Sunday, April 17, 2011

Spring Feelings

Spring always means freshness and revival to me.  What is the new year bringing and just trying new things and adventures. 



Blooms from our Bradford Pear tree, so fresh and the bees really love it .

I have several friends that are eating healthy for various reasons and I thought maybe we should, well to a point you know.   Eldon is definitely a meat and potatoes man and he is not eating very many potatoes but the meat ?  I just cooked a brisket  yesterday and it was yummy even if I do say so myself.    Marilyn and Mikey are one couple that first come to mind about eating well and healthy.  So I wanted to share this recipe with you all, it is a salad and very good.  Sometimes when you try a new recipe you have to make it a couple of times and tweak it to your liking but this one was pretty well right on.   I did half it, there are only two of us.  Well, the furbabies but they didn't get to share with us.

                                       Artichoke and asparagus salad 

2 bunches asparagus, ( I snapped the bottoms off of them )
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar   ( I used rasberry balsamic vinegar)
1 teaspoon of  lemon zest  ( did't have it so used some orange zest )
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup olive oil
two 14 oz cans drained artichoke hearts ( I cut them up)
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Set a large bowl of ice water next to the stove.  No, not to put out the fire you might start, it does have a good purpose.

Place the asparagus in the boiling water and blanch until bright gree and just tender, about 4 minutes.  Transfer the asparagus to the ice water to cool and stop the cooking .   Drain well.

In a large bowl, whisk together the mustard, sal, pepper, lemon juice, vinegar, lemon zest, thyme and oil.  Gently toss the drained asparagus spears and the artichoke hearts in the dressing.  Serve sprinkled with the feta cheese.

There you go, I think a healty dish.   Well, it is more healthy than potato salad but I love that also, a good southern dish.

That is it for today.  Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world today. 

7 comments:

  1. Hi Dear Friend: I love the spring blossoms too. I also love to watch Paula Deen. We have visited her resturant. Usually I cannot make her dishes. I CAN make this one as it is pretty diabetic friendly. Hugs, Kathy

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  2. I just wrote a long comment....and it disappeared. Darn! Let me see if this one works. This recipe looks delicious and I can't wait to print for my files and try it!

    Marilyn

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  3. Here is one my friend sent me and the changes I made to it. It was fabulous! On my list to make again for sure.

    We had this with roasted fresh asparagus and no rice or pasta. By itself it was just great. Changes I made to it...added fresh mushrooms I had on hand, chopped garlic, raised white wine to one full cup, used two fresh squeezed Meyers Lemons on it. I used ground thyme and put that and the fresh grated Parmesan cheese on at the end. I did NOT use any butter and I only use Olive Oil.
    Next time I will raise the artichokes to TWO cans because they are just so good in this!

    Sun-dried tomato artichoke chicken

    1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (I used dried)
    2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
    1/4 C flour
    2 T Canola oil (I used olive oil)
    1/2 C white wine
    Juice of 1 lemon
    1 14oz can quartered artichoke hearts (drained)
    1/3 C julienne cut sun-dried tomatoes
    2 T butter
    2 T Parmesan cheese

    Cut chicken into 1-inch chunks. Preheat large saute pan on med=high 2-3 minutes.
    Place flour and chicken in zip-top bag and shake to coat. Place oil in pan then add chicken and
    cook and stir -2-3 minutes until lightly brown.

    Stir in wine. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 2-3 minutes or until liquid is slightly reduced.

    Sprinkle lemon juice over chicken, stir in remaining ingredients (except thyme and cheese); cover; cook 2-3 min. or
    until chicken is 165 degrees. Remove pan from heat stir in thyme and sprinkle with cheese. Serve.

    --------------------------------

    I put in an additional chicken breast that's why I had leftovers for 2 days. For leftovers, I added chicken broth, roasted veggies I had
    from before, microwaved and served over whole wheat spaghetti. It was really good. Chicken was very tender.

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  4. Thank you for the recipe Annette, I love salads and healthy food ( Including potatoes), and this one sounds really good.
    Spring flowering is fantastic, not only because of the flowers, but because you know...that now it is going the right way!

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  5. I love asparagus and artichokes served any way. But, the Hubs won't eat either. Boo Hoo! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  6. Hello Annette!

    What a fun, colorful blog you have! So glad you stopped by my blog... 'cos now I found yours!

    Teresa

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  7. wow sounds so yummy must try this when family come to visit...

    hugz bev

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