The Blending Operation Went, Well, "Smoothie" :)

7/14/09: Lemon Asparagus Pasta & Strawberry & Peach Smoothies

• Meal details: Main course, lemon asparagus pasta -- steamed asparagus and ruffle pasta tossed together with lots of lemon zest, evaporated milk, Parmesan cheese, and pepper.

Dessert, strawberry and peach smoothies -- strawberry smoothie was made with our own fresh strawberries and a few spoonfuls of ice cream. The peach version was made using our frozen peaches packed in simple syrup. Nothing was added to the peach concoction except for water.

• Recipe sources: The pasta dish came from kitchenparade.com, the strawberry smoothie was found by visiting cooks.com, and the peach smoothie was my own doing.

• Defining moments: I USED THE BLENDER! Gosh, that's a big stepping stone, isn't it? :) Kidding aside, the blender experience was really something extraordinary. You wouldn't believe how many settings it has and the horrific noise it makes!

Besides the blender, anything exciting and new? Well, this would be the first time I had to steam a large amount of asparagus at once. The steaming part was no problem, only the washing and cleaning.

• What I learned: I learned that our blender can crush ice. The day before I made the smoothies I thought the blender wasn't capable of doing this and I thought I would have to do it all by hand. Fortunately, I misread the instructions and discovered that it is possible. Glad to hear that!

I also learned that using the double boiler works very well with steaming the asparagus. And you know what? The asparagus that I've been keeping in the refrigerator is holding up rather nicely. I was thinking they would be limp by this time but they have remained crisp and fresh. I guess the plastic bag with some water is doing its job well. I still need to freeze some because I don't think we will be able to use them all in time. It would be nice, too, to have asparagus available when our fruits and vegetables are ready to harvest.

• Any modifications? Yes, I made some to the pasta recipe. I eliminated the dill from the recipe and I used evaporated milk rather than the half-and-half it called for. I also used less asparagus, about half of what they called for. My family is new to asparagus so we have to take it slow you know!

• How it tasted? The pasta was really bright and fresh and the addition of Parmesan cheese did wonders! According to one taster, I added too much pepper. I may want to go back on that ingredient a bit next time. The smoothies were just how I expected them to be: fruity, summery, nectar-y. . . Don't I explain it so well? Annemarie said the strawberry version was really, really good; said it three times in fact!

• How about a 2nd time? All were winners, so yes. I would, however, add more asparagus to the pasta dish.

Now doesn't that look so nectar-y?