White Asparagus - Bad; Zucchini Muffins - Good; the rest was In-Between...

The Good:

These zucchini, chocolate chip, and roasted salted sunflower seed muffins I made were a nice surprise. I was going to buy raw seeds like I usually do and at the last minute I threw in the roasted salted version.  Good choice it gave the muffins a little salt kick finish.

Zucchini, Chocolate Chip, Sunflower Seed Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup zucchini, unpeeled and grated

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg

Zest from one lemon

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup roasted salted sunflower seeds

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, nutmeg, sugar, zucchini, oil, egg, lemon zest, and chocolate chips in a bowl and stir until combined.

Spray a mini muffin pan generously with no-stick spray and divide the batter between the 24 cups, sprinkle each muffin with some of the sunflower seeds.

Bake 12-15 minutes.

Adapted from my ancient Better Homes Cookbook.

The Bad:
White asparagus have been on my must try list forever it seems.  I've seen dazzling dishes with them on the internet.  While I do enjoy reading some of these recipes, I somehow end up feeling like I'm the only one of the planet that doesn't consume 5-star meals every night performed in French precision.

I spotted bundles of white asparagus at my market the other day and my eyes popped out of my head, "yesss", was all I could think.  Some brussel sprouts were sitting in the adjacent bin giving me a little wave, "Take me, take me - I'll be good."

I washed the white asparagus and prepped them as I would green asparagus, except I used a peeler and took off a bit of the outer peel.  Placed them in my steamer for about 7 minutes and fixed the topping while they were steaming.

I had 8 brussel sprouts; I cut them in half starting at their stem and cutting down.  Then I sliced off the tender part of the leaves.  I turned the fire on and heated up my skillet and tossed in 2 ounces of diced pancetta, after the pancetta browned I added a couple of tablespoons of white wine and then I tossed in the shredded brussel sprouts, sprinkled them with a little salt and pepper and a couple of minutes later I plated the white asparagus and poured the brussel sprouts over the top.

Long story short, the topping was delish, both me and my hubs looked at each other and said the white asparagus were not so good, downright bland and a touch bitter to be more exact.  I'm going to chalk this up to the overhyped category.

The In-Between:
We buried another family member this week; he was only 1 year older than me.  He went to sleep and didn't wake up.  There is nothing worse in life than attending the funeral of a child who has gone before their parents; it's just not fair.

The homecoming game and dance is this weekend.  My daughter has invited everyone over for pictures and basically room and board for the weekend.  I'm sure food will be involved; teenagers can literally eat you out of house and home.  So I'm trying to get my energy back up.

Gina

Rainbow Spring Rolls - Vegetarian

I have to confess to not eating so well lately, all the packing is cutting into my kitchen time.  What I have been truly craving was something quick and healthy.  Have you ever sat there staring at something you made and thought, "What the heck am I going to call it?"  If it hadn't been for the rainbow of veggies staring back at me on the plate, I may have had to call these Rolled Up Veggie Whatchamacallits or Whatchamwhosits.

In between packing boxes I tossed a few of these tasty rolls back for fuel.  Hot Dog Dude willingly ate them with me, but I could tell he would have preferred something else.  He's a hard core meat kinda guy.  I admit it; I'm kind of a mean wife sometimes.  I'm always nagging him about what he eats and nudging him towards healthier choices.  I thought he was going to lose it when I lectured him on the lunch meat he was stuffing down his face the other day.  He snapped back, "What else am I supposed to eat?"

He tends to be the kinda guy who wants to eat the same thing all the time.  I only nag him so he can add a little variety to his diet.  One can't live by lunch meat alone, well actually Hot Dog Dude could - hence the name.

Gather the following:
Leaf lettuce
Asparagus, washed, ends trimmed and blanched
Carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
Red bell pepper, thinly sliced
Blueberries
Rice paper spring roll wrappers

Prepare Sushi Rice:
For rice maker:  2 scoops medium grain rice and water filled to the second line
Or saucepan:  1 1/2 cups rice and 3 cups water

Seasoned rice vinegar mixture
3 tablespoons seasoned rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Would you still love me if I told you I'm terrible at making rice?  If it wasn't for one of my favorite kitchen appliances the rice maker, we would probably still be eating burned rice.

I love throwing the water and rice in, pushing the button and walking away.

When the rice is finished steaming, open the lid and let it cool down for 5 minutes or so.  Combine the seasoned rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and microwave for 40 seconds or so until the sugar is melted.  Place the rice in a baking dish, pour the vinegar mixture over it and gently stir the rice with your paddle to coat the rice, you want to be careful not to break up the rice. Leave it on the counter until its cool enough to work with.

To soften the spring roll wrappers use a squirt bottle.  Spray both sides and shake of the excess water.  Place the wrapper on a plate and put a piece of lettuce in the middle.  Place a row of rice on top of that; add some carrot, bell pepper and asparagus.  Drizzle with fresh lemon juice or I used a special Meyer Lemon Olive Oil I picked up last time I was in San Francisco.

Before I rolled them up, I placed a row of blueberries in a strategic location:

Grab the wrapper side that is in front of you and start rolling tucking in the sides as you go.  I threw the blueberries in for a little extra crunch and anti-oxidants, plus I had seen Kim's Blueberry Waffles and Sandra's Blueberry Mousse that really put me in the mood for some blueberries.

Before you go thinking I'm the worst wife ever for making her husband go meatless for an afternoon, I actually made him something special the next day that was right up his alley.  I'll share his idea of an ideal lunch with you in a couple days.

p.s.  Hot Dog Dude doesn't know about his nickname, should I clue him in or just keep giggling about it behind his back.  So wrong, huh?

Enjoy,

Gina

Swiss Chard & Red Cubanelle - No Soggy Greens Please

Why don't I eat more Swiss chard?  I've asked myself that question many times and it usually boils down to texture for me.  I've had way too many overcooked and soggy lifeless greens over the years.

My mom is a great cook, but growing up she made us eat Swiss chard often and I do mean often.  It was always prepared the same way and I really wanted to banish it from my life completely as an adult.  I didn't want my kids to loathe Swiss chard, so I've tried to make it more appealing.  If they hate it, I probably won't hear about it until they are adults and we are all sitting around the holiday table.  Things like this have a way of surfacing themselves on such occasions.

I found a beautiful bouquet of Swiss chard at the farm stand; it was just begging to be brought home.

Swiss Chard & Red Cubanelle

1 bunch of Swiss chard any variety will work

1 red cubanelle pepper, seeded and diced

2 tsp. olive oil

3 tbsp. red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. honey

Salt

Wash the Swiss chard very well and shake to get off the excess water.  Roll the leaves together and cut into 1/2" strips.  I don't like to use the stems; I will save them for something else like soup.

Heat a non-stick skillet to medium heat and add the olive oil.  Add the diced cubanelle and cook for 3-4 minutes, just until starting to soften.  I used the cubanelle for a little heat; a red bell pepper would be a good substitute if you don't want the heat.

Add the vinegar, honey and a pinch of salt to the pan, stir to combine.  Add all the Swiss chard, just pile it in the pan and toss with some tongs to coat with the honey vinegar.  Only cook for 1-2 minutes until the greens start to wilt.   

Serve immediately.  I did refrigerate some of the leftover and it was very good cold too.

In general it's never a good idea to say anything negative about an Italian Mothers' cooking, because you will hear things like; "Fine, I'm never cooking again" or "My chest hearts, hearing that". 

Besides it will never get back to my mom that I think my Swiss chard is better than hers, I have four siblings I can blame it on.  Deflect and distract, it's a survival strategy you must learn growing up in a large household.

If Swiss chard isn't your thing how about Stuffed Cubanelles.

Enjoy,

Gina