Food - Springish
When the sweet, warm Spring breezes begin to blow, we tend to crave lighter fare for meals. Here are a few recipes and treats to try in early Springtime.
roasted veg
This is one of the easiest, quickest sides you can make. I found all the fresh, colorful veg at Trader Joe’s. I just kept pulling veggies out of my fridge to toss with olive oil, fresh garlic, salt and pepper. I mixed in fresh herbs - rosemary, thyme and sage. I roasted them on a foil-lined cookie sheet at 425 degrees for about 20-30 minutes. I included broccolini, asparagus, rainbow mini carrots, shallots, brown shimeji mushrooms, red peppers, and cherry tomatoes on the vine. For someone who has never liked mushrooms nor tomatoes, I actually liked these! We had the veggies with small filet mignon steaks (sometimes I’ll buy one steak and cut it in half, horizontally, for David to grill…it’s less expensive and enough for both of us)
cutest pear ever!
I used a Bartlett (my fave) pear for the crostini. It was tiny but perfectly ripe.
pear crostini
I can’t tell you how delicious and simple these are to make! This one is a variation of the blueberry crostini I made last summer/fall (found on another food post on the blog), from Athena Calderone’s amazing cookbook, “Cook Beautiful”, found at Sophie’s.
I found the baguette at Trader Joe’s.
Simply cut small pieces, brush with olive oil on each side, broil them, turning so each side toasts slightly. Let the bread cool completely on a cooling rack. Spread ricotta cheese on each slice and top with thinly sliced pears, fresh thyme, orange zest and honey. They are heavenly!
I can’t wait to make them with fresh, May strawberries and maybe some mint!
shrimp, veg & udon noodle stir fry
Sometimes, we just crave stir fry and this is so quick and easy! I still had plenty of the raw veg from the roasted veg recipe above. I added frozen edamame, fresh ginger, yellow onion and spring onions.
I added peeled and deveined shrimp, along with sesame and canola oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, rice vinegar, salt & pepper. I really just added each ingredient as I saw fit…no specific amounts. I also added a tiny but of cream of tartar to thicken the sauce.
I cooked the udon noodles in boiling water for about five minutes, drained and added to the veg and shrimp.
I sautéed the veg until tender, added the soy sauce and seasonings, then cooked the shrimp in the same pan until “just pink”, and lastly added the cooked noodles to the skillet.
light and
delicious!
I sprinkled sesame seeds on top. You could also add cashews. So yummy!
worth repeating
I included these chocolate-covered dates on a previous post but man, some things are worth repeating. These are incredibly quick, easy and decadent. I used pitted medjool dates, dark chocolate chips, crushed pistachios, peanut butter and orange zest. Simply melt your chocolate in a double broiler or microwave until melted, dip the dates and place on parchment paper. Sprinkle the pistachios on top, add a little zest or stuff with peanut butter and drizzle chocolate on top. When you bite into one, you almost think you’re eating chocolate-covered caramel because of the texture of the dates. Such a delicious little treat!