Thursday, May 7, 2015

Plants, Herbs. ISWG.

Flowers for Angela2Tuesday was the birthday of our class exercise instructor. A really nice woman so one of the class decided to get her a card and we both decided to buy her a plant (some may contribute or not). Matt drove us to a local nursery and we found a delightful pot of miniature roses which was lavender in colour. We then found a lavender ceramic pot to put the plant into. We wandered around a bit and Matt and I saw some geraniumsGeraniums2 which really appealed to us so we bought a couple. They were two for $30 so not a bad deal. We hang them at either end of our balcony. Usually the only other thing we buy is herbs. We already have some Basil indoors which will be transferred outside. But I also saw pots of sBelgian Nurserymall tomatoes which would be ideal for a balcony. We will be going back. I love going into nurseries at this time of year, they are full of acres of the most gorgeous flowers and the colour is stupendous.  Hm, the picture makes them pinker than they are. More like a salmon colour in fact.

I mentioned having a basil plant in the apartment which will soon be planted outside. It is beginning to get rather largBasile. I love to use basil in my tomato soup, I think it goes so well with tomato in particular. I also keep basil pesto in the freezer for whenever I need it. We will probably be getting the rest of the herbs we grow soon. I love sage and rosemary when they are fresh. Fresh thyme I prefer only for soups and stews because the leaves are so fiddly to have to use them on their own. 

I normally don’t go to the ISWG blogs but I did visit a few yesterday. Not everyone though. There were so many blogs coming out in the last few days, it was almost like being back in April. So sorry if I didn’t visit you.

I love risotto but haven’t eaten it in years, not since I went on a diet. Today I found this skinny recipe which I might try. It is from Gina’s Skinny Recipes. The recipe calls for the tough ends trimmed, but of course if you are lucky enough to get your asparagus fresh from the farm, that part isn’t necessary.

Spring Asparagus Risotto


Skinnytaste.com

Servings: 4 • Size: 1 generous cup as a main

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken or asparagus-risottovegetable broth
2 tsp olive oil
1/3 cup shallots, chopped
1 cup arborio rice
2 oz dry white wine
3/4 lb thin asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed, cut 2-inches long
1-2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving
salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 tsp grated lemon zest for garnish

Directions:
In a large saucepan, heat broth over medium-high heat. When it boils, reduce heat to a simmer and maintain over low heat, taste for salt and adjust as needed.
In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat the oil and add the shallots; sauté 3-4 minute. 
Add the rice; mix well so the rice is coated throughout and saute until the rice is slightly translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the wine and stir until it is absorbed. 
Add a ladleful of the simmering stock; stir and wait until it is absorbed before adding another ladleful stirring gently and almost constantly. 
Continue this process until the rice is creamy, tender to the bite, but slightly firm in the center. Add the asparagus along with the last ladle of broth and continue cooking 5 minutes, total time should be about 25-30 minutes from the time you started. When all the liquid is absorbed, remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice, parsley and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
Serve immediately and top with fresh cracked pepper, lemon zest, and extra grated cheese if desired.

• Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 7 pts
Calories: 255 • Fat: 4 g • Protein: 9 g • Carb: 43 g • Fiber: 2 g • Sugar: 0 g
Sodium: 630 mg

Have a great day
Jo_thumb[2]

22 comments:

  1. It's nice that you can have some geraniums on your balcony. Flowers touch the heart, I think, and there's nothing like fresh herbs for cooking.

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    1. I love my geraniums, I also like to have pansies but haven't had those in a couple of years. You are right about fresh herbs too.

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  2. Love risotto. I could eat an entire pot by myself, so I don't make it very often. Planted up my herbs in pots for outside yesterday. I only keep rosemary growing in the winter indoors. I use lots of it outside to repel the deer who do not like the smell.

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    1. Me too Denise, lovely stuff. Think we will wait a bit longer for our herbs although I think it's probably warm enough now. I didn't know deer didn't like Rosemary.

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  3. I love flowers but I kill anything that grows. Whatever is in my yard was placed her by the owner. I tried to grow herbs once and they all died. I even killed a cactus. I've never made risotto before....where would one find arborio rice? Does it have to be that kind?

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    1. I wonder why - do you over water or underwater? Most grocery stores would have arborio rice. I have seen it made with regular long grain rice, but I think it takes longer and doesn't give such a smooth finish.

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  4. I know - yesterday was like a Challenge day.

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  5. I think it would be fun to grow your own herbs; we might have to try that some day.

    betty

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    1. It's very easy Betty, especially if you buy baby plants rather than start from seeds.

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  6. Aren't you brave to enter the IWSG fray! This recipe sounds delish, and I saved it for future use! Thank you. I love asparagus.

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    1. Glad somebody does. Beginning to feel almost in the minority here Lisa.

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  7. Still going on about that asparagus. hehe

    I have no luck with geraniums. Not sure what I'm doing wrong!

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    1. We buy them in pots Liz, hang 'em up and water them now and again. Actually one year they were dying off so we went on vacation and when we came back they were still alive so we watered them and ended up with the best geraniums we had had all year. I will be posting asparagus recipes all the time it's in season.

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  8. I think we're going to plant Roma tomatoes again. We did last year, and we had so many, we had to give them away. When making a salad, it was fun just going to the backyard and plucking some tomatoes.

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    1. Sounds good Jay. It is nice to be able to pick stuff as required. As I said, I am thinking about getting some baby tomatoes to grow on the balcony.

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  9. You know, I have never tried Risotto. I always wondered how it tastes. I want to make my own herb pots since they are so costly when you buy them and you can never use them all up (well I can't)

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    1. You should do so Birgit, I love risotto. Do you find them costly? Not so here. You could always dry the herbs before the winter.

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  10. I have never had a good risotto, no matter what restaurant we have tried. Maybe we have to go to the ones with 4 stars.

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    1. Maybe you should Susan. Obviously I don't know what restaurants you have been to. I mostly make my own although I have eaten risotto out occasionally.

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  11. Asparagus and risotto--two of my absolute favourites married in one dish. Could it get any yummier? I'll definitely be trying this recipe.

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    1. Yes Kern, I agree, asparagus and risotto are a good combination. I am planning this for tonight.

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