asparagus

Creamy Tahini & Lemon-Asparagus Soup / May 19, 2016 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

tending to my small backyard garden makes me super happy. it's a feeling i can't really explain. it challenges me, makes me think, forces me to get out of the apartment (especially on super busy days), and even in frustrating times i learn something. one of the first things i do in the morning is to check out what's growing, what critters are crawling around, if there are any birds in our new birdhouse - it's like a whole little ecosystem right outside our bedroom door. the same goes for my mom's garden which (before i moved out) i would help her tend to. when frank and i go up there on weekends, i bolt for the garden and peek at what's popping up. her rhubarb bushel and lemon verbena patches are getting so big, so we're planning to make a rhubarb pie for memorial day - but right now, when asparagus spears are shooting up, and chive, and other veg blossoms are blooming is my absolute favorite time. i will never ever tire of the various shades of spring green, or light purples, and vibrant yellows. every year they make my eyes totally sing.

this soup recipe was really created based on what's freshly available at the market, in my backyard, and (importantly) what this babe and i want to eat. this is a simple soup that really comes together quite fast. since there's no starchy potatoes involved the cook time is relatively fast - which is awesome! so what's the creamy base in this soup, you ask? TAHINI! when i was in LA the other week i saw a bottle of Soom tahini at my favorite little spot, Cookbook, and grabbed a bottle. since i came back i've been thinking up ways to use it aside from my weekly prep of tahini-yogurt sauce, or hummus. i really wanted the nutty flavor to shine. and shine it totally does. the soup is sturdy, light, and frothy, with just enough asparagus flavor, and hints of lemon-y tang. frank and i ate 2 mega servings the other night, and it's (for real) my new favorite soup. even the baby was moving around a whole lot, which i'm taking as an indicator that he's super into the soup as well! (also, in the notes below i have a mini list of my go-to tahini brands with links if you're interested.)

big spring hugs, all! xo

creamy tahini & lemon-asparagus soup | v

i use tahini pretty often in soup and i've found that the quality really matters both for the texture of the soup and the flavor. my favorite brand so far is Soom tahini which i found at a small shop, but is also sold here. some other brands i love are Roland, Al Wadi, and also 365 Whole Foods brand which is sold at Whole Foods but can also be found here. and i'm not sure about you, but i used to store my tahini in the fridge until i was told by a shop owner to store it at room temp and to just give it a good shake before using - i've never looked back.

| makes 2 large servings or 4 small |

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch spring onions, chopped (roughly 1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 lb. asparagus, woody ends trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or filtered water)
1/4 cup fresh chives
2 2-inch pieces lemon peels
1/4 cup tahini paste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
sea salt & fresh pepper

garnishes:

asparagus ribbons
chive flowers
pea tendrils or baby greens
tahini paste

method

heat a large soup pot over medium heat. once hot, add the olive oil and onion, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft and translucent. add the garlic, stir and cook for 30 seconds. add the asparagus and cook for 1 minute, then add the broth (or water), chives, and lemon peels. bring soup to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer and cook until the asparagus is tender, about 10-15 minutes. remove soup from heat and let sit for 10 minutes.
carefully transfer soup to an upright blender, add the tahini paste and lemon juice. blend on high for 1 minute, until smooth and creamy. taste and adjust salt and/or lemon juice.
return the soup back to the soup pot and bring to a simmer. garnish and serve hot.

enjoy!

more asparagus recipes:

asparagus, pea + broccoli rabe saute over chive-chickpea mash

cilantro black rice, w/ roasted asparagus + garlic scapes

balsamic roasted asparagus salad w/ fried capers + 7-minute eggs / June 2, 2015 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

balsamic roasted asparagus salad w/ fried capers + 7-minute eggs | dolly and oatmeal

it's hard to believe that it's been over a month since my last blog post! it was april then, and me and frank were just about to move. while the move was just down the street and around the corner, it was more of a headache than we thought. we wrongly assumed that since the move was short we could totally rent a uhaul and move ourselves - dur! i waited until the day before we moved to pack up the kitchen because i was testing and shooting recipes for the cookbook . plus, we were sandwiched between the new tenant moving into our old place, and the old tenant moving out of our new apartment, so we kind of made a mad dash of it piling everything into the uhaul and our car at the last minute. i was that crazy lady in the VW convertible doing laps around the block with plants and chairs, and boxes of cookbooks hanging out of the roof, while people looked on thinking i was nutso.

anyway, it's been a blast so far having a backyard(!!!) and quint (our pup) is LOVING it! he chases squirrels and cats all day long, hunts bugs, eats dirt, and sunbaths like a boss! frank has totally surprised me by how handy he is in the garden, and how determined he is to clean that yard up! so far he's found an old radiator, pounds and pounds of buried bricks, broken statues, and some rusty pipes; we're still trying to figure how all that random stuff made its way here! while it's been great having a outside space, it's even more awesome being able to tend to something that was in dire need of some major tlc - something about the process of making a space over, making it your own, is really gratifying on such a basic level.

speaking of gratifying, this salad! asparagus is one of my all time favorite vegetables, so when it's fresh at the market i'm buying it all up! this is more of a throw-it-together kind of meal, the kind i do for lunch most days, with leftover this, some greens, and always an egg. i almost always roast or top sautéed asparagus with a drizzle of really good aged balsamic vinegar, something about the sweet acidic bite it gives is just too good! i mixed it here with a mesclun mix, some leftover pea shoots, and (game-changing!) fried capers. bon appetit's perfectly runny, but cooked 7-minute egg is something i've been practicing to make for a while, and i've finally figured out how to remove the shell from the egg without the white coming along with it (instructions below!)! it's all about the little things, guys ;)

happy june to you all! xo

balsamic asparagus salad w/ fried capers + 7-minute eggs (gf)

serves 2

1 bunch asparagus (roughly 8oz), woody ends trimmed and sliced into 1 1/2-inches pieces on a diagonal
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
course sea salt
freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon drained capers
1/2 teaspoon organic cornmeal
2 large pasture raised eggs
2 handfuls mesclun mix, baby kale, or mustard greens
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

method

preheat oven to 400° F. in a baking dish, toss together asparagus, 2 teaspoons oil, and balsamic, season with salt and pepper. roast for 10 minutes, until tender.
while asparagus is roasting, fry the capers. toss the capers and cornmeal together. heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in small skillet over medium, once hot add the capers; cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until crisp and cornmeal coating is golden. use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel lined plate; set aside.
prepare an ice bath, set aside. fill a small saucepan 3/4 of the way with water and bring to a boil; gently lower eggs into the water and let it come back to a boil. lower to a rolling simmer and time eggs for 7 minutes. use a slotted spoon and transfer eggs to the ice bath. let eggs cool for at least 5 minutes. use the back of a spoon to tap and crack the shell, rinse eggs and slice in half.
in a large serving bowl, toss greens with lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon olive oil, season with salt and pepper. serve salad with roasted asparagus, fried capers, and sliced eggs. top with herb flowers and serve warm.

enjoy!

more spring recipes:

cilantro black rice with garlic scapes + asparagus

asparagus w/ shallot vinaigrette + crisp lemon zest

asparagus, pea + broccoli rabe saute over a chive + chickpea mash

cilantro black rice w/ roasted garlic scapes + asparagus / June 24, 2014 by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

cilantro black rice w/ roasted garlic scapes + asparagus | dolly and oatmeal

sometimes it was a long drive through the night, other times it was a 3am wakeup to make the drive up the east coast, to the vineyard. we would always take two cars, me and my mom in one, and my dad and brother in the other; the car was stocked up with sandwiches, tons of fruit and cassette tapes for listening purposes (oddly enough, during those trips i found an unwavering affinity for my mom's music, which included: joan baez, james taylor and annie lenox. while my dad acquired a liking for my brother's: nwa and epmd). once we got to woods hole, massachsetts, it was a long pause as we waited for our ferry arrive to ship us over the expanse of water between cape cod and martha's vineyard. depending on my age and mood, the ferry always felt somewhere between a hassle and an adventure - 45 minutes to the only place i wanted to be, and that i had yearned and dreamt for the past 300, some-odd days.

we rented the same house for the past couple of decades and it felt like our second home; we knew its smell, it's creaks, the sound of the loud, clunky washing machine, dialing the rotary phone, and the itchy couch my mom would cover with bed sheets. for the first 10 years or so the first thing my dad and i would do was head down the street to the beach cove. the shore would be littered with heavy doses of rocks and pebbles which we would sort through to find smooth flat ones to skip across the surface of the clear, rippled ocean. most days on the vineyard were spent at the beach, other times canoe rides, flea markets, fishing and squid jigging; there were trips to local farm and flower stands with an honor-system way of payment, and farmers markets before they were an everyday, ubiquitous thing. the vineyard was not so much a vacation, but a way i always wanted to live - small, quiet, connected. i think i hold on to these memories of this most special place because it not only reminds of some of the best moments and memories in my young life, but a sense of minimalism, of simple pleasures and creating memories and traditions without the complexity of every day interferences.

this dish, or salad of sorts, is totally based on a meal i think we would have made for lunch, or as an easy, pack-up, sunset dinner on the beach. garlic scape season is one of my faves, mostly because it reminds me of the vineyard. my mom and i would frequently visit our local farm-stand, beetlebung farm to pick up dinner ingredients. one afternoon we picked up garlic scapes; not knowing what to do with them, we sautéed them up with asparagus, and threw it all over some fresh pasta. today, i roasted it all, because i can't seem to eat asparagus and garlic scapes any other way this season (plus, it's a really quick cleanup for the lazy bones in me). i cooked the rice with cilantro stems for some added, herby flavor and tossed it all up with a considerable amount of minced cilantro and basil, and then topped it off with some pre-roasted (and salted) paprika-spiced almonds. all simple thangs, peeps, as i imagine cooking this up in a rental or vacation space without your normal, day-to-day kitchen arsenal. happy summering :)

cilantro black rice w/ roasted garlic scapes + asparagus

| serves 4 as a side |

this is more a "kitchen sink" recipe, i usually throw ingredients together that i have lying around the fridge so the amounts here are somewhat rounded up or down. the minced cilantro and basil are approximate amounts, but i usually like the ratio of 1/2 cup fresh herbs to 1 cup rice - so i would aim for measuring it that way. this dish is subtle enough that other flavors could definitely be added, be it different herbs or more pungent spices.

ingredients

1 cup black rice, rinsed
1 bunch cilantro, minced (reserve the stems)
1 small bunch basil, minced
4-5 garlic scapes, sliced thin (about 1/8 inch)
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed and sliced in 1 inch pieces
juice + zest from 1/2 a lemon
2 tablespoons roasted + salted almonds
1/2 teaspoon mild paprika
extra virgin olive oil for roasting and topping off
large grain sea salt + fresh ground pepper

instructions

in a medium saucepan, combine rice, cilantro stems (you can use one stem to tie a bundle of them), a big pinch of large grain salt and 2 cups of water. bring to a boil, stir and cover for 30-35 minutes, until all water is absorbed. remove from heat and let it sit covered for 10 minutes. when ready to serve, discard cilantro stems and fluff with a fork
while the rice is cooking preheat oven to 350° and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment. in a large bowl, combine scapes, asparagus, and lemon zest; season with sea salt and pepper, and coat evenly with olive oil (roughly 2 teaspoons). turn out onto prepared baking sheet and arrange the veggies in an even layer - roast for 12-15 minutes, until cooked through, but with some bite left
in a small sandwich bag, combine the almonds and paprika; using a rolling pin, crush the nuts until roughly broken, set aside
in large serving bowl, combine the rice, scape and asparagus mix, half the spiced almonds and about 3/4 of the minced herbs, drizzle with some good olive oil and add lemon juice; taste and check for seasoning, adding salt + pepper accordingly. garnish with remaining almonds and herbs. serve and enjoy!