hot mustard asparagus

my mom is a pretty cool chick. she is super supportive of my vegan lifestyle, and that's saying a lot considering we live in the heart of meat and potatoes land. she's always willing to go out for a vegetarian or vegan meal, and even requested veggie sushi for mother's day. this year she went to ireland and managed to bring back some vegan hot irish mustard from avoca pantry - which rocks because i love mustard and i love spicy foods. so hats off to my mom and all her rockin'ness.

• 1 pound asparagus
• 2 tablespoons hot irish mustard*
• 2 tablespoons hot scottish mustard*
  

i saved a few pounds of the asparagus that my brother gave me, so i this made from thawed asparagus (notice they are less stiff). however, i can say that i'm mighty impressed with how well they taste after a month or two of being frozen. cut the woody ends off your asparagus and coat with at least three tablespoons of hot mustard (*work with what you have, but make it spicy)! i also had some hot scottish mustard from arran, and the two worked very well together. if you are using fresh asparagus, you may need to add a little olive oil if necessary or reduce baking time.

if using frozen (and thawed) asparagus, bake for 25 minutes on 375°f, flipping once. kick the broiler on high for about 5 minutes and spread a little additional mustard on top before serving.

garlic roasted asparagus

i love my cast iron grill pan. it puts those fun grill marks on sandwiches, roasted vegetables, and anything in between. i've had it for a little over a year, and it has become one of my favourite cookware pieces. the recipe here is one of the multitude of ways i cooked my 28 pounds of asparagus.

• 1 pound asparagus
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

cut the woody ends off asparagus, and marinate the edible ends in olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes. if you are sensitive to heat, you might choose to use less pepper flakes. on the other hand, if you are a heat fiend, sub chili oil for the olive oil. place a cast iron grill pan in the oven, and preheat to 425°f. preheating the cast iron not only provides a lovely satisfying sizzle, but helps keep things from sticking (and cleanup much easier!). once heated, pull the skillet out and place your asparagus lengthwise in the pan. bake the asparagus at 425°f for at least 25 minutes, flipping once or twice to get nice grill marks on all sides of the stalks.

when the asparagus starts to develop brown roasting spots, it is done. i've roasted anywhere between 25-40 minutes before, depending on desired tenderness.

creamy kamut salad

my dearest brother, aka 'produce boy', recently brought me an exciting foodie gift - 28 pounds of fresh asparagus. yes, i said 28 pounds. needless to say, i have spent the past several weeks cooking and eating asparagus a variety of ways - roasted, grilled, baked, steamed, boiled... i even made asparagus guacamole (not bad!). i thought this dish was perfect for a potluck, as a twist on the traditional pasta salad.

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked kamut (3 cups cooked)
• 10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
  
• 1 pound of asparagus, cut to bite size
  
• 1- 2 tablespoons olive oil
• about 5-6 fresh basil leaves, chopped/shredded
• 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)
• 1 batch of buffalo mostarella cheese**
**with modifications
• 1/2 tablespoon liquid smoke

basically, you could try any vegan dressing. i wanted one that was a little cheesy flavoured so i tried the buffalo mosteralla from the ultimate uncheese cookbook. however, i omitted the agar and halved the onion powder and cornstarch in the recipe because i wanted it to be thick, but not set up like a cheese. i also added half a tablespoon of liquid smoke. if using this recipe, put all your dressing ingredients in a blender for 1-2 minutes (until the mixture is smooth). pour into a saucepan and heat on medium for about 4-5 minutes... until it starts to thicken. put in a 4-cup pyrex container (or anything glass really) and put in the fridge to cool overnight.

once you are ready to make your salad, pull your dressing out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature. steam the asparagus, quarter your tomatoes and cook your kamut. after your kamut has cooked, drain and combine w/ the dressing in a large bowl. because the kamut will still be warm from cooking, the dressing should soften up and coat the grain very well. add in the tomatoes, asparagus, basil and olive oil. toss a couple more times. i added a couple dashes of lemon juice at this point because i thought it needed it.... but that just depends on the dressing you use.

serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.