Andrea’ s Skillet Grilled Asparagus

Submitted by Andrea Grassby Valentini

For those of us who aren't fortunate enough to have a BBQ, (or for when you are not BBQing!) we can enjoy great asparagus grilled on a stove-top grilling skillet. Make sure your stove fan is on high or that your smoke detectors are working …… the key is to have a really hot skillet!


Ingredients:

1 pound asparagus
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
In a small bowl, combine oil, garlic, zest and stir. Brush asparagus with oil mixture.





Cooking directions:

Heat a skillet on high for five minutes.

Trim off the tough bottom of the spear by grasping each end one and bending it gently until it snaps at its weakest point.

Place on the heated skillet, turning occasionally to expose all sides to the heat. Asparagus should begin to brown in spots but should not be allowed to char, which should take about 10 minutes.

Remove from the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately and enjoy!

(Editor's Note: See "Beer Can Chicken with "French Fried" Asparagus on the BBQ!" for a related BBQed Asparagus recipe!).

Spinach, Mushroom and Walnut Pie

Baby Spinach 

Submitted by Andrea Grassby Valentini




This is a great side dish for the holiday meal and it only takes about 6 minutes to put together.



Enjoy!





2 (397g) Packages Frozen Puff Pastry, thawed
 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
 4 Cups Sliced Crimini or Shiitake Mushrooms
 8 Cups Baby Spinach, packed
 1/4 Cup Walnuts, chopped
 1 Bulb Roasted Garlic
 1/2 teaspoon Dried Rosemary, crumbled
 Salt and Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

 Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a large sauté pan.  Add the mushrooms and sauté until soft and browned.  Remove the mushrooms to cool.

Add the remaining oil and sauté the spinach leaves. Allow the spinach to wilt and the mushrooms cool.

Roll out the first package of dough into about a 12″x8″ rectangle. Place the dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Top the dough with the mushrooms, then the wilted spinach.

Sprinkle over salt, pepper, rosemary and chopped walnuts.

Roll out the remaining dough to top the pie, crimping and tucking the edges under.

Lightly score the top with a sharp blade, occasionally piercing for steam vents.

Bake in the center of the oven for 20 – 25 minutes, until golden and crisp.

Pain Perdu (Sourdough French Toast) with Maple Berry Syrup

Submitted by Andrea Grassby Valentini

This is a breakfast or brunch dish I’ve made for years,  that I adapted from my French grand-maman’s recipe. I have wonderful memories of being in her big kitchen in her Quebec City home, on a crisp winter’s day, inhaling the tantalizing aroma of pain perdu cooking in her big cast iron skillet, while I stirred the berries in the maple syrup on the wood stove. 

ANDREA’S PAIN PERDU (SOURDOUGH FRENCH TOAST) with MAPLE BERRY SYRUP

1/2 loaf sourdough bread (8 slices)

 4 large eggs

 1 cup whole milk

¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

Cut bread into 8 thick slices.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla and cinnamon until combined; pour mixture in to a shallow dish.

 Preheat a large non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat and grease with butter.

 Place bread slice in the egg mixture and soak until saturated, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side (thicker bread needs more soaking time).

Transfer bread to skillet/griddle and cook until golden, 2-3 minutes, then flip over and cook until golden on the other side. The center of the bread should spring back when lightly pressed when the pain perdu is done.

Transfer to serving plates and serve immediately with Maple-Berry sauce

Maple-Berry Sauce

 ¾ cup pure maple syrup

3 cups raspberries or any berries of your choice

Combine the syrup and berries in a medium saucepan.  Simmer over medium heat until the berries begin to soften and release some juices, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the sauce from the heat.

Andrea is a life long leftist activist and a former campaign organizer of both provincial and federal NDP campaigns from the 1960's through to the 1990's. She lives in Toronto.

If you would like to submit a recipe, blog or story/poem to The Left Chapter, send it to theleftchapter@outlook.com

Andrea's Happy Banana Bread....or...Banana Bread that will make you happy!

Submitted by Andrea Grassby Valentini

This was always a great hit with my leftie friends and was especially popular with staff, volunteers and candidates when I would make big batches during election campaigns in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Enjoy!

ANDREA’S HAPPY BANANA BREAD

or

Banana Bread that will make you happy!

1/2 cup softened butter

1 1/3 cups of sugar 

2 large eggs

1 cup of mashed ripe bananas
2 tsp. rum banana liqueur1/4 cup banana yogurt  (you can substitute buttermilk)1 tsp. banana extract (almond or vanilla will do as well)
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
 1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 cups sifted flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together until it becomes fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition until fluffy and light.

Combine liqueur and extracts.

Sift the dry ingredients together and add half to cream and sugar mixture. Add buttermilk or yogurt, extract and liqueur to the mix and then add the remaining dry ingredients. Finally, add mashed bananas and beat for another minute. Stir in the chopped nuts.

Grease and flour several loaf pans. This recipe usually yields at least a couple of loafs with some mixture left over for muffins.

Bake at 350F degrees until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Andrea is a life long leftist activist and a former campaign organizer of both provincial and federal NDP campaigns from the 1960's through to the 1990's. She lives in Toronto.