Food Challenge: ASPARAGUS/Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Dill

Recipe #1 for my asparagus challenge. Amusingly, its from a blog called "What's Cookin' with Mary?".

Its a perfect summer pasta salad.

Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Creamy Dill Dressing

Recipe from: What's Cookin' with Mary?

½ lb orzo
½ lb asparagus, cut into ½“pieces
3 Tbs fresh dill, minced and divided (to taste)
2 Tbs mayo
1 Tbs plain Greek yogurt , or an additional Tbs of mayo (I used 2%)
1 ½ Tbs lemon juice
1 tsp honey
¼ tsp kosher salt & freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)

What To Do:

Cook orzo in well salted water (or broth) according to the packages instructions. Add the asparagus during the last minute of cooking. Rinse orzo and asparagus thoroughly with cold water to stop the cooking process.

While the pasta cooks, whisk together 1 Tbs of the dill, mayo, yogurt, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper, then refrigerate.

Combine dressing, pasta, asparagus and remaining dill and mix well. Allow salad to meld in the fridge for as long as possible. It will still be tasty if you eat it right away, but if you have the time, make it a few hours ahead.

Plus I think its relatively healthy with the light dressing including the Greek yogurt.  Yum!

211-217: Week Thirty One/Picture a Day for a Year

211/365: I drove this HUGENORMOUS truck today. I felt manly and powerful. It was awesome.

212/365: I'm thinking about throwing another dinner party and I want to do an Asian theme but that's what Allison did last fall... I was sitting on the Events page on FB and looked over to see that "Previous Status Update" from Allison about that dinner party. How weird! Its meant to be...

213/365: Pretty sure I was basically in a tornado at work today. Those clouds were dark and twisty... but I survived!

214/365: Yum yum yum quinoa summer salad for the block party!

215/365: I love how silly the puppy is and how weird he lays on the furniture.

216/365: The other day I blamed my mom/sister for wearing one of my scarves and not putting it back where it belonged. Turns out my DOG has figured out how to pull the scarves off the bars on my bed. Unbelievable.

217/365: Jason was on vacation for a week so the girls in the office made a cardboard cutout of him and put it in his office. Hilarious/creepy.

Food Challenge: QUINOA/Raspberry Almond Coconut Quinoa

Recipe #3 for my quinoa challenge. I've been trying to find a recipe that is more like a dessert or breakfast and not such a savory salad like the last two. Voila!

Raspberry Almond Coconut Breakfast Quinoa

Recipe from: Beantown Baker

2 cups milk
1 cup uncooked quinoa
pinch salt
2-3 Tbsp dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup chopped, toasted almonds
1/4 cup toasted unsweetened coconut

Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Milk will boil and bubble over very quickly, so keep an eye on it. ** Mary's note- I used a small saucepan and things were going great until I lowered the heat to low for the simmering part- that's when the milk boiled over and boy did it make a mess with those tiny quinoa pebbles sticking to everything.  I'd recommend using at least a medium sized saucepan to give the milk more room to expand if necessary as it definitely didn't have enough room in my small saucepan.

Add quinoa and salt, and return to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, until three-quarters of the milk has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. 

Stir in brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook, covered, until almost all the milk has been absorbed, about 5 minutes.

Stir in raspberries, nuts, and coconut. Cook until warmed through, about one minute more. 

It took a while to make this morning but it was a good way to start the day when it was finished, if not a bit heavy.  I should have eaten more (to be full) but it was kind of sticky and it felt like it was a lot to eat.  As I was adding the cinnamon and brown sugar, my dad noted that it was like oatmeal and I realized he made a good point.  I am not sure which I like better...

204-210: Week Thirty/Picture a Day for a Year

204/365: The edge of the major storm this morning- how magical!

205/365: Adorable puppy, wearing my necklace and LOVING IT.

206/365: I have a new love for zinnias because Kim keeps bringing them in to work for us. Future wedding flowers? Its possible...

207/365: August bulletin board at the Benedictine Health Center.

208/365: Two choices for the reunion guest book- Allison chose the one with the picture window so we used that one. The other one actually hurts my eyes...

209/365: I failed to take a picture of any sort today so I Googled "July 28" and when I clicked Images, this was the first picture I saw. Cute!

210/365: Just a few of the tasteful nametags created by the boys at the reunion. I'm glad they enjoyed themselves.

Restaurant Review: Blue Point

I love prix-fixe menus and that's all Restaurant Week is about! And it figures that every time Restaurant Week has come around in the past year, I've been on my way out of town. Boo. Mom and I got a chance to check out the Blue Point in Bloomington on Wednesday night. Its off of 494 and connected to an office building. This is what you probably see when you drive West on 494.

Its kind of a strange because it seems out of place but it was still a cool atmosphere. There was an outdoor patio as we entered the building, an indoor/outdoor patio that was outside the actual restaurant but inside the office lobby, and then the inside restaurant where we ate. There were 3 people at the host stand and they were incredibly friendly when we checked in half an hour early for our reservation. Fortunately for us, we got right in. Unfortunately for the restaurant, it was pretty quiet for dinner. It was a Wednesday night so that may have explained the low turnout, plus I'm pretty sure the restaurant opened pretty recently.

We had every intention of going for the prix-fixe 3-course menu of appetizer, entree and dessert.  Then we looked at the full menu and got a little distracted.

We had mussels for the appetizer.  I'd never eaten mussels before but I was not afraid because I ate escargot last year and my second cousin is the head chef at Blue Point and I knew I was safe to try something new and exotic.

Steamed Prince Edward Island Mussels

Garlic, Shallots, Herbs & White Wine

Not surprisingly, they were quite tasty.  They were in a wonderful white wine sauce and that crusty bread was perfect (especially soaked in the sauce).  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

My empty shells.  Yum!

Then Mom and I both chose amazing entrees.

Pan Fried Alaskan Halibut

Pistachio Crusted, Garnet Yam Puree, Toasted

Pumpkin Seed Oil

Roasted Hawaiian Mahi Mahi

Chorizo, Clams, Tomatoes, Garlic, Basil, White Wine

The halibut is Mom's.  It took a few bites for her to really taste the pistachio crust and she loves pistachios.  The yam puree was very reminiscent of Thanksgiving and so it reminded me of home.  We forgot what the oil was on the plate and I tried to figure it out by tasting it with my amazing palate but failed.

The Mahi Mahi is mine.  I'm a sucker for anything with basil so that's what caught my eye (plus I love all fish).  It was a huge filet that I could barely finish (but I definitely did because it was tasty).  The chorizo was a bit intense (I hate to say it but it smelled kind of like a hot dog).  The clams were a new experience as well and they were a little gritty but still good.

Finally for dessert, Blue Point's infamous Key Lime pie.  It was fluffy and refreshing and it was the perfect size to share after the huge meal we had.  The graham cracker crust was a little hard and there wasn't enough of it for the volume of that pie but it was still good.

The prices were a bit high but worth it for the huge portions... and that Key Lime pie.  While it was a wonderful mother-daughter dinner and I'm sure would make a great restaurant for date night (its an oyster bar and oysters are aphrodisiacs, right?).  If you ever have someone who wants to splurge on you for some seafood, try the Blue Point Restaurant in Bloomington (or Wayzata- their original restaurant is there and has the same, if not smaller, vibe).

#28: A New Idea

I follow blogs about fashion, family, gossip, photography, weddings, baking and crafts. After a year of writing in this blog, trying to decide what I wanted to feature and what I wanted to share, I realized I talk a lot about food. Let's face it- I love to eat. I also love to take pictures of food. And I like to share my experiences about things as if other people actually care about my opinion. So I've decided to add a new feature to my blog- restaurant reviews! And not just around here in exciting old Minnesota- Liz and I ate at two amazing restaurants in Chicago so I'm going to post about those too. I'm excited about this and hope that my experiences inspire my blog readers to try out restaurants I love!

197-203: Week Twenty Nine/Picture a Day for a Year

197/365: We had lunch at a Top Chef Masters' restaurant (Rick Bayless) where we had amazing churros. Liz = heaven.

198/365: $194 for a cupcake? I don't think so, Super America.

199/365: I got 2 new polos for work today- this red one matches my red Toms just like I hoped it would!

200/365: Jazz sat with me on one of the arm chairs today then proceed to lean and push me off. He smiled for this picture though, so I forgave him.

201/365: Allison came over to talk about reunion stuff- we also had to test the photo booth and printer. Thank goodness we did because neither of my printers was working! Its fixed now and we're ready to party!

202/365: I went to see Phil race at Buck Hill tonight. Jaci decorated his tag with a mudflap lady to wish him luck. He didn't crash this time so I'd say it was a success.

203/365: I went college shopping with Mary & Nina tonight- I saw this clock and decided I had to have it. I've been wanting something similar at Mod Cloth so I'm excited to have found this!