happy birthday

September 21, 2014 • Nancy Wolfson-Moche

I plan to continue to post my whole breakfast, including vegetables and grains, but today’s veggies-only post is inspired by this beautiful watercolor made by my friend Benjamin Marcus in recognition of my recent birthday. Benjamin’s watercolor is a rendering of my February 4th post: purple aspargus with mandarinquats. When I saw Ben’s watercolor with its rich red center I was inspired to make green asparagus (no longer in season but readily available) garnished with a ripe September heirloom tomato.  Here’s the recipe. Oh, and please vote for me (again) in the 2014 Martha Stewart American Made contest. Thank you!

serves 2

INgredients

14 asparagus spears

1 heirloom tomato (red)

pinch sea salt

Process   Cut the tough ends (about 1-2 inches) off each spear. Use a paring knife to peel the tough outer layer off of each asparagus spear. Wash them by immersing them in a bowl of water.

 

Fill a large stainless steel skillet about three-quarters full of water.  Add a pinch of salt and heat on a medium to high flame. When water is boiling add the asparagus.

 

Blanch them for about one minute or less:  when stems turn a more intense shade of green, they are done. Remove them with a wire mesh skimmer and arrange on individual plates.

Slice the tomato in half lengthwise from the stem to the bottom. Slice each half in four pieces (to make eighths of the tomato.)  Arrange one or two sections on top of the asparagus as garnish and serve.

©Nancy Wolfson-Moche 2014

Icing on the Cake: Testimonials

I loved Ms. Nancy’s cooking class so much.! I have been in this cooking class for two years and I would love to sign up for another one. I tried a lot of new foods like winter squash, cardamom, Brussels sprouts and kale. My favorite salad was the kiwi, carrot, radish salad.
Not only did we cook and eat, we also did labs about food. We used rulers to measure the size of plants. We also explored stone fruits and their ripe season. Now in my house we have window boxes and I am growing cherry tomatoes and basil.
I learned that we can use a lot of different tools to cook, not just our hands and senses. We used safety knives, potato peelers and a carrot sharpener (I wonder if you could sharpen a pencil with it?) !!!
Because of this class I can help papi make dinner and I will try any new food at least once to see if I like it. Thank you, Ms. Nancy for making cooking fun and interesting and helping me be excited about food.

- Love, K (a 7-year-old boy).