Breakfast: Poached Eggs over Polenta

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Until ohhh six months ago I thought poaching an egg was the most difficult thing in the world. Every time I'd tried, the egg always burst apart and was an inedible mess. Turns out, poaching a delicate egg on a rapid boil isn't a good idea. Too bad it took me twenty years to figure out that a gentle simmer will yield perfectly poached eggs time and time and time again. Seriously, it's now my go-to method for eggs - easier than scrambling, I sah-wear!

Tasty Side: Asparagus with Chives and Lemon Zest

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We had a few weeks of summery weather and now the tides have changed. I'm wrapped in a blanket shivering at my computer and sipping hot tea because, understandably, our building turned off the heat in April. So I will do my best to evoke the essence of Spring even though I'm feeling like winter today.

Farmers' Market Finds - May 29th

Today is my daughter's 18 month birthday and we didn't get off to a good start. It was rainy and dreary outside, but baby girl was itching to go around 8am. Of course, she wanted to walk rather than ride in her stroller, which might have been a possibility except that it was pouring outside. I was also bummed thinking the market might be rained out and all the tasty things I wanted to find wouldn't be there. Thankfully, just as I had wrangled baby girl into the stroller and pulled the rain cover over her, the rain stopped and we made our merry way to the market where, as it turns out, the rain hadn't prevented my darling farmers from setting up their stands.

This time of year is the best in my opinion because winter is truly behind us - a cold day means 60 not 30 degrees - and every week at the market is a new discovery. This week, the herbs were out in full force, all flowery and green. Baby girl immediately grabbed a bunch of chives, she flashed our friends from Bradley Farm the cutest smile and scored us a free bunch. I also picked up some thyme and sage (pictured above) and I had to pin my own arms behind my back to avoid getting bunches of mint and peppermint and basil and on and on.

Also at the market were asparagus, strawberries, baby bok choy, hot house tomatoes, spinach and loads of lettuce. As you may have gathered from last week's post, I'm obsessed with my new salmon recipe. I have some creme fraiche in the fridge so there's tonight's meal, but what am I going to do with the big beautiful bunches of thyme and sage? Any suggestions?

Farmers' Market Finds - May 15th

'Congratulations! Today is your day. You're off to great places! You're off and away!' Currently, my daughter is obsessed with Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. I read that dang thing cover to cover at least 4 times a day. Some times, once I'm finished, she'll just look up at me and say 'mah!' which means 'more!' in baby language.

This morning, however, had a very Dr. Seussian feel to it: a balmy wind was blowing, the sun was out and then back in the clouds and out again. I had a feeling, as I buckled baby girl into her stroller and set off for the farmers' market, that we were bound to find great things today. And we did. Today was the first day since last fall that the market seemed alive with produce rather than filled with jars of honey and applesauce. While I love preserves of all kinds, I need some fresh veggies in my life.

Along with the asparagus and spinach I've previously written about, baby girl and I found the most beautiful chives with their flowers still attached. Seriously, they're in a vase right now begging for me to keep staring at at them and fantasizing over all the things I'm going to do to them in the kitchen this weekend. We also got some lovely scallions and a pound of just-cut-this-morning baby lettuces. They are so delicate and soft - the more handfuls I took, the more I wanted to keep taking. They felt that good. My farmer friends from Bradley Farm in New Paltz, New York suggested I sprinkle the chive flowers over a nice salad - I think I'll do just that.

Was Blind, But Now...

Every day last week, every time I opened my fridge, there they were, two and a half pounds of once fresh and beautiful spring asparagus deteriorating before my very eyes. Whether I was reaching for milk or for other, less qualified vegetables, I always threw a guilty glance at the long green stems as they stood up, erect and proud, in the shallow dish of water I had so conscientiously placed them in.

I'd had the best intentions. Really, I had. The Sunday I bought them I was hosting a small dinner party; the menu included spring lamb shoulder, homemade olive tapenade, lentils and asparagus. They were to be steamed and served with a lovely red wine and shallot vinaigrette. It was going to be grand...

But then I got it into my head to make a Greek salad and I thought I could do both. I was convinced, but alas, I couldn't and the asparagus suffered. So, here I was this past Saturday afternoon wondering what to do with this sorry lot of greenery. I was about to throw them all away when my husband suggested I make a soup. I argued with him as I usually do when he makes a suggestion, especially a good one. I shooed him and our baby girl out the door to the playground so I could make dinner and then I got to thinking, 'hmmm, maybe he's onto something.'

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of chatting with Nach Waxman, owner of Kitchen Arts and Letters on the Upper East Side. It's a fabulous store dedicated to books on food and cooking. He said the difference between Europeans and Americans is the Euros think to themselves, what do I have to coook with tonight whereas we think what do I want to make for dinner. Aha! I realize now my Massachussetts-raised hubby is more Euro than me, American mutt that I am. Not only that, but he's definitely more Eco and budget conscious and way more Alice Waters worthy. Who in their right mind would've thought to waste the first bounty of spring after such a cold winter?

Asparagus Soup

Nach Waxman also said that a good cook never follows a recipe to a T. She flips through a few books, gets an idea, puts the books back on the shelf and starts cooking. Well, that's exactly what I did. I got the gist for what goes into a tasty asparagus soup and then found my own path of righteousness.

***
Preheat the oven to 400, then grab, say, 2.5 lbs. of asparagus, 4-5 large shallots, 3 garlic cloves, a few sprigs of thyme, some salt, some pepper and a bottle of olive oil.


Wash the asparagus and snap off the dry ends by holding a stalk of asparagus at each end and bending - AW says it will break at the perfect spot. Slice up the shallots and press the garlic. Throw them into a roasting pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper and splash a healthy dose of olive oil over the whole thing. Toss it all together - make sure everything is nicely coated with oil - and pop in the oven for about 15 minutes.


Once the asparagus are nicely roasted, cut them in half and throw the entire mixture into a food processor. Add a good amount of chicken stock to the processor and pulse until it's nicely pureed. Move it all to a pot, turn on the heat and add a bit more stock for texture, a squeeze of fresh lemon and some salt and pepper if you need it.


To serve, ladle a helping into a soup bowl, then sprinkle a bit of Parmesan cheese and add a few strands of fresh lemon zest. My baby girl was lapping it up like it was ice cream. Enjoy!

Approximate Dinner Cost
• Well, this wasn't exactly a meal, but we ate it for lunch with grilled cheese for four days straight so eight bowls of soup came to about $2.25 per bowl. Not bad considering the asparagus soup at our local gourmet grocer is $8 for 2 servings.

*Author's Request - I just have to ask for a pat on the back for finally figuring out how to take a decent picture with my Sony Cybershot. However, I'm still trying to master getting one of my motion-filled 17 month old!