Dean and Don's

There is a great seasonal produce place that open in April, closes in November and other than the farmer's market is the best place to gt fresh produce around here. John, Emma, and I headed over to see what was in this weekend. Wow did we find some tasty treats. John wanted a watermelon, instead of a whole one we found an already cut up one that was the right size for us, and allowed Emma to try her first bite of watermelon. I found a perfect 1/2 cantaloupe to enjoy the prosciutto sitting in my fridge with. There were pre-season strawberries that if I did not know when the right part of the season was I would not have know they were early based on the flavor of these ones. John found some shortcakes to go with so this morning we enjoyed strawberry shortcake sans the whip cream for breakfast. Plus I have two strawberry recipes that I want to try out so those are on the menu in a day or two. There was local asparagus that had some of the deepest purple tips I had ever seen. Navel oranges, new potatoes in a basket, and an apple for John rounded out our purchases. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the tomatoes that are on the menu tonight, some great beefsteaks that smelled fresh picked. I am in fresh fruit and veggie heaven and the kids are loving it too.

Perfect Seasonal Side

Rena and I were having a conversation about food, as always, and she mentioned a salad that she had read about that featured peas and asparagus, I thought that sounded great, so armed with no recipe off I went to create a great side dish to feature the local asparagus that I got at Dean and Don's the other day. This is quick and simple and even my five year old liked it.

1 bunch of local asparagus
1/3 cup of frozen peas
2 tablespoons of olive oil
the zest from 1 lemon
salt and pepper to season

Wash asparagus and cut each spear into about 3 pieces. Heat a skillet large enough to fit all of your asparagus on medium high and add oil. When oil is heated add asparagus, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. Cook stirring regularly until asparagus begins to turn a brighter green, about 3 minutes, at this time add the peas and cook until peas are bright green. Serve on the side of fish, chicken, pork, beef, or eat alone. Enjoy...