Spring Recipes

Spring has arrived, and here is a fantastic way to take advantage of the fresh veggies. Serve this at your next barbecue!


Spring Pasta Salad with Tomatoes, Asparagus and Mozzarella

*1 lb penne pasta
*1/2 lb fresh Mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes
*1 large bunch of scallions, about a dozen, sliced into thin rounds
*2 dozen ripe cherry tomatoes, cut in half and drained for 20 minutes in a colander to remove excess liquid
*1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
*zest and juice from 1 lemon
*1/2 lightly toasted cup pinenuts
*large handful fresh basil leaves, lightly chopped


1. Put up a large pot of salted water for cooking the pasta and bring it to a boil. Add the asparagus and blanch it until just tender, about 3 minutes. Scoop the asparagus from the water with a large strainer spoon and place in a colander. Run cold water over it to stop the cooking and to preserve the bright green color. Drain well and slice into small pieces on the diagonal, leaving the tips whole.

2. Bring the water back to a rapid boil and cook the penne until just al dente (tender but slightly firm to the bite). Run the pasta under cold water and drain very well.

3. In a large serving bowl, add the pasta, the blanched asparagus, and all the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper, and toss well until all the pasta is well coated with dressing. Taste for seasoning. This is best served at room temperature. Serves 4 to 5 as a main course, or 6 to 7 as a first course or side dish.

4. Note: Another lovely addition to this pasta is about 3/4 cup freshly shelled spring peas. Blanch them for 1 minute in the boiling pasta water after you blanch the asparagus. Drain well and add them to the bowl along with the other ingredients.

Guilt Free Guacamole

You guys are going to think I am losing my mind with the kind of food stuff I have been experimenting with lately, but with no job, what's a girl to do? cook! This is from the Weight Watchers cookbook, though we do not use weight watchers. Anyways, it's kind of a crazy idea, but it actually tasted good and would also be good for baby food?? Maybe? I don't have babies, so i'm not sure what kind of restrictions there are for making baby food.

Guilt Free Guacamole
Serves about 6, makes one large bowl full

12 spears of asparagus, steamed or boiled or otherwise cooked to tender
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup salsa
pinch of salt/pepper

Pulverize all of those in a blender till chunky and walla! you have a guacamole looking food. Honestly, it's pretty tasty, though I do have some suggested changes that I will implement next time. Careful not to overblend it because there is a lot of water in asparagus and I blended mine beyond recognition and there was some water in it, but no matter.

It could DEFINITELY use more garlic. The original recipe makes a LOT so i posted the half size portion which is what I made. The original recipe also called for 2 cloves garlic.

I would also add probably a tablespoon of lime juice, some minced jalapenos and maybe some diced tomatoes depending on how you like your traditional guac.

My dad also suggested substituting half of the asparagus for actual guacacmole. I'm not sure how that would turn out, but might be worth exploring.

Roasted Asparagus

My new favorite side item with grilled meat. Super quick and easy

Roasted Asparagus

however much asparagus you want
however much olive oil you want
however much kosher salt you want

Preheat oven to 400. Line a roasting pan with foil. Chop off ends of asparagus and arrange veggie on pan. Drizzle olive oil over the top and coat. Toss some kosher salt on top. Put in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Delicious.