Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

This Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus is a most wonderful side dish or even appetizer. Set the dish out and let guests help themselves to spear after spear. They'll be gone in a jiffy. 

According to Miss Manners and Emily Post, asparagus is legitimately finger food. One of my favorite ways to eat it is cooked but still crunchy to dip in a soft-boiled egg. Runny egg yolk and buttered asparagus with lemon = yum! It’s like deconstructed Hollandaise sauce. (Make a note now and try it!) Who needs toast soldiers? 

These days asparagus seems to be available year round, flown in from somewhere (mostly Peru, it seems, which makes sense since they terrace-farm up the mountain sides so it's like a different temperature/season as the altitude changes) but I do particularly enjoy buying it during springtime when it comes from farms closer to home. 

If you love asparagus, you might also like my cheesy asparagus potato tart, asparagus salmon fried rice, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto or pan-fried chicken with bacon and asparagus. 

Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus

You can use the Parmesan that comes in the plastic shaker container for this dish but I don’t think it melts as effectively the kind freshly grated from a wedge. Either way, keep a close eye on in as it browns. 

Ingredients

1 lb or 450g asparagus spears, woody ends trimmed

Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons butter

2 cloves garlic, mashed then minced

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 oz or 56g freshly grated Parmesan

Method

Preheat your oven to 425°F or 220°C.

Arrange asparagus in a single layer on a baking pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Roast in preheated oven until vibrant in color and tender-crisp, about 10 minutes).

While the asparagus is in the oven, brown the butter. Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat, stirring constantly. The milk solids will separate and then start to brown. Cook, still stirring, until the butter is golden colored with browned bits at the bottom. 

Take it off the heat and quickly stir in the minced garlic. 

Add the lemon juice and stir to combine. 

Remove the asparagus pan from the oven and turn the oven to broil (grill) on high. 

Spoon the garlicky browned butter over the asparagus and toss to coat. 

Cover with the grated Parmesan. 

Return the pan to the oven for a few minutes, watching it carefully so it doesn’t burn. You just want to see the cheese and asparagus turned a little golden in places. 

Enjoy!

This month my Baking Bloggers are sharing asparagus recipes and I want to make them ALL. Check out the links below. Many thanks to our organizer and host, Sue of Palatable Pastime. 

• Pancetta and Asparagus Tarts by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Asparagus and Ham Quiche by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cheesy Garlic Roasted Asparagus by Making Miracles
• Goat Cheese Chicken with Asparagus by Palatable Pastime
• Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche Tart by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Garlic Browned Butter Parmesan Roasted Asparagus by Food Lust People Love
• Asparagus With Cheese Sauce by Sneha's Recipe
• Minty Roasted Asparagus Vegan Pesto by Magical Ingredients

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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Easy Pickled Beets

These easy pickled beets are ready to eat in hours or will keep well chilled for weeks! Enjoy them straight from the jar or drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of black pepper, salad style. 

I have a confession to make and at the same time, a warning. I made these pickled beets one year ago, popped them into our laundry room refrigerator and promptly forgot about them. I think we can all agree that May 2020 was a bit fraught and I guess I had other things on my mind. 

When the Sunday FunDay theme of beets was announced, I suddenly thought, “Hey, I made pickled beets! Did I ever eat them?” The auxiliary refrigerator was searched and lo and behold, the quart jar of pickled beets turned up. 

The question remained, would they be edible? I am here to tell you that they were fabulous. I could not have told you that they were a year old! In fact, they tasted just like the ones I’ve made then eaten within a week or two. Did I just get lucky? Who knows? So here’s the warning: If you go off and leave yours in the fridge for more than a few weeks, your results may vary. 

Easy Pickled Beets

My top tip for making these pickled beets is to choose ones that about the size of your quart jar in the middle so that they fit fairly snugly. Smaller beets may need more vinegar to fill the space and ensure that the beet slices are completely covered. For the pickling to work well, the beets do have to be completely covered.

Ingredients for 1 quart jar of pickled beets

2 medium beets 

2/3 cup or 156ml white vinegar (or more to cover the beets, if needed)

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Equipment

1 wide-mouthed quart jar or other tight sealing container

Method

In a large pot, cover the whole beets with water and cook until a knife slides in easily to the middle. Remove the beets from the pot and set aside until they are cool enough to handle. 

Use your fingers to press the peels off of the beets and cut any hard ends or bad spots off with a sharp knife. The peels will slide right off. If beet stains bother you, use gloves for this step 

Use the same knife to slice the beets into circles.

Stack the beet circles in the wide-mouthed quart jar, tucking the smaller ends down the side.

Heat the white vinegar with the salt until it reaches about 130°F or 54°C. 

Pour the vinegar carefully into the jar so it can seep slowly down filling up all the spaces between the beets. Check around the sides. If there are air bubbles, you can run a wooden skewer or chopstick down the inside of the jar, allowing the vinegar to flow down and the trapped air bubbles to escape up. 

When the jar is completely full, put the lid on tightly and refrigerate the pickled beets for at least several hours before serving. These will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. 

Enjoy! 

As I mentioned before, this week's Sunday FunDay theme is beets, one of my favorite vegetables. Check out all the links below! Many thanks to our host, Mayuri of Mayuri's Jikoni.

• Beet Hummus with Goat Cheese from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Beet Salad with Goat Cheese from Making Miracles
• Beetroot Vada from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Easy Pickled Beets from Food Lust People Love
• Ginger Beetroot and Celery Juice from Cook with Renu
• Kubbah Selek - Semolina Dumpling and Beet Soup from Pandemonium Noshery
• Laal Sabzi / Beetroot Sabzi from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Beet Ricotta Gnocchi with Wilted Beet Greens from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Roasted Beet Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Simple Strawberry Vodka

This slightly sweet simple strawberry vodka is best served well chilled in shot glasses or as a cocktail ingredient. It makes a fabulous sparkling libation with Champagne or soda. 

One of the easiest ways to preserve the fresh taste of strawberries is to “pickle” them in alcohol. The strawberries transfer their sweet flavor and gorgeous color to your alcohol of choice in just a couple of weeks. 

Speaking of preserving fruit, jam is one of my favorite things to make with whatever fruit is in season. And I always wash and freeze strawberries and blueberries in a single layer then pop them into a Ziploc bag to extend their seasons. But I wanted to challenge myself to do something different this time. 

I had no idea how easy it would be to make strawberry vodka!

As it turns out, it’s really not much of a challenge at all. You can make straight strawberry vodka by cutting up the strawberries and tipping them into vodka but I chose to add some sugar too so I wouldn’t have to add simple syrup for cocktails. It was a good decision.

Simple Strawberry Vodka

This fruity vodka can also be made with other berries like blackcurrants or cranberries, or any soft fruit really, come to think of it.

Ingredients

9 oz or 255g fresh strawberries

2 1/2 cups or 590ml vodka

1/2 cup or 100g sugar

Method

Hull and chop the strawberries into four or five pieces.

Put them in a sterilized jar with the sugar. Add the vodka and strawberries and shake gently till the sugar has dissolved.

Leave for at least two weeks in a cool, dark cupboard. Give the jar a gentle shake at least once a day.

Strain through several layers of cheesecloth or a single ply of paper towel and decant into a decorative bottle. Discard the poor pale strawberries which have given their all that we might have fruity vodka. 

Seal and label.

Isn’t it a beautiful color?

Enjoy!

It’s time for another Foodie Extravaganza party and we are celebrating National Strawberry Month with all sorts of great recipes. Check them out! Many thanks to our host Kelley of Simply Inspired Meals for the theme and to Sneha of Sneha's Recipe for her behind-the-scenes work. 

• Barbecued Strawberry Chicken from Making Miracles
• Fresas con Crema from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Korean Strawberry Milk from Tara's Multicultural Table
• Simple Strawberry Vodka from Food Lust People Love
• SOP Mocktail from Sneha's Recipe
• Strawberry Marshmallows from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Strawberry Shrikand from Magical Ingredients
• Vanilla-Macerated Berry Shortcake From Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

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Boozy Nectarine Crumble

Nectarines lavishly drenched in golden rum are topped with a mix of flour, sugar and butter to make this boozy nectarine crumble. 

When I want to recall fond memories of when we were still able to travel and visit with friends, I bake what I call Caroline’s boozy nectarine crumble, so named for the friend who showed me how to make it. 

Her recipe was simple, made with sweet ripe summer nectarines, bought at an outdoor market in southern France. They needed no sugar, except for what’s in the crumble topping. They do need, Caroline exclaimed, a lavish drenching with golden rum, as she poured it on without measuring. 

You can read more about that holiday in France on my Cheese Shallot Pie post. We ate so well and I swoon to remember it! 

Boozy Nectarine Crumble

Caroline made her crumble topping with equal parts flour and sugar and 2/3 that measure of unsalted butter. In other words, 6 oz flour, 6 oz sugar and 4 oz butter, all by weight. Or, she continued the instructions, use the same proportions for however much crumble you need. For my smaller baking dish (11 x 8 in or 28 x 20cm oval), I kept the same proportions but in a smaller amount. Caroline was, after all, feeding crowd of us.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs or 700g nectarines, chopped. 

1/2 cup or 120ml rum

9/10 cup or 113g flour (This is a weird measurement if you don’t have scales. Just eyeball it. A little more or a little less flour isn’t going to matter.)

Scant 2/3 cup or 113g sugar

1/3 cup or 75g butter

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Cut the flour, butter, sugar together to form a damp sandy crumble. Set aside. 

Pit the nectarines and cut them in small chunks and place in a large bowl. Caroline said, and I quote, “Drench them lavishly with rum!” so pour on at least 1/2 a cup or 120ml.

Pile the boozy nectarines in your baking dish and top with the crumble. 

Bake the crumble in your preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until topping is crunchy and golden and the nectarines are soft and bubbling. 

Spoon on plates to serve, topping with thick cream, if desired. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to Sunday FunDay! Today we are sharing fruity desserts so check them out below. Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha's Recipe.

• Banana Enchiladas From A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Blackberry Lemon Bars From Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Boozy Nectarine Crumble From Food Lust People Love
• Cherry Pie Bars From Making Miracles
• Fruit & Chocolate Trifle From Sneha's Recipe
• Lattice-Topped Apple Pie From Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd Topping From Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Mango & Vanilla Panna Cotta From Mayuri's Jikoni
• Strawberry Fool with Meringue Topper/Base From Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Sourdough Sprouted Spelt Blini #BreadBakers

These sourdough sprout spelt blini are flavorful and fluffy, perfect to eat with sweet or savory toppings. We love them with cream cheese and salmon!

I must confess that I didn’t know much about blini beyond how to eat them so in researching this recipe, I learned a lot. For instance, blini were traditionally prepared at the end of winter to celebrate the birth of the new sun, the round blini representing the sun. The Orthodox church adopted the pagan tradition and Maslenitsa or pancake week is still celebrated today. 

Originally blini were made with a yeasted dough and baked in an oven. In fact, even though they are pan-fried like pancakes these days, even in Russia, the Russian verb used to describe their preparation is still “bake.”

Sourdough Sprouted Spelt Blini

My recipe was adapted from one on La Recette du Jour,  using wholegrain spelt instead of the traditional buckwheat. If you don't have spelt or buckwheat whole grain wheat would also work. 

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups or 300ml milk

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

7 oz or 200g discard sourdough starter

2/3 cup or 80g plain flour

1 cup or 120g sprouted spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

butter for the griddle 

Method

Warm the milk slightly and add in the yeast and sugar. When the yeast is activated (that is, when the milk gets foamy on top) add it to the sourdough starter in a large mixing bowl and whisk until blended. 

Add both the flours, stir again, cover with cling film or a plastic bag, and leave to double in size. This should take 1 – 1 1/2 hours at room temperature. (If it’s chilly where you live right now, put the covered bowl in your kitchen sink filled with warm water.) 

Separate the eggs and set the whites aside in a large clean bowl. Stir the yolks into the batter with the salt and leave for about another hour.

The batter should now be spongy and bubbly.

When you are ready to cook the blini, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold them gently into the batter.

Heat your pan or griddle over a low heat and smear with a little butter. 

Once it’s hot, ladle on small dollops of batter, whatever size you want your blini to be. I used a small cookie scoop but still managed to get wonky shaped blini. Mine would probably be booed out of new sun celebration for not being round. 

Never mind. Just keep telling yourself that looks don’t matter. It’s all about the taste.

When bubbles start to form and the bottom is browned, carefully turn the blini over with a spatula to cook the other side. 

When both sides are cooked, put them on a warmed plate and cover loosely with foil to keep them warm. 

Serve them with butter and jam or topped with cured salmon, cream cheese and capers. 

Enjoy! 

This month my Bread Baker friends are sharing breads made with whole grain flour. Check out the recipes below. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Zesty South Indian Kitchen: Einkorn and Spelt Whole Wheat Flour Sourdough Bread 
• Passion Kneaded: Marble Wheat Loaf 
• Magical Ingredients: Multigrain Carrot Rolls 
• The Wimpy Vegetarian: Oatmeal Rolls with Molasses
• Making Miracles: Seedy Soft Sandwich Bread 
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Sourdough Boules with Quinoa, Oats, and Sprouted Seeds
• Food Lust People Love: Sourdough Sprouted Spelt Blini 
• Sneha's Recipe: Spelt Banana Bread 
• A Messy Kitchen: Sweet Wheat Braid
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
• Ambrosia: Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread 

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakershome page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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Chicken Chili Tortilla Casserole

This chicken chili tortilla casserole is like enchiladas made easier by layering the “filling” with corn tortillas and topping each layer with cheese. It is assembled, with apologies to all Italians: lasagna style. 

We love enchiladas at our house so I’ve been known to make ones with beef, chicken with chorizo and even a mix of chicken and black beans. If you need a vegetarian version, I can highly recommend my cheesy bean enchilada recipe made with pintos and vegetarian refried beans. Topped with jalapeños and black olives it is as pretty as it is tasty. You won’t even miss the meat, I promise. 

The only reason I don’t make enchiladas more is the messy hassle of saucing the tortillas to soften and then filling them. This casserole avoids that whole palaver.

That said, the chicken chili is also delicious on its own. :) 

Chicken Chili Tortilla Casserole

In the US, unlike in most of the world where chili powder is literally just ground chili peppers, chili powder is a spice mix made with (at least in the McCormick brand powder) toasted whole ripe chili peppers, cumin, oregano, garlic and salt. To make it clear, I’m going to call it chili (seasoning) powder in the ingredients list below. 

Ingredients

1 lb or 450g trimmed chicken breasts

fine sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons canola or other light oil, plus extra for the baking dish

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

1/2 green pepper, finely chopped

1-2 fresh jalapeños, finely chopped

3 tablespoons chili (seasoning) powder (see note above)

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 can (14.5 oz or 411g) small dice tomatoes with green chili peppers

1 tablespoon tomato paste

14 fresh corn tortillas

8 oz or 225g extra sharp cheddar or a blend of cheeses, grated

Optional garnish:

sliced fresh jalapeños

Method

Cut the chicken into small pieces. I like to put my hand on the breasts and cut them in two through the middle so the pieces are thinner, then cut them into small cubes. You can just kinda chop it up with a sharp knife, if you prefer. 

Season the chicken pieces with a good sprinkle of salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper. 

Warm the oil in a large pot and then sautéed the chopped vegetables in the oil until softened, about five minutes. 

Add in the chili powder, cumin and paprika and give the whole thing a good stir. Cook for another two minutes, then add in the chicken. Stir well to coat the chicken with the seasonings. 

Cook for another few minutes then add in the canned tomatoes and the tomato paste then using the tomato can as a measuring vessel, add a full can of water. 

Bring to a slow boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, covered. 

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. 

Grease the bottom of a casserole dish with a little oil and cover it with a layer of corn tortillas, cutting them to make them fit. I chose this ridiculously shaped pan so it got a little more complicated than necessary. (Another wedding gift from 25 years ago, it matches the quiche dish.) 

Spoon over 1/3 third of the chicken chili and sprinkle on 1/3 of the cheese. 

Cover this with another layer of corn tortillas, another 1/3 of the chicken chili and 1/3 of the cheese. 

Repeat with another layer of tortillas, the balance of the chicken and the balance of the cheese. Rip a couple of tortillas into pieces and strew them decoratively over the casserole. (This step is not strictly necessary but I like the crunch that they add to the top.)

Cover with foil and bake in your preheated oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the top is browned. 

Leave to cool for about 10 minutes before garnishing with sliced fresh jalapeños, if using, and cutting the casserole into squares to serve. 

Enjoy!

Today I’m joining my Baking Blogger friends who are sharing Mexican recipes. Check them out below. I know mine isn’t in any way authentically Mexican but I hope it is close enough to qualify. Many thanks to our host and organizer, Sue from Palatable Pastime. 

• Baked Pork Enchilada Salsa Verde Casserole from Sneha's Recipe
• Bolillos from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Capirotada de Leche from Palatable Pastime
• Cheesy Corn Dip from Magical Ingredients
• Chicken Chili Tortilla Casserole from Food Lust People Love
• Creamy Caramel Flan from Making Miracles
• Mexican Chicken Bake (DASH Friendly) from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Tacos De Jocoqui (Sour Cream Tacos) from Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Telera Rolls from Karen's Kitchen Stories

Baking Bloggers is a friendly group of food bloggers who vote on a shared theme and then post recipes to fit that theme one the second Monday of each month. If you are a food blogger interested in joining in, inquire at our Baking Bloggers Facebook group. We'd be honored if you would join us in our baking adventures.

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