Asparagus, asparagus, oh asparagus....I love it!!!!! It is slowly hitting the farmers markets.

Here is a quick fix lunch or snack.....

Blanch bite size pieces of asparagus for 2 to 3 minutes, ice bath them to stop cooking and retain color...in the meantime using a regular peeler peel ribbons of zucchini into a bowl....mince 1 small shallot and two tablespoons fresh parsley, add cooled asparagus to the zuch, shallots and parsley....salt and pepper to taste...squeeze the juice of one lemon and 2 tablespoons evoo, with maybe a tablespoon of either sherry, red wine, or white wine vinegar, toss salad and let sit for 10 minutes for flavors to meld and zucchini to break down some from it's raw state.....Serve with sliced baguette and a dry fruity wine....Perfect!!!!!!!!!!! I add a pinch of red pepper flakes to mine but this is optional.

Super Natural Recipe Search

For me, feeding anyone and having them appreciate it...to see the joy on their face, and that I put it there with my dessert, or meal, appetizer, or even just a snack...is the best feeling for me.

Thank you to my client, and friend Barry for somehow knowing that, and sending pics of the kids eating the dinner I made them.

Super Natural Recipe Search

I make pound cake's, real pound cake's, (a pound of every ingredient), it is the cake that started my love for baking.
I started out just making lemon with lemon glaze......but after years of making this cake I became bored and have since experimented using key limes, oranges, this weekend I tried blood orange ("yummy" and it did not turn the cake red) I have even re written the recipe and made a dutch chocolate pound cake (extremely decadent). Everyone loves this cake even non cake people like myself.
I suppose my thought process with this is if you are going to make a cake called a pound cake make it right, use a pound of every ingredient.......

So, I have this habit of trying new recipe's out on my clients, thank god, I am mostly lucky and they are well received, funny how some things make me really uneasy but feeding 25 people something I have never made before and just wrote the recipe does not faze me in the least.
The latest was Asian (anyone that knows me knows that Asian until vary recently was outside my box) . It was an Apple and onion roulade of Pork Loin with apple hoisin glaze. It was successful, so much so that most of the attendees asked me for the recipe. Even funnier is I made an old fashioned Chinese Chicken salad you know the one with the toasted ramen noddles. Of course I Shelleyfyd (a chef I work with calls all my dishes shelleyfyd) it with mango (none of those caned mandarin oranges in my salad) I had to make the sesame dressing too. It was great and they loved it. I think making sauces, glazes, and vinaigrettes are sooooo much fun.

Made my family banana cake yesterday, only I added chocolate chips to it just for fun.
My son likes it.
I think next time I will add peanut butter chips if I can find them. You know peanut butter and banana!! yummy like a PBJ&B sandwichs we had as children three deckers on toasted whole wheat roman meal bread, only missing the jelly. ummmmmm maybe I will come up with a jelly glaze....oh GEEZ maybe I'm going to far with this

I can not believe I have gone this long without posting a message that I think is very important to all........ purchasing sustainable foods!!!!!!
Using your local resources ie. farmers in your area (being sure that they have farming methods that are good for the earth and environment) for all your produce needs, and any other food products you have available to you.
Now this my be a challenge for some that have not always practiced this way of shopping, because you will have to use what is in season in your area.
But believe me you will find that you are much more excited about a peach, for instance, when they finally show up in your area, and they will taste 100 times better than whatever you bought that was shipped here from another Country (which is a waste of precious oil)
We must all learn the importance of our earth and that if we continue to abuse it it will not sustain us and we will cease to exist.
Large manufactors are only concerned with profit without any thought or concern to the damage they do to the earth with their cemicals, so if you refuse to use their products they will have to make changes in order to stay in business.
Not to mention using local farms for the majority of your food needs sustains the State you live in.

I finally did it....I made candy for the Holiday's.....Caramel Chocolate Fleur de Sel Truffles, French Bark w/72% Dark Chocolate, great quality White Chocolate (cocao butter only) topped with dried cranberries, dried peaches, (chopped) and candied Pecans, and of course the only other candy I have ever made my All Nut Brittle which is more like a toffee than a brittle and contains no peanuts.....only pecans, cashews, macadamias, and almonds almost any nut but no legumes. I have to say I impressed myself and my family...can't wait to make the truffles again only this time I will have the proper tools for dipping the caramels in the chocolate....after seventy pieces, I wondered whatever possesed me to want to do this...alas I am glad I did.