This simple soup doesn’t need an onion, a carrot, or even celery. Just a bunch of asparagus, a garlic clove, and a few fresh herbs. Honestly, you can forgo the sour cream and even the chicken broth, adding water instead. Of course, the sour cream and broth add richness and silkiness to the soup, but in a pinch, no dairy and plain tap water (or as Jacques Pépin always called it in cooking classes; eau de sink) are just fine. And if you don’t have the time to get or have access to fresh herbs, add 1 teaspoon of each in dried form at the same time you add the asparagus to the pot. See, basic and easy breezy.

I haven’t been cooking much. It’s just too hot! But over the weekend, I put my big-girl pants on, braved the heat and hit the stove. I’ve made this pasta before and added shrimp to it. It is refreshing and tasty both ways.

Of course, dinner was served inside. I can not wait to eat al fresco again. October can not get here soon enough! How are you all coping with the heat? If you have any fun ideas or tips, please leave them in the comments, I really need ’em.

I made this as the starter for Anne’s birthday dinner early this month. I could honestly eat this for breakfast, lunch or dinner on a daily basis. It’s That Good!

Grilled Asparagus Toast with Poached Eggs

• 4 large slices sourdough bread
• Olive oil
• 24 asparagus spears
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Allepo pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• Parmesan cheese
• Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring a pan of water to a boil, then reduce water to a simmer. Brush one side of the bread slices with olive oil.

Heat a grill pan over high heat and toast the bread. Move each slice to its own serving plate and drizzle with olive oil.

Snap the woody end off the asparagus, then place it on a plate and coat the spears with olive oil.

Using the same grill pan, grill the asparagus for a few minutes on all sides, sprinkle with the paprika and Allepo pepper, then divide between the pieces of toast.

This salad screams “SPRING!” English peas, check. Sugar Snap Peas, got ’em. Asparagus, you betcha. Radishes, for sure. Mint, yup. The instructions for the recipe look long, but once you get the water boiling and the bowl of ice water set up, it comes together in a snap. Just be sure to blanch the asparagus last so that the water doesn’t take on the taste until the end.

I found the fresh English peas at Trader Joe’s. I don’t like frozen peas, but I loved these! I’m not sure how long they will be in stores, but get them while you can!

The end of the month is a week away so I want to take this opportunity to remind you about the April contest. To be eligible to win, you either need to leave a comment on every post in April beginning with the post from April 1st and continuing through the end of the month. And/Or you may also enter by following Harmony Boards on Instagram and getting 5 of your friends to follow. GO HERE for all the rules and details.

Several of you are playing along by leaving comments on these posts, thank you! But I have to let you know that a few of you need to go back and be sure you’ve posted on all the posts, right off the bat a couple of you missed commenting on the April 1 post, so if you’re playing, please double-check before the end of the month. I want you all to be eligible to be in the drawing! If you haven’t started playing, it’s not too late, please join in.

Asparagus, Radish, and Mixed Pea Salad with Mint and Hazelnuts

Ripe avocados were an incredible challenge to find in Quebec. On the day we arrived, Monday the 13^th, we went to the grocery store directly from the airport. We bought 8 avocados and they were rock hard. Kim also bought 3 bananas.

Did you know that the way to speed up the ripening of an avocado is to put it in a brown paper bag with a banana?

Yep, ripe bananas release ethylene, the hormone that triggers ripening in mature fruit, so placing one in a closed paper bag with your under-ripe avocados will speed up the process.

At least it does in AZ, not so much in Canada. When I left on Tuesday morning, (8/21) those darn avocados were still hard as rocks!

Thankfully, we went to the farmer’s market in Ottawa mid-week and found 6 ripe avocados. I used 2 of them for this recipe and the other four in the guacamole I posted yesterday. Unfortunately, I forgot to pick up purple leaf lettuce, so please use your imagination and pretend it’s there, mixed in the butter lettuce.

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Even when the centerpiece of your Easter brunch is a spiral-cut ham – that does not mean you can’t throw in a little bacon too!

The original Southern Living recipe called for a cast-iron skillet. Since my cast-iron skillet was in a storage cupboard in the garage that was blocked by a bunch of boxes and folding chairs, I used a large heavy skillet instead.

I’ve mentioned this tip before, but it’s worth repeating. If you have a pot or pan that needs to go in the oven that does not have an oven-safe handle, or even if you’re not quite sure if it is oven-safe or not. You can still use that pan. Just double wrap the handle in heavy-duty foil (or wrap 4 times with standard foil) and just like magic, you have an oven-safe pan.

Hash Brown-Asparagus-Bacon Quiché

• 6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 8 ounces fresh asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4 cups frozen shredded hash browns (about 12 ounces)
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1 cup shredded Gruyère cheese (about 4 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• Fresh minced chives, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook bacon in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or another oven-safe heavy skillet over medium until browned and almost crisp, but still tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer bacon to a plate lined with paper towels. Reserve drippings in skillet, and let cool slightly.

Add asparagus to skillet, and cook over medium-high, stirring often, until lightly browned and just beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer asparagus to a medium bowl.

Add hash browns, bacon, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper to hot drippings in skillet over medium-high; stir to combine.

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The weekend after I turned 16 years old, my best friend, Laura Galloway, and I went in search of our first jobs. Laura’s birthday is the day after mine, so we ventured out together, filling out applications in just about every store at Scottsdale Fashion Square.

At that time SFS was a small outdoor mall with two anchor stores (Goldwater’s and Diamonds) and a couple of dozen shops.

We each got part-time seasonal jobs; Laura was a gift-wrapper at Switzer’s, a women’s clothing store, while I was making cheese balls and cheese logs across the way at Hickory Farms.

My favorite cheese at Hickory Farms was Jarlsberg, a Norwegian Swiss-type cheese with a mild buttery and nutty flavor.

After being “knee-high” in the cheese used in the cheese balls and logs, to this day, I can’t stand even the smell of those particular cheese blends, but I still love Jarlsberg and decided to use it in my asparagus tart for Easter.

Before I get to the recipe, take a look at this beautiful photo that Marissa took in Round Top, Texas. We went in search of fun vintage items during the 48th Annual Spring Antique Show. It was the final day of the 2-week long event but there was still plenty to see.

Of course, the real problem was not the number of goods, but rather the size. Having to limit my purchases to what could fit in a suitcase, I missed out on the stuff that really interested me.

The most heartbreaking is this amazing reclaimed barn wood sink for backyard entertaining. I’ll be dreaming about this beauty for a long time to come!

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For last weekend’s Spring Reunion Dinner, I served two fresh and colorful entrées. Today I post the first, along with a few photos of the flowers and table setting.

I picked up the flowers above at Trader Joe’s when I was grocery shopping for the dinner and arranged them quite simply in a few of the bottles from my “miscellaneous cool bottles” collection.

These beauties were given to me by Lori and I can assure you she didn’t just pick them up at Trader Joe’s – more likely at some fancy florist shop. I arranged them in some of my clear square vases and they were held indoors until it was cool enough to move them to the table on the back patio where we ate our meal.

I decided to keep the table simple, fresh, and clean – like the food.

I started with white placemats and napkins, blue and gold Indian-inspired tea glasses for the water, and frosted white striped wine goblets.

Gold flatware to match the tea glasses and a lovely set of mix/match of bird and floral dishes in simple black and white.

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This recipe is one I found on Pinterest and nipped, tucked, and tweaked to make this killer vegetable side dish.

I hadn’t planned to post it until the end of the week, but a couple of you asked for it ASAP, so here it is.

The 4-ounce package of diced pancetta is from Trader Joe’s and makes this dish a snap.

When you’re in the produce department looking at leeks, always pick out the leeks with the most white. The dark green goes in the trash. White and light green = Good. Dark green = Waste.

Also, always wash your leeks after you’ve sliced or diced them. To do so, fill a bowl with cold water, drop the leeks in and swish around. Then use your hands to lift the leeks out of the water, transferring them to a dish or plate. Next, pour out the dirty water and do it all over again. Pour out that water and if it’s clear, your leeks are ready to use. If that water is still sandy and dirty, do it again and again as needed. It’s important to not pour the leeks into a strainer. Doing so will leave the dirt you removed from the leeks all over them again.

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Here is the recipe for Barb’s delicious tart…. enjoy!

Asparagus and Roasted Red Bell Pepper Tart

Pastry

• 1  1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 2 tablespoons ice water

Filling

• 1 pound fresh asparagus
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
• 1 red bell pepper, roasted, seeded, peeled, and diced
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1/2 heavy cream
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 whole egg
• Salt and pepper to taste

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