pretty simple, and it clocks in at 69 calories a serving (4 servings). 

I've talked before about how much we like asparagus, and this recipe is no different. My only swap was feta for goat cheese, as I am not the biggest goat cheese fan. Be sure to use a vinegar you really like here as the balsamic flavor is quite prominent (a bonus in my book). Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Asparagus with Balsamic Tomatoes
Adapted from Cooking Light April 2011

Ingredients:
1 lb. asparagus, trimmed
2 tsp. olive oil
1-1/2 cups halved grape or cherry tomatoes
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/4 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. crumbled feta cheese
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add trimmed asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Drain immediately and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar, and cook 3 minutes. Mix in salt. Arrange asparagus on a serving platter on on individual plates. Sprinkle with feta and black pepper.

Ziti with Ricotta and Vegetables

I have been slacking on the meatless, seafoodless recipes for you all this last week. To make up for it, I'll have one every day up through Thursday to give you several options for this week. Promise :)

We'll start off the week with a short and sweet pasta meal. More pasta, I know, but hear me out. This one is much simpler than the previous lasagna recipe I posted! This recipe comes from my mother-in-law back from my bridal shower. Not sure what took me so long to make it knowing that pasta + balsamic vinegar + ricotta cheese + veggies = a winner in this house?!?

On a side note, can I just say that I am so glad that asparagus is coming back in season! I never had asparagus until I was an adult, and it ranks up there with my favorite vegetables (since it actually qualifies as a vegetable --- no seeds!) 

(Printable Recipe)

Ziti with Ricotta and Vegetables
From Londa 

Ingredients:
8 oz. dried whole wheat penne (or any shape) pasta
2-1/2 cups broccoli florets
1-1/2 cups asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large ripe tomatoes, juiced and chopped
1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
1 Tbsp. dried, crushed basil
1 tsp. dried crushed thyme
4 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Add the broccoli and asparagus in the last 3 minutes of cooking. Drain.

Place a fine-meshed strainer over a large bowl. Cut the tomatoes in half and squeeze over the strainer to release the juice and seeds. Press down on the seeds in the strainer to get all the liquid you can. Chop and reserve the tomato flesh. Discard the seeds.

Add ricotta cheese, spices, vinegar, and oil to the tomato juice in the bowl and mix until well combined. Stir in the tomatoes. Add pasta and toss to combine. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese.

White Bean Vegetable Pizza

Pizza. Who doesn't love pizza? Seriously, it can be adapted to include just about any topping. It is no secret that we make quite a bit of pizza around these parts (probably at least once a week). Now usually pizza isn't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about healthier food, but one of my favorite things about making pizza at home is the fact I just mentioned. When you are making it yourself, you can put anything (including healthier ingredients) on your pizza. I would even go as far to say that a homemade pizza with whole wheat flour in the dough, veggies, and a moderate amount of cheese could even be considered healthy.

This is a pizza that I derived by combining two delicious ideas that I found on separate blogs. The pizza "sauce" comes from SnoWhite's Finding Joy in My Kitchen and uses pureed white beans (yes beans) to make a creamy sauce for the base of the pizza. I tasted the "sauce" on its own before spreading it on the pizza and thought that it was a little bit strong (there are 8 raw garlic cloves in this baby), but when combined with the topping ideas from Val's spring vegetable pizza on ValSoCal, the finished pizza ended up with just the right amount of punch. 

Thanks to SnoWhite and Val for the inspiration on this one! We've already made it twice, and I am sure this pizza is one that will make our "keeper" list. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

White Bean Vegetable Pizza
Adapted by combining recipes from ValSoCal and Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Ingredients:
Bean Sauce (will make enough for 2 pizzas):
1 (14.5 oz) can Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
8 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 Tbsp. milk (I used 2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

Pizza:
1 dough recipe, homemade or purchased
1/2 (12 oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts 
1/2 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups fresh spinach, torn
2-3 oz Gruyere cheese, shredded (about 3/4 to 1 cup)
1/2 - 3/4 cup part-skim Mozzarella cheese

Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

For the bean sauce, puree the beans and garlic in the food processor or blender. Add milk until the mixture begins to smooth out. Mix in 2 tsp. of Italian seasoning. Divide in half and save the rest for another pizza. I kept mine covered in the refrigerator for about a week. I am sure the extra sauce would also freeze well.

For the pizza, roll or stretch out the dough onto a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Spread with 1/2 of the bean mixture to within 1/2 inch of the edges. Top with the artichokes, asparagus, tomatoes, spinach and cheeses. Remove the pan from the oven and carefully transfer the pizza (still on the parchment paper) onto the hot pan. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes or until the crust and cheese just begin to brown. Cut into slices and serve.

Asparagus Primavera with Couscous

If I had to pick my season, I would certainly be more of a summer person. The sun, the weather, getting to spend time outdoors, shorts, flip flops, lake trips. If you can't tell by where my husband and I decided to move (Arizona), we dig this stuff. Despite my love of the season, I haven't yet experienced the full wrath of an Arizona summer, so I've been trying to work-up my repertoire of "oven-free" meals to give my air conditioner a bit of a break as the thermometer climbs this summer. :)

The other bonus of "don't heat up the house" recipes is that they are typically pretty quick. Quick. Cool. Delicious. Triple score! This is a no-bake recipe that I found at Multiply Delicious, and I was sold after noticing both asparagus and balsamic vinegar on the ingredient list. The recipe is easily adaptable and could fit different grains (quinoa anyone?), different vegetables, or even the addition of chicken if you need to please a meat-eater in the house. We made it exactly as written with the only exception of brown balsamic vinegar for the white (it's really only a difference of appearance). 

Our verdict: It was a great meal! The flavors of the dish really shined despite a relatively simple ingredient list. Light. Fresh. Healthy. It is certainly a meal I am going to keep in my north of 100 degrees folder. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Asparagus Primavera with Couscous
From Multiply Delicious

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups dry couscous
1 lb. asparagus, rinsed and woody bottoms snapped off
1 cup shredded carrots
1 can (15 oz) White Northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups loosely packed baby spinach, cut into strips
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar (white if possible)
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 tsp. garlic minced (I used 2 cloves)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Fill a shallow pot with about 1-inch of water and bring to a boil. In a separate medium pot, bring 1-1/2 cups water to a boil (can use chicken broth if desired), then add couscous. Remove from heat, stir and cover. Couscous will be ready in 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and set aside.

Cut asparagus into pieces. Place asparagus and carrots into shallow pot of boiling water, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and drain immediately. 

In a large salad bowl, toss remaining ingredients, except Parmesan. Add asparagus and carrots and toss again. To serve, spoon about 1 cup of couscous onto each plate. Spoon salad over the top, dividing evenly and garnish with grated Parmesan cheese.

Roasted Asparagus with Browned Butter

While I definitely have more strawberry recipes to share with you, I wanted to interrupt the berry goodness with an easy side dish recipe in case any of you were still looking for something to go along with your Easter dinner. I never really remember eating asparagus prior to starting this blog, but since then, it's become one of my favorite vegetables to prepare. It is great prepared a lot of ways and also cooks relatively quickly. Speaking of asparagus, a couple weeks ago I saw a great tip about how to find where the woody portion ends. Take a spear and bend it towards the bottom. The place where it snaps is the end of the woody portion. You can then use it to roughly measure the other pieces so that you don't end up cutting off too much of the vegetable. I used this when I was trimming some asparagus last week, and it worked great!

This recipe is one that I found in Cooking Light in their section about Meyer lemons. I actually cheated and used a normal lemon, but I'm sure that Meyers would make it that much better. It's pretty simple in that you roast asparagus and then combine it with browned butter (what doesn't get better with the addition of a little bit of browned butter?). Easy. Simple. Delicious.

On a side note, I'm not sure this is "food blog appropriate," but has anyone else ever noticed that asparagus makes a certain liquid that leaves your body smell a little funny? It actually contains a sulfur-like compound that is broken down in your digestive system. Only about half of us actually have the enzyme that creates the smell. So, take a poll and impress your friends with your knowledge - I'm just joking about the poll :)

Jokes aside, this is a side dish that I'm going to keep in my files. Enjoy!

(Printable Recipe)

Roasted Asparagus with Browned Butter
From Cooking Light March 2011

Ingredients:
1 lb. asparagus spears, trimmed
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt (or scant 1/4 tsp. table salt)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. fresh Meyer lemon juice (or normal lemon juice)
1-1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried)
1 tsp. grated Meyer lemon rind (or normal lemon rind)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place asparagus in a foil-lined roasting pan; drizzle with oil. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper. Bake for 8 minutes or until crisp-tender.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in juice. Drizzle butter mixture over asparagus; toss well to coat. Sprinkle thyme and rind over asparagus. 

Yield: 4 servings

Grilled Pizza with Asparagus and Caramelized Onion

Well, we've finally been back to cooking more meals this week. It's been nice to get back in the kitchen. I just need to get back on the computer too and get some of the recipes up here!

I'm not joking when I say that I probably have 20 cooking magazines decorating my office desk :-) Lately, I've been trying to go through them to find recipes that we want to keep and ran across this recipe in the May 2009 Cooking Light. It's originally intended to be an appetizer, but when you're only cooking for 2 people, you can make almost anything into a meal. My husband is fine with eating vegetarian meals a couple times a week, and I knew it wouldn't be that hard of a sell anyway. It's PIZZA!

We actually have a special little Weber pizza pan that goes with the grill, but this recipe called for the crust to cook directly on the grill grate. This was a little different, as we were not quite sure how we were going to flip the dough? Thankfully, the pizza pan turned out to be a great dough-flipper. Just like a giant pancake =-) The dough apparently cooks rather quick on the grill. It was on there for maybe 6 minute total.

The pizza itself was pretty good. There is no sauce, so the flavor comes from the veggies, cheese, and a basil-pepper mixture that is sprinkled on top as the pizza is in it's last few mintues of cooking. When we make it again, we will probably double the veggie mixture to make it a little more hearty (it was an appetizer recipe after all). Enjoy!

Grilled Pizza with Asparagus and Carmaelized Onion

(Adapted from Cooking Light, May 2009)

1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 c. thinly vertically sliced red onion

2 c. (2-inch slices) asparagus (about 1/2 lbs)

1/4 c. sliced ready to use sun-dried tomatoes (ours were not in olive oil)

1/8 tsp. salt

1 portion fresh pizza dough (homemade in the bread machine from our standard recipe)

1-1/4 c. shredded part-skim Mozzarella cheese

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2-3/4 tsp. ground oregano

Prepare pizza crust in bread machine or use thawed store bought dough. Prepare grill to medium-high heat. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; saute 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 5 minutes longer or until browned. Add asparagus to pan; cook 5 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender. Stir in tomatoes and salt.

Roll dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Add flour as needed until dough is no longer sticky. Brush each side with 1/2 teaspoon of remaining olive oil.

Place dough on a grill rack; grill 1-1/2 minutes or until crust bubbles and is well marked. Reduce grill heat to low; turn dough over. Arrange onion mixture over crust; sprinkle with cheese. Cover and grill over low heat 3-1/2 minutes or until cheese melts; remove pizza from grill. Sprinkle with oregano and black pepper.