Accidents and Incidents

The fridge decided to freeze my uncooked asparagus as I placed them too close to the freezer dividing wall, so they were an icy, soggy mess. Luckily I made too much substitute cream yesterday so I was thinking of making a cream of asparagus soup, but there wasn't enough cream. Instead I made a more dessert-like version of the toast I had yesterday. Butter, sugar, and cream can pretty much fix any disaster.

Creamed Asparagus on Toast - sweet version
2 slices multigrain bread
2 C chopped asparagus (this could be blanched, but mine were already soggy; also, always cut off an inch from the bottom of the stalk to prevent stringiness)
1 tsp butter
1/2 C cream or substitute
generous sprinkling of cinnamon
sugar to taste
pinch of salt

Melt butter over low heat. When hot, add asparagus. When asparagus is tender, add cream, cinnamon, and sugar. When sauce is reduced, add salt and stir. Serve over toast.

Fennel, Radish, and Orange Salad
5 radishes, sliced thinly
1 orange, peeled wedges
1/4 fennel bulb, sliced thinly
2 T orange juice
1 tsp sugar

Assemble and chill for 20 minutes. Serve over fish, or by itself. I had halibut baked in the oven at 250. Put a little olive oil and water to steam on top. 10-15 minutes depending on thickness. Flake the middle with a fork to test readiness.

Fruit Salad: peeled orange wedges, apple w/ peel, banana, grapes. all sliced thinly.

Candied Orange Peel
Place rinds in cold water and bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Drain and repeat twice. Drain, rinse with cold water, and scrape away the pith. Slice into strips. For each cup of rind, prepare a simple syrup (1 C water to 1 C sugar). Cook slowly until syrup is absorbed. Cool and dust with sugar. Drying overnight is ideal but I'm hungry, so they are gone.