Eatables

This year for Thanksgiving I made traditional mashed potatoes with Yukon Gold potatoes. They have a rich buttery taste and work well for mashed potatoes since they brake apart easily. This dish turned out so smooth and creamy, absolutely delicious!

Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 20-25 minutes
Makes: 6 servings

Ingredients

• 6 Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed (and peeled if you like)
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• Dash of pepper
• A potato masher (or a mixer if you don’t have a masher)

Steps

1. Cube the potatoes. Put cubed potatoes in a large stock pot and fill with water until potatoes are covered. Add in 1/2 of teaspoon of salt to the water. Cover the potatoes and bring to a boil.
2. Once boiled, reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until very tender (a fork can poke through easily).
3. Drain potatoes and place into large mixing bowl. Melt the butter and warm the milk, then add to potatoes along with the salt and pepper. With a potato masher, mash the potato mixture until it is light and fluffy. Make sure not to over beat your potatoes.

• Change it up! You can also add a garlic twist to this recipe by adding 1-2 minced cloves of garlic (depending on how garlicky you like it) and substituting the salt for a dash of garlic salt.

If you know me then you know I love asparagus (practically my favourite vegetable). Asparagus season is here and there are plenty of recipes out there on how to eat it so I’ve decided to round up a collection of recipes and other assorted asparagus information from several other food blogs I read. Enjoy :)From a previous post of mine,

“According to Prevention Magazine, a half-cup of asparagus (about five spears) has more than double the total dietary fiber of red cabbage, more folic acid than 3 oranges, plus vitamin C, and is a significant source of B vitamins. So not only does it have a delicious flavour, it’s also good for you.”

• Roasted asparagus with thyme by yours truly
• Cook asparagus between firm and limp by Meg Hourihan at Megnut
• Penne with ricotta and asparagus by Elise at Simply Recipes
• Grilled asparagus with double lemon and Parmesan by Kalyn at Kalyn’s Kitchen
• Asparagus with eggs and asparagus panzanella by Adam Roberts at The Amateur Gourmet
• A veggie adventure: asparagus by Elise at Simply Recipes
• Making the most of English asparagus BBC article on asparagus

My husband and I just love eating fresh asparagus! But how do you know what fresh asparagus looks like? Fresh asparagus should be firm and green with tightly closed blueish tips . If you are not going to eat the asparagus right away, you should tightly wrap a damp paper towel around the stocks and store in a plastic bag. Obviously, the sooner you eat the asparagus the better and fresher the taste.

According to Prevention Magazine, a half-cup of asparagus (about five spears) has more than double the total dietary fiber of red cabbage, more folic acid than 3 oranges, plus vitamin C, and is a significant source of B vitamins. So not only does it have a delicious flavour, it’s also good for you.

Prep: 5 minutes
Bake: 15 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound asparagus (or about 20 spears)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (or 1 teaspoon chopped, fresh thyme)
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• Dash of pepper
• Squeeze of lemon juice

Steps

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Break (or snip) the base of each asparagus stock and either throw away or save later for soup.
2. Pour ingredients into a one gallon storage bag and add asparagus. Make sure each piece is coated with the olive oil mix.
3. Place asparagus on tin foil covered, shallow baking pan/dish. Spead out in a single layer.
4. Roast in the oven at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes (or until tender).