You're Right Dad, the Market is Inspiring!

I'm not generally a fly by the seat of my pants kinda girl, especially when it comes to food. I like to plan, I like to be organized; some may call this being anal retentive but I just call it being prepared in my food life. So today when I was walking to school and saw the slim and trim bunch of perfectly ripe and beautiful asparagus, I felt a strange sort of recklessness screaming to me inside that told me not to make pizza tonight but instead to be inspired by the season, buy the asparagus and make my all time favorite asparagus pasta. Thus, this afternoon when I left school and walked by the same store, I popped in bought some asparagus and salmon (there is not usually salmon in the pasta either so you can sense that I was just totally throwing caution to all plans and recipes and "should do's" by also planning to put the salmon in the pasta...can't you?) and had a quick and delicious dinner of pasta with freshly shaved asparagus, salmon and shaved pecorino. Yumm-y.

The pasta recipe is from my old favorite stand-by source, Everyday Food. I think I've professed my love for the Martha publication before but I really do love it. I find that some months are better than others as far as content but I also find that some of my favorite recipes are ones that I have adapted from there. If you haven't picked one up before, it is a really great little resource for quick, fast and tasty meals. This recipe is one from about a year ago (though you can still find it online) and I have adapted it a little to suit my taste. I encourage you to do the same. Also, the salmon is something that I've thought about adding before but did for the first time today and really enjoyed it. The flavour of the fish was almost too much for the pasta but it was nice to get a little protein in there to fill fuller. The recipe that I've included below is my adapted one, but you can search the Martha/Everyday Food website for the original if you like.

PASTA WITH SHAVED ASPARAGUS, PECORINO, AND SALMON
With the amount of ingredients I give you, it would probably serve two very hungry people or three (max four) not so hungry people

1-8 ounce salmon fillet
1/2 box of pasta (whatever kind you like, I'm partial to the long and thin)
8-10 stalks of asparagus shaved with a vegetable peeler (basically, just pretend that the asparagus is a carrot and shave off thin stripes -- it's not hard, I promise)
1/2 to 3/4 cup finely grated pecorino cheese (you could also use asiago or parm and if you are not a cheese fan add less, if you are, add more)
4 tablespoons of butter cut into pieces
Zest of one lemon, juice of two
1/2 cup of reserved pasta water
Salt and pepper to taste


The salmon was not pleasing to the eye, hence its absence and I'm using black pepper pecorino just in case you are wondering what those black things are in my cheese...

Preheat the oven to 400 and cover a baking sheet with tin foil so you have less mess for later; at the same time, put a pot of water on the stove for the pasta -- while the oven is heating and the water is boiling, you can be prepping. While you are waiting, wash and trim off the bottom bits of the asparagus and peel them like you would a carrot. Grate your lemon and zest it, cut your butter and pre-grate your cheese. Then, lightly salt and pepper the salmon and place in the oven now that it has come to temperature. It should take, depending on the thickness of the fillet, about 10 or so minutes to cook, usually just about as long as it takes the pasta to cook. When the pasta is a couple minutes from being done, add the asparagus to cook (yes, right in with the pasta -- it's ok, you want them to mingle) and make sure to use a ladle to get your reserved pasta water too. Then, when the pasta is fully cooked (the asparagus should be too but just taste it if your worried) drain it into a colander and then place it back on the stove adding most of the cheese, some lemon juice, salt and pepper, the butter and the reserved pasta water. Briskly stir up all the goodies in the pot and watch as a nice thin sauce starts to develop. Don't be worried if it seems like there is a lot of liquid in the bottom, just turn your pan back on and let the starch from the pasta water thicken it up. After the sauce, your pretty much done. I usually put my pasta in a serving dish, sprinkle on more cheese and lemon and today the salmon and then I eat the pasta, usually until it's all gone.


As a side note for those following my progress at school, today was a tough day. I had my first test today and while I was thrilled that I had studied (and man alive did I study), it was still quite tough and a little different than the tests I was used to. First of all, there was math. Lots of math. And then there were a lot of questions that were multiple choice that were worth 4 points. Now, I don't know about y'all but I'm pretty sure that multiple choice is either right or wrong and there is not too much of a grey area for 3 other points to linger in. It was tough and I am glad it's over. We also started learning about sugars today. We made a simple syrup (combination of sugar, water and cream of tarter, cooked till syrup-y) and with the simple syrup we made lemonade (totally, totally yummy and a diabetic nightmare) and then we made fudge. Real fudge -- not the marshmallow fluff fudge but the fudge that you cool and pull on marble slabs fudge. It was intense and it took a really, really long time but it was still fun. We get to taste it tomorrow so I will let you know in tomorrow's blog how it turned out.