Asparagus Pesto

I really, really, really like asparagus. My boyfriend does not. Fortunately, one way he will eat the delicious spring green is in pesto form. Yum! I'm totally okay with this because pesto is super easy to make, and I love easy!

First, break off the ends of the stalks and boil the asparagus until it is tender. I check this by placing a test piece of asparagus on the cutting board and then holding a sharp knife so that the tip is touching the stalk. If the knife sinks into the stalk, then it's done. The boiling process takes anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.
Once the asparagus is ready, drain and set aside to cool. Then grab a few cloves of garlic (depending on how much asparagus you are using and how much you like garlic... I used a little over a pound of asparagus and 4 cloves of garlic. It was a little too much garlic.), grate a bunch of parmesan, and gather your nuts of choice (I used a mix of walnuts and almonds because that's what I had). Dump the asparagus, garlic, cheese, and nuts into a blender. Add a liberal amount of olive oil. Blend. Taste. Add salt and pepper if you wish. Blend some more. YUM.

You're welcome.

Asparagus Gruyere Tart

It's delicious. I saw this recipe online and knew instantly that I had to put that thing in my face. So I did. If you like asparagus, you will want to do that too. The best part about this recipe (besides the awesome flavor combo of cheese and asparagus) is that I did not have to spend forever in the kitchen. I had dinner ready in 30 minutes. It was glorious.

Note: I ended up using the frozen pastry dough sheets I could find at Trader Joe's. They are a little smaller than the recipe called for, so I ended up using way less cheese and asparagus.

On another sheet of pastry dough, I made some cute little appetizers. I cut the dough into 9 squares, and on each square I put a bit of goat cheese, olives, walnuts and rosemary. Bake at 400 deg F for 15 minutes and TADA! Yum.

You're welcome.

Cheesy Potato Quiche

I love breakfast for dinner. I also love breakfast for breakfast and breakfast for lunch. Basically breakfast anytime is good for me.
This weekend I felt inspired to make a meal, but I really hate standing over the stove for an hour (or more). I'd much rather throw some stuff together, stick it in the oven, and DING! Dinner time. I realize I could create a pretty delicious and quick meal by purchasing boxed or frozen stuff, but the preservatives and crap found in those things freak me out. I'm lazy, but I'm not so lazy I can't chop some fresh veggies and put some love into the meal.

So I made a quiche! It turned out really, really delicious! I was so happy with the flavorful result that I decided to share the recipe(s) with the Internet world. Which, in retrospect seems a little ironic since I got the recipes from the Internet in the first place.... Anyway, here you go!

For the crust:

• 1 cup flour
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup refrigerated water

First, mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. Then beat the oil and water together with a fork to thicken; pour into the bowl with the flour. Mix a bit with the fork, and then I usually squish the stuff around a bit with my hands until it's even. Press dough into 9" pie pan. Set aside.

For the filling:

• 3 medium potatoes, sliced or diced
• 1 tablespoon veggie oil (I used canola)
  
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 4-ish cloves garlic, minced
  
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh rosemary

Preheat oven to 375* F. Boil potatoes until tender; drain. Here you could pre-bake your pie crust for about 5 minutes, but when I did this the crust came out a little tough. Heat the oil in a skillet over med-high heat, and add the garlic and onion. Cook until garlic and onion are slightly browned. In a bowl, mix well the eggs, milk, cheese, garlic, onion, salt, pepper and rosemary. Add the potatoes to the crust (try to make the distribution even). Pour the egg mixture over the potatoes, and cook until set. This took about 40 minutes.

There you have it! Yummy breakfast for dinner! (or breakfast or lunch...)