Seasons Eatings

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Seasons Eatings

I'll finish off this month of in-season recipes with a great weeknight meal, perfect for pairing with grilled shrimp or a poached egg.  Grits are stone ground corn, similar to polenta, which would also work in this recipe. The way I prepare them here, they are low in fat and vitamin rich, not what you think of when you here the word grits. I wanted to infuse the the meal with flavor so I finely chopped asparagus stems and sauteed them in a little olive oil and sea salt to combine with the water.  I slowly added white grits to the water, bringing them to a boil, then covering and reducing the heat to low, stirring consistently until absorbed.  I then added skim milk and stirred until creamy and fully cooked.  All said it took about 25 minutes. 

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My Natural Color

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My Natural Color

Let me start with the fact that I made a BIG mess in my kitchen doing this project.  I also had a lot of fun.  I've been wanting to make my own food coloring for a while, not only because it seems like a good idea, but because I love the colors I've seen produced from vegetable dye.  I had some wins and some losses with this project. Green was a fail.  I used my juicer to extract the color, then cooked it down, adding a few tablespoons of vinegar to ready it for dying eggs.  I tried to make green using spinach.  Unfortunately the meaty plant part separated from the water part and it became kind of pulpy.  No prob, I strained it, but then when I cooked it, it turned brown.  That's not green! I tried it without cooking it, but the dye wouldn't stick to the egg.  So no true green.  Boo hiss.  I read that you could boil yellow apples to make light green, or red onion to make jade, but I was looking for kelly, so I moved on. I did have some big wins.  I made blue!  This involves some chemistry, which was very exciting for my little helper Wylie. This is a great activity to do with little kids!  Scroll down for my vegetable dye recipes.

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Plastic Eggs and Paper Grass

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Plastic Eggs and Paper Grass

I am not really an Easter person, it's usually an after thought.  I'm trying a little harder this year, because I think it's becoming a bigger deal for the kids. We've decided to team up with another family to do a DIY egg hunt at a wooded park up in the Oakland Hills.  The fellas are going early to hide the plastic eggs and the ladies will follow behind with our brunch, the grandparents and the kids.  Our plan is to post up at a picnic table and sink our teeth into hot out of the oven cinnamon rolls, pork sausage and asparagus frittata, washed down with mimosas and coffee. In the early morning we'll give the boys their Easter Baskets. I kind of skip the candy, because Jasper can't have chocolate, plus they'll be getting enough jelly beans and marshmallows in their eggs later on. This year they are each getting a special book, a coveted movie, and little things like sidewalk chalk and play dough.

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Easter Eats

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Easter Eats

I'll be hosting an Easter brunch this Sunday and I plan to make a small spread featuring homemade cinnamon rolls, plenty of cured pork products and a riff on Eggs Benedict that features my asparagus hash recipe. This simple, but stand out recipe has a complex flavor and is satisfyingly salty. I usually serve it for breakfast, but it would be totally delicious with fresh pasta or incorporated into a lemony risotto. 

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