Cyber Friends

The weekend loss of our dear blogging friend Tina made me think about cyber friendships. The outpouring of love and affection for Tina is quite incredible and yet most of us never knew her in person but we loved her anyway. This made me think of all the other close friends I have made through the internet, starting with a group called Recitopia UK which began through our connection to a recipe ezine which we all used to read. The Yahoo group of Recitopia UK is more or less disbanded nowadays and yet we are all still very close friends. I was lucky enough to meet some of them face to face when I went to England a few years ago and it was just like meeting up with people I had known for years. We also had members from Australia, Portugal, South Africa, Canada, Cyprus and the States and I have been lucky enough to meet some of them, the Canadians being local we see each other quite a lot. When we went to Portugal a few years ago, we stayed a couple of nights with the member from there. The member from South Africa visited this continent so we met at that time.

Then there is blogging. Once again, I feel very close to a number of blogging friends from all over the world. I have managed to meet a couple from North Carolina, and once again, it was like being with long term friends. Some bloggers are closer than others of course and we have email connections as well as blogging ones. Tina Downey was one of these and she and I became very good friends. I will be among the many who miss her very much. I wish I could meet many more of my blogging friends, it would be so much fun.

This recipe from Food and Wine landed in my inbox on Monday. To me it’s a big pity that I didn’t get it during asparagus season. Asparagus is still available of course, but it just isn’t as good or as flavourful. However, I thought it sounded good, not sure if I will try it now or wait til next season.

Raw Asparagus Salad with Tomatoes and Hard-Boiled Eggs

Contributed by Molly Chester

• SERVINGS: 4

The key to this simple salad is slicing the raw asparagus thinly, so it takes on the flavour of the lemony marinade.

1. 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2. 1/3 cup chopped scallions
3. One 2-ounce can anchovy fillets, drained
4. 2 small garlic cloves
5. 3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6. Kosher salt
7. Pepper
8. 1 pound asparagus, woody ends discarded and stalks thinly sliced diagonally
9. 4 large eggs
10. 2 cups mixed cherry tomatoes, halved

1. In a blender, combine the lemon juice with the scallions, anchovies and garlic and puree until nearly smooth. With the machine on, gradually add the olive oil until emulsified. Season the dressing with salt and pepper. Transfer one third of the dressing to a serving bowl and toss with the asparagus. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cover the eggs with water and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Drain and cool the eggs under cold running water. Peel the eggs and pat dry, then quarter lengthwise and season with salt and pepper.
3. Fold the tomatoes into the asparagus; season with salt and pepper. Arrange the eggs on top and serve, passing the remaining dressing at the table.

Make Ahead The dressing can be refrigerated overnight.

Have a great day