Having My Spring and Eating It Too

So, I'm taking a quick little hiatus from my project posting because I was super unproductive this week and didn't complete anything I want to share my current favorite spring salad. In case anyone is wondering, spring fever has taken a strong hold on me and I'm embracing everything spring-y right now. And in terms of food, that means asparagus!

I used to hate asparagus. Once when I was little, our mom made it for us and it was so disgusting that she promised that she would never make it again. And she kept her word- I don't think that I ate it again until after I got married. I'm not sure when I tried it again and I'm also a little fuzzy on when I became such an asparagus nut. But here I am, scarfing as much asparagus as possible during the spring and pining away for it during all the other seasons of the year.

So, last night I made an asparagus, bacon, almond, and arugula salad with sherry vinaigrette. (I know, more ingredients = more pretentious recipe title. It's ok, I'm leaning into it.) Anyway, I'm not one of these "Put Bacon On Everything!" people but the bacon was incredible. It made the salad delicious and the only thing lacking was some kind of fruit. (I like my salads to hit every flavor note possible.)

We've also had asparagus pesto, shaved asparagus pizza, asparagus in pasta, and just plain steamed. I'm still on the hunt for an asparagus flan recipe that I glimpsed somewhere a couple years that I've never been able to locate anywhere. If you find it for me, I'll make you a delightful asparagus salad....

Happy Fresh Weekend, Friends!

-Alissa

Nesting in My Freezer

I'm officially in nest mode. All I want to do is hunker down and cook and organize our apartment in advance of the little one's big arrival. My plan is to make double batches of hearty meals once a week until I've tried them all and my freezer is full of delicious, fortifying food to defrost with one hand while juggling a wriggly baby with the other. Pinterest is helping me dream big. Here are the six meals on my menu:

Lasagna Soup from A Farm Girl's Dabbles

[Not Pictured]

Mom's Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes from my mom

Karen's Zucchini Bread from Micky's mom 

+ the added high fiber ingredients from a Whole Food's recipe

Mac & Cheese with Spinach (Instead of Kale) & Bacon from Good Life Eats

French Beef Stew with Red Wine from Katie at the Kitchen Door

Mushroom Soup from Season with Spice

I wanted a bunch of comfort foods with healthy ingredients that would do a recent-birth-giving body good. Lots of whole grains, protein, dairy, leafy greens, and fruits and vegetables are all important for that. I'll be sure to share my mom's meatloaf recipe when the time comes, along with Micky's mom's zucchini bread (if she'll let me give up her secrets), plus a review of how the rest of them turn out, including which dishes freeze/reheat the best. Yes, a follow-up will be forthcoming! 

- Cathleen 

[Images courtesy of merchantcircle.com, A Farm Girl's Dabbles, Whole Foods, Good Life Eats, Katie at the Kitchen Door, and Season with Spice]