Poached Egg & Braised Asparagus

Local spring asparagus have been hard to come by in my neck of the woods.  After speaking with my favorite Montauk fish monger (who stocks great local produce), I learned that the rainy weather diminished the supply and many farmers barely have enough to supply their own farm stands. If you see any stalks, snap them up.  And while you are at it, grab eggs and Parmesan cheese to whip up this elegant little lunch. 

The simplicity of today's recipe is spot-on, because the nuttiness of the asparagus really shines through. Equally as nice for a dish-washing detester like me, is re-using the same pan to poach the eggs. There is no such thing as too many poached eggs in my book, so I am certain to be exploiting the technique for years.

My summer CSA delivery starts tomorrow which means I'll be blogging regularly again soon. Yippee! Until then, enjoy a few shots taken with my fancy new SLR lens. I have heaps to learn, but am really hoping to up the quality of my #foodphotography. 

Braised Asparagus with a Poached Egg

Courtesy of Food & Wine and Gwyneth Paltrow 

Ingredients  

• 1 bunch of asparagus, ends snapped off*
• 1 tablespoon of butter 
• 1/4 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 
• 2 eggs
• Water 
• Salt & pepper  

*There is a "to snap or not" asparagus debate out there, but I'm partial to the snapping simply because it is fun! 

Directions

• Preheat the broiler on high.
• Fill a large deep skillet with salted water, bring to a boil and blanch the asparagus until tender, about 3 minutes. Leaving the water in the skillet, transfer the asparagus to a paper towel–lined plate and pat dry.
• Arrange the asparagus in single layer in a pan, brush with butter, season with salt and pepper, and top with the cheese.
• Broil 6 inches from the heat until golden, about 1 minute.
• Meanwhile, bring the asparagus blanching liquid to a simmer. Crack the eggs into a glass, then, after swirling the water into a circle, swiftly pour them into the simmering water.
• Cook until whites set, but the yolks are runny (3 ~ 4 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, remove each egg and blot dry.  Top with a sprinkle of salt & pepper, and serve on top of the asparagus. 

About Asparagus 
High in fiber, vitamin B and calcium, Asparagus are a flowering and hearty perennial plant.  If you are considering a home garden (more on that later!), these nutrient-dense fellows are known to re-produce for up to 15 years without replanting. 

#OnePotMeals: Roasted Chicken over Kale & Potatoes

I'm back at work, two weeks into this working mum thing and we are surviving.  So far I'd say this transition has been successful--the tears are less frequent, the baby seems happy (if also snotty!) and I am starting to sense a routine.  Aside from the painful tugs on my heartstrings each morning, the biggest struggle is in the food department.  How does one balance work, spending time with the little guy at night and eating well at home?  I welcome any and all input on the balance, and have two initiatives of my own:

1)  A quick and easy recipe share:  I emailed friends and came up with a (short) list of quick and easy recipes. I'd love more inspiration, so please please please add in any of your go-to mid week recipes. You can find, use and add to that shared recipe document here.

2) I'm shifting my dinner expectations with apologies to all the 15 step, 10+ ingredient recipes I used to love. (It's not you, it's me... we want different things right now, complicated recipes!).  I declared Sunday evening my official #OnePotMeals night, where I'll make a double portion of a One Pot Meal to enjoy and reheat for a second supper later in the week.

The first #OnePotMeals Sunday recipe follows below. Was it quick, easy and healthy? Yes. Was it the most flavorful thing ever?  Maybe not. But I spent almost all afternoon and evening with my little guy and can now spend all of tomorrow evening with him while we enjoy the leftovers. Shifted priorities!  

#OnePotMeals: Roasted Chicken with Potatoes and Kale

Courtesy of Food and Wine 

Ingredients

• 3 cups of tightly packed, cleaned and chopped kale
• 1 medium vidalia onion, thinly sliced
• 6-8 fingerling or Yukon potatoes, sliced into 1/4th inch slices*
• 6 pieces of chicken (thighs and drums) 
• 1/5 cup of olive oil
• Lemon wedges
• Paprika 
• Salt & Pepper

*While the recipe calls for Yukon Gold, I enjoyed fingerlings from my CSA share

 Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees
• Toss the potatoes, kale, and onion in oil, salt & pepper
• Layer the mixture in a dutch oven
• Top the vegetables with well salted and peppered chicken pieces
• Sprinkle the chicken with paprika
• Cover the pot, and cook for 20 minutes
• Remove the lid, and cook for another 30-35 minutes until the chicken is cooked through
• Enjoy with a healthy squeeze of lemon juice

Carrot Ginger Soup with Coconut Roasted Shrimp

Carrot and ginger are making their second combined appearance here on Lauren Living Locally. If you happen to be a regular reader, you'll remember this conversation where a fellow CSA loving neighbor and I dorked-out over veggies, farm shares and kale at a holiday party. This soup was for him and his growing family, after he and his wife welcomed a second precious baby girl with the fullest head of hair.

After we had our son earlier this year, he dropped off the most *SCRUMPTIOUS* beef stew, brimming with 18 hour braised root vegetables.  It was absolutely divine, and I am yet to produce a stew anywhere near as delicious, despite having literally the exact same ingredients at my disposal.  I love a cooking goal, and that stew is high on the target list. 

Hoping to return the post-baby meal delivery favor, I wanted to make a CSA-based meal that I knew he wouldn't make himself.  Using the shrimp from this Food & Wine recipe, and my take on a yummy flavor combination you have Lauren Living Locally's version of Carrot & Ginger Soup with Coconut Roasted Shrimp.  The samples tasted while prepping were yummy, and early reviews via text message were positive! 

Carrot and Ginger Soup with Coconut Roasted Shrimp 
Ingredients

• 4 cups of cleaned and roughly chopped carrots
• 1 white onion, diced
• 2 shallots, minced
• 3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth 
• 1 can light coconut milk
• 12 extra large shrimp, cleaned with tails on
• 1.5 tablespoons of coconut shreds
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• Pinch of cayenne
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
• In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat
• Add the onion and shallots, and saute until glistening
• Add the tomato paste and ginger and stir to combine
• Toss in the carrots, and cook for two minutes
• Cover the entire contents with the stock, bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer over low heat cooking with the top on until the the carrots are tender (15-20 minutes depending on the chop of your carrots)
• Blend with an immersion hand blender or transfer to a food processor
• Once blended, return to the pot and stir in the coconut milk
• Keep warm 
• Meanwhile, toss the cleaned, tail on shrimp with the olive oil, salt and pepper, cayenne and shredded coconut
• Line a tray with parchment paper, and bake in a 400 degree oven for 7-9 minutes until pink
• Serve the soup topped with the coconut shrimp and a side of chunky bread

Soup en route 

Carrot Ginger Salad Dressing

As part of Operation July (a.k.a. feel good about my body 6 months after birth), I am on a vegetable-based lunch mission. It has taken a bit of discipline to have enough creative and quick to make options on hand, but I'm getting better at it.

I'm washing and bagging my own lettuce mix (radicchio, endive and red leaf), storing chopped vegetables to easily scoop on salads, hard-boiling a dozen eggs on the weekend, and always making sure I have ripe avocado and good steaming vegetables on hand.

The real breakthrough has come by stocking up on homemade dressing. Prep on Sunday is leading to saved time mid-week AND a good variety making the vegetable lunch mission sustainable. Sesame vinaigrette, shallot lime... and today's flavor, Carrot Ginger.

As you know from this post, I'm a Japanese food fanatic. The winter CSA is carrot and garlic heavy, so the timing is perfect for my take on the staple Japanese dressing. I've made a lot of carrot ginger dressings, (this, that and the other one) and now have my personal perfect recipe down. The key is 10 minutes of extra work, boiling the carrots to soften them. It makes all the difference. Enjoy!

Carrot and Ginger Salad Dressing 
Ingredients

• Juice of 1 lemon
• Juice of 1 orange
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1.5 inches of fresh ginger, peeled*
• 1.5 tablespoons tahini
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 3-4 medium to large carrots 
• 1/3 cup reserve cooking water

Directions

• Clean the carrots, roughly chop them, place them in a small pot and cover with water
• Bring to a boil and cook over medium low heat for 10 minutes
• Drain, reserving 1/3 cup of cooking water
• Add all the ingredients to a food processor, and blend until smooth

*Love this trick: The easiest way to peel ginger is with a teaspoon.... the skin slides off!

The latest batch of dressings, Carrot Ginger on top!

The Perfect (Fr) Omelet

I remember the first time I had really good eggs. It was at my family summer cottage on Dorval Island near Montreal, and my Aunt Jane was at the stove.  This was before she and my uncle opened up their glorious bed and breakfast, and she had whipped up a batch of scrambled eggs for all the cousins. I undoubtedly ate and ran without stopping to share my delight in the eggs, but there was something in that scramble that made a life-long impression.

My love of eggs has blossomed since that first great scramble. A poached or fried egg adorn many meals these days: pasta, roasted veggies, sauted leeks, burgers. Breakfast for dinner is a favorite in the Hayduk (HeyLocke?) household. So much so that I've been trying to perfect my omelet for years. My first major leap was realizing how much better an omelet cooks over medium-low heat versus high or even medium high.  The next breakthrough was upgraded pans thanks to generous wedding gifts.  And recently, well recently, I hit the omelet jack pot when my obsession with tearing out and filing recipes really paid off.

I've made this "breakfast for dinner" omelet four times with my CSA eggs to make sure it really is "the" omelet recipe, ready for you dear readers. And it is. Oh, it is.

P.S. If any of you make this one, I'd love to hear your reviews in the comments section!

The Perfect Fromelet

Modified courtesy of Food & Wine's Omelet Souffle  

Ingredients 

1 serving

• Three eggs
• 1 pad of butter 
• Your choice of components: Onion, Mushrooms, Broccoli, Cheese, Bacon, Tomatoes, etc.
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

• Start your oven broiler. 
• Separate three large eggs. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks with a pinch of salt.
• In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until the top is frothy, about 1 minute by hand.  
• Note: If you want to try to original "souffle" style of the recipe, whisk much longer until soft peaks form. I prefer Fromelet (frittata + omelet) style and whisk less.
• Next whisk one-fourth of the egg whites into the yolks.
• Fold in the remaining yolks until the two are combined and the colour is uniformed. 
• In an 8-inch overproof nonstick or iron cast skillet, melt the butter over medium low heat.  Add the egg mixture, shaking to distribute evenly. 
• Let cook for about 1 minute, then sprinkle the toppings evenly over the top.  
• Transfer the entire pan to the oven and broil for 3-4 minutes before serving.  Holy yum!

Whisked Bright Egg Yolks

 Frothed Egg Whites

 The Final Fromelet: Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese