Asparagus soup and asparagus cheese tart for dinner. Sautéed some shrimp in garlic and butter to go with. Mom and I like ice in our water, and tonight mom put her ice in a separate cup so it wouldn’t dilute her water too much.
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Asparagus Tart:
This is one of the best things I’ve made in a while. I mixed drained greek yogurt (in lieu of creme fraiche) and soft feta cheese with an egg, garlic, tarragon, salt and pepper. Spread that out on the puff pastry (scored the edges to get a rim). Tossed asparagus spears in olive oil & red pepper flakes and spread on base, then shaved some parmesan cheese on top. Baked at around 425 F for 30 minutes. Chef’s kiss good. The dairy set up nicely, asparagus cooked well but not overdone, and it’s reheated nicely for lunch.
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Pre-made puff pastry is a gift from the gods.
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100% agree! Occasionally Mr. Linkey will make up big batches of regular pie dough and freeze in segments, but puff pastry is a whole different ball of dough 
The frozen stuff is so inexpensive and good. We try to always have some in the freezer (the tart used up our last sheet, so need to restock).
Based on this recipe, I’m looking forward to when our peppers come in, could imagine similar with sautéed shrimp and peppers. Yum.
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A reasonable look into all the reasons why people are not returning to their former jobs in the restaurant industry:
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Yes, but on a side note:
For about $10.99 you can get whole duck breasts from Freshdirect. Build up your own personal stash of duck fat.
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Lockdown #4 has been extended by a week*, so I’m still baking to keep myself sane (and warm). Spanikopita is comforting, rich and crunchy.
*”a week” to be determined retrospectively.
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Yum! Can I please come to your place for dinner when this bloody lockdown is over?
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Definitely! It’ll be time to get on the beers soon, I hope!
ETA for the non-Victorians
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mamey sapote are in season! yay!
love this fruit. so soft and yummy. make excellent smoothies. found in all the local farmer markets around here, they do not grow north of miami, but are all over the Carribean, Mexico, Central and South America. we have a tree growing in our yard, but it is not producing for another year or so.
I do love mamey ice cream!
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Yum! I’m pretty sure we got one of those at Robert is Here last time we were down that way.
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In the spirit of reporting on negative results, I had two failures this week to declare.
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Inspired by an episode of the Great British Bake Off, I attempted to make small Savarins. After two hours of proving, they’d barely grown and a check confirmed my dried yeast was way past its expiry date. I persisted and what ultimately came out of the oven were ~ok, but with the syrup they were more like buttercake and didn’t have any real yeast flavour (the highlight of a Savarin for me. Well, that and the rum.) We’re still in lockdown so after a ride this morning I might have another go.
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I wanted French onion soup but the only onions we had were red, so I thought I’d try using those. BIG MISTAKE. While it was hard to see when they were caramelised, at least smell is still a good guide. But when the stock went in the colour was awful (purple brown!), although The Teen did claim I’d win an award for inventing Goth Soup. Then I tasted it and realised it wasn’t Goth soup I’d invented as much as dessert soup. It was overwhelmingly sweet and inedible.
Areas for future research / Next steps
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Check the use-by date of yeast
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Never use red onions to make French onion soup.
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Pork schnitzel, oven roasted fingerling potatoes and spinach fresh from the market. Got the custard for more ice cream chilling to churn in the morning.
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Made a kale and green onion soup using all garden-grown veggies. Kale, garlic, green onion, parsley and celery, with a bit of chicken and chicken broth thrown in to fill it out.
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Holey Moley… Yes!
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I didn’t take a pic but I did make this last night with some frozen peppers and corn and shrimp. Used a pie crust instead of puff pastry and made it “galette” style. The feta/yogurt/egg combo is a delicious base! I baked that for a while on the crust then added the shrimp/veggie sautéed mix and some Parmesan and fresh herbs toward the end. Really good. But it was also in the mid-90s here yesterday (no AC), so poor timing for a baking dinner…
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Mediterranean-style Pacific rockfish (roasted with olives, garlic, olive oil, and seasonings):
On top of a rice blend with olive oil, lemon juice, and garden fresh oregano:
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