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I reached a point last night at dinner with friends, where we skipped the asparagus on the menu. We were having a lovely dinner at Bar Jules, anxious to sample just about everything, but happy to pass on the asparagus. We had been gorging on it now for a few months, and the corn soup was much more enticing.
But if you have a bundle still on hand, or haven’t quite tired of it yet, this pasta is the perfect segue from spring to summer. I read about the idea first on The Kitchen Sink, a jumble of barely cooked shaved asparagus tossed with al dente bucatini and topped with crispy garlicky breadcrumbs. For obvious reasons, that combination stuck with me.
So on a quiet Friday night with B out for a work event, I made a batch for myself – which was perfect to curl up with a few episodes of Homeland, and equally good as a bracing bite early in the morning before heading out for the day’s adventures.
I used the original recipe as a base, but adding shaved zucchini and summer squash to the asparagus (and helping the spring-to-summer transition) and whole-wheat spaghetti in place of the bucatini. I also swapped the ramps I had on hand for the garlic – the whites in with the veg and the leaves in with the toasted breadcrumbs (or panko, in my place/pantry). I loved it with the changes, but imagine it would be pretty great as is.
One thing is for sure, lemony-garlic breadcrumbs need to top many more things … tomatoes, we’re looking at you!
Every year as the weather gets warmer and summer itches towards us, I get the fiercest craving for my favorite Spanish foods. Paella, gazpacho, pan con tomate, the list goes on. And just as often, I will jump the gun on at least one – when tomatoes start to pop up and look like the real thing, I can’t take it anymore.
And so here we were the Saturday of our little flower workshop. It was decided we would need some sustenance before all that “work”, so I made a quick tortilla española, which then cooled a bit while we ran to the flower mart.
I used a combo of these recipes (here and here), keeping it simple, but did make a little pimenton sauce to have on the side. It was the perfect little lunch with melon y jamon and {a wee bit early} pan con tomate.
This meal will definitely be in rotation all summer long – for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I’m afraid!
A few weekends ago, This past weekend, I co-hosted a baby shower for one of my dearest girlfriends. It was a co-ed shower, so it was light on bottles & games, heavy on burger and beers. (We say b/c it was co-ed, but truth is we all prefer burgers to cucumber sandwiches…). But it still needed a dash of pretty, so Katy and I tackled the flowers.
If you have time, I love doing the flowers on your own — you get a lot more bang for your buck, and you would be surprised how easy it is! A few basic supplies (vases/glasses in several sizes and good shears are all I really need, but oasis, twine, tape, etc. can help), good tunes, lots of flowers, and you are on your way!
One little tip if you are making more than a couple arrangements — prep and separate all the flowers first, so once you start arranging, you don’t have to stop for leaves and thorns.
Do you like to do-it-yourself for floral arrangements?
What’s your limit — For the home? A small party? A wedding?
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And for some real floral prowess, check out my constant favorite Saipua. She makes mean magic with flowers!
