Oh how I love Spring...

Spring has definitely sprung...finally. I was driving to work the other day, and I go right past a farm. They had a sign out announcing that their asparagus was in. Oh man....fresh local asparagus. That is worth planning a meal around. So I stopped and handpicked about a pound of them. I have to admit, I ate a few on the ride home, they looked so yummy.

Hmmm...so what goes with asparagus? Everything, you say? True dat. But I was in the mood for something light and seasonal. I stopped at my local Korean supermarket (doesn't everyone have Assi Market? Bummer for  you.) and they had king salmon. Bright orange, marbled with fat...I got a half pound piece. (I was cooking for two) While I was there, I wandered through the mushroom section. I was going to get shiitakes, but then I spied this adorable little pouf of white, tiny mushrooms. It was so cute, I had to have it. Here's what it looked like.

 

 

Ok, so now I had salmon, asparagus and mushrooms. I had some red pepper, so I diced that, too. I also got some fresh ginger and garlic. I had miso paste in the fridge, and mushroom soy sauce, so I made a glaze for the salmon using the miso, the mushroom soy, some minced ginger and a little regular soy sauce. Here is my mise en place:

 

 

I heated the grill, brushed the asparagus with some sesame and regular oil, salt and pepper, and grilled it a bit. Took that off and set it aside. Then I coated the top of the salmon with my glaze, sprayed the grill grates and put the fish on skin side down (oh yeah, I left the skin on. Keeps it moist, and is delicious to boot) turned the grill down so it didn't immolate, and closed the lid. It was a pretty thick piece of salmon, so it took about 10 minutes to cook through, and was still a little gooey in the thickest part, which I like.

 

While the fish was cooking, I heated a pan with a bit of regular oil, then broke apart the mushroom ball and put all the little guys in the pan. It was high enough heat to get them a little brown, then I added some ginger, garlic, the red peppers, a little bit of soy, and some chicken broth and let that all cook down a bit.

 

Here is the finished product, my friends:

 

 

The plate is drizzled with a little of the miso glaze. It was fabulous. How much do you think you'd pay for that plate in a restaurant??

 

So that was my first Ode to Spring. The farm also has fresh baby garlic. I think that's next on my list. For those of you who don't cringe at the thought, they might be put with lamb. I seem to have surrounded myself with non-lamb eaters, and I love the stuff, so I may be cooking for one, but what the heck.

 

See you soon. Go to a local farm. Buy stuff. Support them, eat fresh, be happy.