Tuesday, June 4, 2013

SpringSummer

That was a fabulous 20-minute Spring we had there, with little bursts of winter and summer intermingled!  Here in Georgia my pansies are usually done for by mid-March, at which point it gets too hot.

Nuh-uh.  I ripped their thriving selves out of the ground in late May.  I mean, I've killed lots of plants in my day, but never on purpose.  And oddly, the geraniums I planted two years ago (that never bloomed) and the dwarf hydrangea I planted three years ago (that never bloomed) are ALL BLOOMING.  Maybe my Darwinian approach to gardening - hey, if you can tough it out then you can stay - works.  Eventually.

So I could make all kinds of excuses about why I haven't been cooking or posting or whatever, but I'm tired of everyone else's excuses so I should extend the ban to myself.  This Asparagus-Ricotta Tart is really more of a crustless quiche; there's no tart pan necessary, no dough, no problem just using a skillet.

I do have to recommend Calabro ricotta cheese if you can find it.  It is far superior to any of the mass-market brands (sorry, stuff in the red tub).  Since there are only a few ingredients in this dish, they all have to be high quality.

From Good Housekeeping.  Go figure.  This makes a terrific brunch dish, especially with a side of cantaloupe.  I've also brought it to work, with a spinach-strawberry salad, for lunch.

Understand that there is ONE step to the directions.  This is my kind of recipe.  And I would even say that if you have a 9-inch round cake pan, that would be fine to use instead of the skillet.  Either way, give it a good coating of cooking spray.

Asparagus Ricotta Tart
Good Housekeeping

Ingredients
  • 15 ounce(s) ricotta cheese (I used Calabro part-skim.  Because it's awesome.)
  •  4 large eggs (I used 3 eggs and 2 egg whites, for calorie purposes)      
  • 1/4 cup(s) freshly grated Parmesan cheese (FRESHLY GRATED.  If all you have is the Kraft green can stuff then make something else for dinner.  Sorry.)      
  • 1/4 cup(s) milk  (I didn't have any!  I used about 2 TBSP of water.  If I'd had sour cream I would've thrown a dollop in a 1/4 cup measure and thinned it with water.  If you try that, please let me know how it turns out.)
  • 3 tablespoon(s) snipped chives (Didn't have any of those, either.  I used about 2 TBSP of fresh thyme from my garden, and 1 thinly chopped green onion ALSO from my garden).
  • 1/4 teaspoon(s) salt (Whatever.  No one measures this.)
  • 1/4 teaspoon(s) pepper (Or this.)
  • Asparagus spears, trimmed to fit (8 to 12 spears should do it)   
  • Some diced ham would also be very tasty in here; call it 1/4 cup.   

Directions
  1. Mix first seven ingredients together and pour mixture into 10-inch nonstick oven-safe skillet; top with asparagus spears and bake in 375 degrees F oven for 40 minutes.


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