Dinner Under the Cherry Blossoms

My Cherry Tree before Dinner

Spring is such a great time of the year, the asparagus is sending up their first shoots in my country garden, the ramps are out in the woods, and my cherry tree is in full bloom in the city.  The tree covers most of my yard, providing a spectacular umbrella over the table.  It is like a beautiful cloud that comes and goes quickly, lasting barely more than a week, dropping petals like confetti from the skies.

To celebrate the arrival of the flowers, I invited some friends for Sunday dinner under the tree.  I grilled asparagus, portebello mushrooms, peppers, heritage cherry tomatoes, new potatoes, chicken and sausage as well as sautéing some wild leeks I had brought from the country.  For desert, we grilled figs and served with ice cream.

Grilled Potatoes, Asparagus, Ramps, Portabello Mushrooms, and Tomatoes

Grilled Asparagus

a bunch of asparagus

good sea salt, I used sel gris 

Heat grill to hot,  I hold my hand over the grill and if I can count higher than 3 it is not hot enough.  Lay asparagus out on grill perpendicular to the grill.  Cook for about a minute or until asparagus starts to brown, roll asparagus to other side and repeat.  Remove asparagus and arrange on serving plate.  Sprinkle with coarse salt, and serve hot or at room temperature. 

Grilled Asparagus

Grilled Portebello Mushrooms

3 large portebello mushroom caps

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 

1 tablespoon of old style mustard, with grains

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

Make a dressing with the olive oil, balsamic and mustard, garlic.  Brush dressing on both sides of mushroom caps.  Heat grill to medium, hold hand to about 5.  Place caps skin side down on the grill and grill until the juices start to run inside the cap, being careful not to burn the underside.  It takes a few minutes.  Flip the cap and grill for another minute,  and then flip again and re baste with the dressing.  Cook for a minute or two more and remove from grill. 

I like to cut the mushrooms into wedges and serve at room temperature. 

Grilled Peppers

Grilled peppers about to be wrapped in news paper

a selection of red, yellow and orange peppers

2 tablespoons of olive oil

juice of a lemon

seasonal herbs

Place whole peppers on a hot grill.  Char skins of peppers, on all sides.  Remove and wrap in newspaper until cool.  Gently peel the charred skin off the peppers, tear the peppers open and remove core and seeds.  Tear remainder of pepper into strips and place in bowl.  Add olive oil, juice of lemon, and some fresh herbs, and serve room temperature. 

Grilled Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes

Grilled Heirloom Cherry Tomatoes

3 cups of heirloom cherry tomatoes, or a mixture of red and yellow cherry tomatoes

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1 sprig of basil, leaves coarsely torn

Wash and dry tomatoes.  Coat with olive oil and place in barbecue basket.  Over medium heat grill  tomatoes, shaking often.  When tomatoes begin to split and get a bit of colour, remove and place in a bowl.  Add basil and half of cheese.  Toss.  Add remainder of cheese to top of tomatoes.

Grilled New Potatoes

1 quart of small new potatoes

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2 teaspoons of coarse sea salt

4 sprigs of fresh thyme, stems removed

Par boil potatoes on stove.  Drain, add  1/2 of olive oil, fresh thyme, and coarse salt, and toss well.  put in grill basket and place over hot grill.  Toss occasionally, until the skins of the potatoes are nicely roasted.   Remove and place in bowl.  Stir in the remainder of olive oil, salt and thyme.  Serve either hot or at room temperature. 

Kale and Heritage Tomatoes with Eggs

I make a this single pan meal at least  once a week, often when I get home after a tough day at work and don't feel like cooking, and sometimes for brunch on the weekend.  At this time of year, it is very easy, all of the vegetables come straight from the garden, eggs from my neighbour (that is why they are so yellow), and olive oil from the pantry.  It is fast and easy, tastes great, and I think is relatively healthy.  

Autumn Garden Vegetables and Eggs

• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 small onion
• 1 bunch of kale, sometimes I use Swiss chard or beet leaves
• a selection of heritage tomato or not, depending on what you have available
• 1/2 a small hot pepper
• some fresh thyme
• salt and pepper
• 1 or 2 eggs per person
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Chop the garlic and onion, and hot pepper and sauté in a heavy frying pan.  

Clean kale and trim off heavy stems.  Loosely chop and add to pan with a tablespoon or so of water and the juice of one lemon, or some wine vinegar.   Add thyme leaves.  Lightly stir and cook until the kale starts to turn a bright green and is tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.  Form a well in centre of the pan, pushing the kale to the sides.  Break eggs into the well in the centre of the pan and place tomatoes around the edges on top of the kale.  Cover with a lid and cook for a few minutes until the eggs are cooked to the consistency you like. I like my yolks to be runny.  Grind fresh pepper on top of eggs and serve.