Asparagus with fettuccine and smoked bacon

Holy Shit this was delicious. I was stuck for something to make for dinner. I've been totally out of inspiration recently. I've gone through the BBC Food recipes too many times and can't find anything good there. If you just google for 'recipes' you get a load of crap that involves opening a can of mushroom soup and a can of green beans and bleugh.

One way that I try to get some inspiration is to look for foods that are in season and then look for a new recipe to make with those. As it's spring, asparagus is in season, and asparagus is delicious. I've only ever steamed it and served on the side of something else. I decided that there must be something else to do with asparagus. Asparagus may be one of those foods that is both healthy and delicious, I just didn't know how to make it into a meal, rather than serving it beside chicken.

Being a boring and predictable human I looked on the usual websites: smitten kitchen and BBC food. There wasn't much to do with asparagus apart from to serve it wrapped in ham. I unchecked the "healthy" option to see what else goes with it, to see if I could find some good Google search terms to use helped me wade through the all the "semi-homemade" bullshit. That's when I came across this recipe and I couldn't help myself. "Balls to healthy", thought I. I made it anyway.

IT WAS SO FREAKING DELICIOUS! but that's because it contained a whole block of Parmesan, a whole packet of bacon and all the fat that came with the bacon. This was a meal that was built around a good idea, but became a bad idea pretty fast. Oh and it's supposed to serve six people, but it served four of us and we licked the plates clean. Usually, there is guilt and remorse surrounding such a decadent meal, but not this time.

The picture is blurry because I was so excited to eat it that I couldn't wait. I also forgot to add the parlsey in my haste. No regrets.

FREAKING. DELICIOUS.

Roasted cauliflower and Sausage and Spinach Balsamic Farfalle

I made roasted cauliflower with caramelized onion and parmesan.  I put a chopped onion and a cauliflower in a baking tray with olive oil, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper and baked for 35minutes. When it was cooked, I sprinkled with Parmesan.

I boiled water for pasta.  When the pasta went on, I cut up two chicken sausages and put them in a hot skillet. When they were cooked,  I added two cloves of garlic and a whole punnet of mushrooms (sliced). In about 5 mins, I added a packet of baby spinach and a punnet of salad tomatoes (halved). I seasoned the pan with salt and pepper.  I let them cook until the spinach was wilted. Then I poured over balsamic vinegar. When the pasta was cooked, I added this to the pan for a minute or two. I served with fresh cold mozzarella.

Husband loved the balsamic idea. Would totes make again.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Beetroot

My husband wanted to have a pizza in front of the TV tonight, so I made two things that he doesn't like. Brussels Sprouts and Beets.

I've never roasted either of these things. I found this recipe for roasted beets that also used the beet greens. it it suggested roasting the beets in olive oil for 45 - 60 minutes. The beet greens are not roasted but are sauteed with onion, olive oil and garlic. There were not many beet greens on my beets, so the beet greens part wasn't much to talk about, but the beets themselves were good. Once the beets were cooked enough that I could comfortably put a knife through them, they were peeled, sliced, and seasoned and drizzled with red wine vinegar. They weren't amazingly delicious, but they were pretty good.

I bought a bag of Brussels sprouts on impulse. It said on the back of the bag to roast them for 40 mins, so I put them in the baking tray with the beets. When they were good and crispy on the outer leaves, I took them out of the oven. I added bits of bacon and Parmesan. These were really good. I would certainly make these again. I got my husband to try one and he said "It's not the worst thing in the world", which isn't a glowing endorsement, but I'll take it.