Asparagus Mimosa blooms with color and rich flavor

This was just as pretty as it was healthy—a very nice touch to Hubby’s birthday dinner this past weekend. Asparagus Mimosa—doesn’t it just sound appealing? The name relates to the fact that the grated hard-cooked eggs have the look of yellow mimosa blossoms, according to the original recipe source.

The diced smoked sausage was an added extra to the fresh asparagus that had been cooked in boiling salted water, drained, and then plunged into ice water to make it crisp-tender.

We enjoyed this dish served both hot and cold. It was a great accompaniment to the grilled-chicken main course (more on that later this week). A little hot sauce (I used Tabasco) was the perfect crowning touch.

Asparagus Mimosa

1 pound fresh asparagus

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 grated hard-cooked egg

2 tablespoons sautéed finely diced spicy smoked sausage (I used turkey sausage)

1 teaspoon chopped fresh chives

hot sauce

Trim fresh asparagus. Cook in boiling water to cover 1 to 2 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain. Plunge asparagus into ice water; drain. Toss with cider vinegar, olive oil, salt (I used salt substitute), and pepper. Place on a serving platter; top with grated hard-cooked egg, sausage, and chives. Serve with hot sauce. Makes 4 servings. (Source: Southern Living, April 2013)

Calling a truce with raisins makes for enjoyment of this sweet salad

In earlier blogs I’ve discussed how I finally made peace with having raisins as ingredients in carrot salad. I’ve mentioned how my adoration of the carrot salad offered during the glory days of Wyatt’s Cafeteria during my growing-up years was tempered only by the detestable raisins that swam in the sweet, juicy dressing that held the shredded carrots together.

Then, years later, my own child began picking at her foods and strategically working her way around parts of salads, casseroles, and veggie dishes that she didn’t want to eat. When I adjured her, she said, in effect, “Why not? You pick the raisins out of your carrot salad.” Ouch! Out of the mouth of babes . . .. Lesson learned. I began eating ALL my carrot salad—raisins, too!

My Taste of Home Thanksgiving Recipe cards that I’m so in love with featured a beautiful, colorful Carrot-Raisin Salad and recommended it as a side dish. Because of my fascination, dating back to my early years, with carrot salad, I just had to try this. But before I did, I had to make sure that I could use some raisins from the stash that Hubby uses for snacks. See, I’ve made peace for sure.

This easy recipe merely calls for grating the carrots, adding chopped celery and onions, and tossing it all with 6 ounces of nonfat vanilla yogurt. I didn’t happen to have celery, so I used pineapple tidbits, since the Wyatt’s cafeteria version often contained pineapple instead of the celery.

It was good to the last bite—with not one raisin left on my plate! We’re now the best of friends.

Carrot-Raisin Salad

2 1/2 cups shredded carrots

1 celery rib, chopped

1/2 cup raisins

3/4 cup (6 ounces) vanilla yogurt (I used non-fat)

(I tossed in 1/2 cup diced pineapple tidbits as a sub for the celery;

or it could be tossed in as an additional ingredient)

In a small bowl combine all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Stir before you serve. Makes 4 servings.

Always on the hunt for creative ways to prepare carrots—found one!

Imaginative, quick ways to prepare that healthy but prosaic side dish—the carrot: I’m always on the lookout for them. As I’ve blogged about before, I’ve had a passion for carrots ever since I was a wee sprout propped up on seat cushions to dine at Dallas’ Wyatts Cafeteria on its legendary carrot-raisin-pineapple salad. 

Everyone knows the nutritive benefits of this bunny food—beta carotene, which benefits the eyes; helps for diminished risk of heart disease; boosts to healthy skin, hair, and bones; great source of fiber, to name just a few plusses.

In other words, if your mother said eat them and you did everything possible to avoid her counsel, you were WRONG. We grow too soon old and too late smart.

But how to add diversity to the orange veggie? The Chickasaw Nutrition Services, ever on a quest to help people dine more healthfully, gave me a recipe card for Balsamic Roasted Carrots. I love the simplicity of the plan: roast some sticks of quartered carrots in the oven; toss the carrots in an olive oil-and-balsamic vinegar mix before roasting. Roasting about 15 minutes in the oven leaves the carrots cooked to a slightly crunchy/tender but not overly mushy stage.

Actually, these tasted as good chilled as they did warm. I can imagine making these in advance of a picnic and refrigerating them to serve as you would a marinated carrot salad alongside chicken nuggets. See, I’ve returned to my roots: carrot salad—the food that got this whole carrot thing started for me in the first place!

Balsamic Roasted Carrots

8 carrots, medium, peeled, cut in half and then quartered lengthwise (3 1/2 cups)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a roasting pan with foil. In a bowl combine all the ingredients; toss to coat. Place coated carrots in the pan and roast for about 15 minutes. Toss occasionally until caramelized and slightly tender. Makes 4 1/2-cup servings.