Asparagus and Morels - Taste Heaven

Another night, another asparagus dinner. As luck would have it we were working in another area that had been burnt last year and sure enough there were more Morels to be found. One of my favorite food combinations of all time is asparagus and morels fried in butter with a little garlic and salt. What makes this dish so enjoyable is knowing just how seasonal it is. You may only have a 2-3 week window in which to eat these two great foods together. Well I didn't waste any time and within minutes of getting home from work I was in the kitchen whipping up this tasty dinner.
serves 2
20 minutes

• 2 salmon fillets
• as many morels as you want, cut in half or quarters
  
• as much asparagus as you want, cut into 3 inch long pieces
  
• left over quinoa and black beans
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced

1. Reheat your quinoa (see last post for recipe).
2. In a pan at medium heat melt butter and add the asparagus. Cook for 4 minutes.
3. Add morels and garlic and cook for a further 4 minutes.
4. At the same time, in another pan at medium high heat, melt a little butter and place your 2 salmon fillets. With a cover on the pan cook each side for 4 minutes for perfection, or longer if you want it cooked through.
5. Place all the cooked food on a plate and serve with a little salt and pepper.
6. A little grated Romano or Parmesan also goes quite nice with this meal.
   

Morel Mushrooms and Quinoa

I'm a Tree planter by trade and one of the many benefits of working outdoors are the annual Morel mushrooms that pop up in the spring. It's always hit and miss with these mushrooms since they usually come up in areas that have experienced a fire. Lucky for us, last year there was a very big fire in one of the areas that we plant trees. We went to one of those areas today and sure enough there were Morels popping out of the ground everywhere. We usually never plant in the same place twice so I made sure that I picked as many as I could while still making some money planting trees.
If you have never tasted a Morel there really are one of the nicest mushrooms out there. Fried up with butter and garlic they are one of the tastiest food you will ever eat. The other nice thing about Morels is that they dry extremely well and taste just as good, if not better, when used like this. You can then use them in soup, stews, pastas, risottos, etc. Tonight I had some left over quinoa so that was I used as a side dish.
serves 2
20 minutes

• As many Morels as you can get
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 cups of cooked quinoa
• 1 onion, sliced thin
  
• 2 cups of cut spinach
  

1. Fry the onion in a little olive oil and salt until slightly brown.
2. Add the spinach and quinoa and cook a further 3 minutes over medium heat.
3. In a separate pan at medium high melt the butter with the garlic and cook for 3 minutes.
4. Add the Morels and cook over medium high heat for 4-5 minutes.
5. Add the food from the 2 pans and serve with a little salt and cayenne.
   

Quinoa stir fry with Pumpkin seed pesto

Quinoa is one of my staple foods along with rice and pasta. This dinner is just a simple stir fry with a pesto sauce so anything you like could go into it.
serves 2
30 minutes

The stir fry.

• 1 large onion, sliced
• half a cube of tofu, cubed
• 10 mushrooms, cut to your liking
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups of chopped mixed greens

1. Dry roast quinoa in a pot until they start to slightly brown.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Turn to low and let cook for 25 minutes.
3. Fry onion, tofu and mushrooms in a pan at medium high for 10 minutes.
4. Add garlic and various greens (spinach, swiss chard, kale) and cook for 5 more minutes.
5. Add 2 cups of cooked quinoa and pumpkin seed pesto.
6. Top with some of your favorite cheese. I prefer Romano or Feta for this dish.

The pesto.

1. Dry roast 4 Tbsp of pumpkin seeds in a cast iron pan until they brown and begin to pop.
2. Grind coarsely in a food processor.
3. Add 1 cup of chopped cilantro, the juice from 1 lime, 1 chopped clove of garlic, a pich of salt and enough olive oil to get everything mixed together well. A little cayenne wouldn't hurt here either.