Asparagus, Ramps and Mushroom Salad

JP and I spent about an hour yesterday browsing the produce available at the DuPont Farmer's Market, arguably the best in the city (yes, yes, Eastern Market is good, too, but I love the smaller scale of DuPont's).  There are greens all over the place in April, so we picked up some local asparagus, mushrooms, spring mix and ramps. 
Have you ever cooked with ramps?  This was my first time, but you can rest assured that it won't be my last.  A member of the onion family, they have the appearance of scallions with more bulbous roots and more greens, which can be kept attached to the root and eaten.  They're quite flavorful and pungent, so a few will go a long way. 
After doing some research on them, it was decided that we would just saute our veggies, place them on a bed of spring mix, toss with a simple lemon vinaigrette and add a few capers.  I did a rough chop on the asparagus and mushrooms, then separated the ramps from their greens, and heat everything individually on a hot pan with olive oil. 
This is the perfect spring meal: easy, local, satisfying.  Check your farmer's market to see what's available in your area, and make your own version!

Asparagus, Ramps and Mushroom Salad
1 pint mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
1 bundle asparagus, tough stalks removed if necessary and chopped into 2-3 in. segments
about 10 ramps, cleaned and greens separated
1/2 bag of spring mix
olive oil, for saute and dressing
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp. capers

1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat, and cook mushrooms until browned and soft.  Remove from pan.
2. Add asparagus to pan and blister.  Remove from pan.
3. Blister ramp bulbs, and remove from pan.  Quickly heat ramp greens until soft, about 1 min.
Steps 1-3 should take about 7 minutes total.
4. Add a splash of olive oil, lemon, capers, salt and pepper to a jar, cover and shake until combined.  Toss with spring mix.
5. Arrange heated vegetables over lettuce, serve in 2 bowls, and eat!

Mushroom Bourguignon

Oh, is there any other culinary mountain to climb that is more legendary than boeuf bourguignon?  It's a rich, meaty broth with onions, carrots, red wine, beef broth, and garlic.  The problem with bourguignon is that it's incredibly time consuming, with braising, browning, blah blah blah.
Enter Smitten Kitchen.  Her version has mushrooms, which cook much more quickly and is just as satisfying.  It's perhaps a bit more rich, even, because the mushrooms absorb the broth and wine, and the tastes all mingle perfectly in your mouth.  Serve this over some egg noodles for a perfect comfort food meal.
A few notes: John Paul made this meal and took all the pictures.  He's amazing.
We didn't have pearl onions, so JP cut up a medium onion into chunks and used that.
This serves about 4 people, but we were hungry, so it fed us and one serving for leftovers the next day.

 

 

Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna

Since Summer has moved up to DC, I've realized that we have very similar cooking sensibilities.  I say I'm making homemade Twix bars, and she says, "Just keep stirring the sugar so it doesn't burn."  She's mastered biscuits and gravy, and reads the same cooking blogs that I subscribe to.  So when she said a couple weeks ago that she'd made Smitten Kitchen's Mushroom Lasagna, I wasn't too surprised; the recipe had been sitting on my table to make for a couple of days.  She's my kitchen twin!

Summer gave me a tip to making the pasta dish more delicious: add sauteed spinach to the mushrooms. Oh, it put the whole meal over the top rich and tasty! The bechamel is creamy and thick, and compliments the bitterness of the spinach perfectly. And I think I've made my feelings on carbs pretty clear. Combine everything, and I was a very happy girl!

 

Smitten Kitchen's recipe for Mushroom Lasagna is spot-on; all I did was wilt a bunch of spinach (about one bag) in with the mushrooms in the last few minutes of cooking the mushrooms. It's great!

 

Poached eggs and mushrooms

There are two parts to this meal posting. One involves my laziness, and the other other conveys my newfound respect for mushrooms. Yes, Mom and Haley, I can hear you gasping in surprise about that last part.
Do you ever feel like putting little to no effort into a meal? When I feel like that, eggs are at the top of my list. They are so versatile: poached, fried, scrambled, omeleted (can we turn that into a verb?), hard-boiled, there is no way I don't like them. They're quick and easy, and can be combined with almost anything to make a meal.
To add to this, John Paul has introduced me to the mushroom. I spent a lot of time complaining about how gross it is to eat fungus...then John Paul made duxelles, and my mind was changed. Mushrooms are complex and subtle, take on the flavor of whatever they're cooked with, and are especially delicious when sauteed until kind of caramelized. I'm still not crazy about them raw, but baby steps, my friends.
Enter this recipe. There are few ingredients, but it tastes like more, due to the heated tomatoes, homemade bread with bits of parmesan in it, browned mushrooms, and custardy eggs. Everything comes together beautifully, and it can be an impressive meal to throw together on short notice, or when you feel like something a step above cereal in terms of effort.
So this post only includes a picture or two because I didn't realize it was going to be a full meal until everything came together. It's surprisingly filling, so don't plan on a side salad or anything. On that end, check back on Thursday for the recipe for Parmesan bread that went along with this!

Poached Eggs with Mushrooms (adapted for two people from Real Simple)
1 Tbsp. vinegar, preferably white
4 eggs
2 thick slices bread, toasted
2 c. sliced mushrooms
1 tomato, sliced into four thick rings
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. In a deep, large pan, bring 3 inches of water to a simmer. Add vinegar.
2. In a different skillet, add 1 Tbsp. olive oil and heat over medium-high. Heat through on either side, about 1 minute per. Transfer to plate.
3. Heat another Tbsp. olive oil in skillet and add mushrooms. Brown for 7ish minutes, tossing occasionally.
4. While mushrooms are cooking, crack eggs carefully into simmering water, keeping yolks and whites intact. Cook about 3 minutes, until whites are completely opaque, then remove from water with slotted spoon.
5. Assemble: place 2 tomato slices on each slice of bread, followed by mushrooms and topped with eggs. Salt and pepper to taste. Smoked pimenton is optional.