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Asparagus season is upon us and though it is the first sign of all the vibrant fruits and veggies still to come our way, we can only use asparagus as a side dish so many times before panicking at the sight of those green stalks in the grocery store. Today’s simple salad recipe not only showcases the fresh, nutty flavours of the classic spring vegetable, it also makes a great dish to bring to a BBQ.



Recipe: Shaved Asparagus Salad
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
500g fresh asparagus
half a fresh lemon
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
fresh ground pepper
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan)



To serve 4-6 people, grab about 400-500g of asparagus. Look for crisp, thin stalks. Wash and dry them well.



Remove the denser, woody lower section of the stalks by gently bending and allowing the stalk to break at a natural point.



Using a veggie peeler, slice the asparagus into thin strips. Simply peel away thin layers and keep going until there’s no more asparagus left. This is a good job for one of the older kids.



Toss all the asparagus slivers into a large bowl as you go.



Squeeze some fresh lemon on the salad, then drizzle it with about a tablespoon of good olive oil. Toss and season with salt and pepper.



Grate a ½ cup fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan) and toss with the salad just before serving. Don’t use the fake or pre-grated stuff; it does not yield the same flavour!



You can prep the salad in advance and just add the dressing before serving. To add a bit of colour, toss in some shaved radish slices. Either way, it’s a perfect match for anything on the grill.

Recipe: Shaved Asparagus Salad
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
500g fresh asparagus
half a fresh lemon
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
fresh ground pepper
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (Parmesan)

Instructions
 

1. Wash and dry the asparagus, then snap off the lower, woody part of the stems.
2. Using a vegetable peeler, start to shave off thin slices of asparagus and collect them in a large bowl.
3. Squeeze fresh lemon over the salad and drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and fresh pepper and toss to combine.
4. Add the Parmesan just before serving and toss lightly.

Sue Riedl is a Toronto-based food writer with a passion for cheese who writes a column called The Spread for The Globe and Mail. She loves to push stinky cheese on her 4-year-old. 

Related: 

• Family Fun: Roasted Brussels Sprouts 
• Family Fun: Mother’s Day Ginger Fruit Salad 
• Family Fun: Cobb Salad — For Eating Outside (Finally!) 

Shortbread cookies get a spring makeover when disguised as bright blooms in a potted planter. This clever DIY makes a wonderful hostess gift or birthday present for kids and adults alike. We used Anna Olson’s Shortbread Cookies – they’re the perfect backdrop for colourful sprinkles – but Chocolate Chip Cookies or even Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies would be just as delicious. 

Supplies:
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
Cookie pop sticks
Sprinkles
Potted planter
Desert foam blocks
Spanish Moss
Glue gun + glue gun sticks
Ribbon

Anna Olson’s Shortbread Cookies
Yields 4 big cookie lollipops and 8 small cookie lollipops, enough for 3 cookie bouquets.

Ingredients:
 

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons icing sugar
¼ cup cornstarch or rice flour
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
¼ cup water

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Beat butter until light and fluffy. Sift in icing sugar and beat again until fluffy, scraping down sides of the bowl often. Sift in cornstarch or rice flour and blend in. Sift in all purpose flour and salt and mix until dough comes together (it will be soft). Stir in vanilla.

Now for the twist…
1. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Split the dough into two separate pieces. Roll one half of the dough into a two inch wide log, and the other half of the dough into a one inch wide log. The two inch log will be used to make large cookies, and the one inch log will be used to make small cookies.
2. Slice each log into 1cm thick discs.
3. To assemble the cookie pops, place a disc on the parchment-lined cookie sheet, laying the large and small discs on separate cookie sheets. Then, press the top of a cookie-pop stick in the center of the disc.
4. Place another disc (of the same size) on top. Press and mold it into a circle so that the cookie-pop stick is firmly in place. Repeat until all of the dough is used up.
5. Make an egg wash by whisking one egg with ¼ cup water. Brush egg wash on each cookie pop. This will help the sprinkles stick to the cookie. Decorate with sprinkles.
6. Bake cookies at 350F for 18-20 minutes, removing the cookie sheet of small discs after 15-16 minutes.  
7. To assemble the cookie bouquet, begin by pressing the desert foam into the potted planter.
8. Using a glue gun, glue the Spanish moss onto the top of the desert foam. Fill in any empty space on the edges of the potted planter with Spanish moss as well.
9. Tie bows with ribbon onto each cookie pop. Press the stick of the cookie pops into the desert foam, and voila! Your cookie bouquet is complete.

Adena Lazowski is the founder of the charming food blog, Lace and Lemon Drops. A bona fide domestic goddess, she loves her sea-blue KitchenAid mixer, big bowls of pasta, and most of all, preparing food for family and friends. 

Related: 

• Chocolate Marshmallow Linzer Cookies 
• Peanut Butter and Jelly Cookies 
• Spice Gingerbread Cookies 

Roasted Brussels sprouts — it’s not a revolutionary recipe but it's one of those veggie sides that I forget about until someone else makes them. And then I think, “What have I been doing without you all my life?” My brother’s family loves roasted Brussels sprouts (even the kids love them!). This week, when I was planning on making a roast chicken, it seemed like the perfect match.



Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Ingredients
400-500g Brussels sprouts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt



If you prep the Brussels sprouts to the point where they’re on the tray and ready for the oven, you can pull out the chicken, pop in the veg and they’ll be done while the chicken rests (just cover it with some foil).



To serve 4-6 as a side dish, buy 400-500 grams Brussels sprouts. Remove any brown stems and pull off any brown exterior leaves.



I cut the sprouts half in so they roasted on both sides. This also decreases the cooking time.



Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the Brussels sprouts with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Spread them evenly (flat side down) on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.



Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp on the exterior. Serve immediately for the “crispest” experience. Still, they’ll reheat just fine (with a leftover drumstick!) for tomorrow’s lunch. You can even toss them at room temperature with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar.



Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Serves 4-6 as a side dish

Ingredients
400-500g Brusselssprouts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions 

1. Sort through the raw Brussels sprouts and trim off the browning ends of stems or pull of any browning leaves.
2. Halve the Brussels sprouts lengthwise and toss in a medium bowl with the olive oil and salt until evenly coated.
3. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the oiled Brussels sprouts evenly on it — cut side down.
4. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the outer leaves are crisp and all sides are golden brown. Serve immediately.

Sue Riedl is a Toronto-based food writer with a passion for cheese who writes a column called The Spread for The Globe and Mail. She loves to push stinky cheese on her 4-year-old. 

Related: 

• Family Fun: Mother’s Day Ginger Fruit Salad 
• Family Fun: Cobb Salad — For Eating Outside (Finally!) 
• Family Fun: Coconut Macaroons 

Crab cakes, with their rich, meaty interior, are always a special treat. While they make a lip-smacking main entrée, they also have the potential to make a killer canapé – you know, the kind that you can pop into your mouth in one flavour-packed bite and feel really glamorous eating.

We have a few tricks up our sleeve to turn entrée-sized crab cakes into an elegant appetizer. To start, they’re baked (not fried) in mini cupcake tins to retain the perfect shape and size. To finish, they’re garnished with a dollop of chipotle mayo and a some fresh micro greens greens for a treat that will impress even the most discerning gourmands.

An appetizer this good deserves the company of a boozy beverage. We love the idea of pairing it with Chuck Hughes’ Snow Crab Bloody Caesar.

Supplies:
Mini cupcake tins
Rubber gloves
Squeeze bottle, available at Kitchen Stuff Plus 

Crab Cakes  

Ingredients:
 
1 package (200g/7oz) frozen crabmeat, thawed and well drained (canned will do)
¼ cup finely diced carrots

¼ cup finely diced sweet red peppers
¼ cup finely chopped green onions
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 ¼ cups panko breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

Directions:
 
1. Place crab meat in a sieve, and pick through it to remove any bones. Press firmly to remove liquid and transfer to a bowl.
2. In a bowl, add red peppers, carrots, onions, egg, 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs, Cajun seasoning, and 3 tablespoons of chipotle mayo (see recipe below). Stir to combine. Refrigerate for up to 24 hours covered, if desired.

Now for the twist…

3. Preheat oven to 375 F.
4. Grease mini cupcake tins.
5. Scoop out 1 heaping tablespoon of crab cake mixture and roll it into a loose ball. Press into the cupcake tin. Repeat until you’ve used up all the crab meat.
6. Sprinkle a pinch of panko breadcrumbs on top of each crab cake and spread to cover the surface. Drizzle with oil.
7. Bake for 8 minutes. Switch the oven convection to broil, and leave crab cakes in the oven for 5 more minutes until the tops begin to golden.
8. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Chipotle Mayo 

Ingredients: 

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
½ cup light mayonnaise
Dash of Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
 
1. Add mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce to a small mixing bowl.
2. Wearing rubber gloves, finely grate chipotle peppers into the bowl and whisk ingredients together. Grating the chipotle peppers (opposed to chopping them) will create a pale orange hue and smooth texture.
3. Transfer Chipotle Mayo to a squeeze bottle.
4. To garnish the crab cake canapés with Chipotle Mayo: using the squeeze bottle in a circular motion, pipe on a small dollop in the middle of the canapé.
5. Top with parsley, pea shoots or micro greens.

 Adena Lazowski is founder of the charming food blog, Lace and Lemon Drops. A bona fide domestic goddess, she loves her sea-blue KitchenAid mixer, big bowls of pasta, and most of all, preparing food for family and friends.
 

Related: 

• Gimme Chili Crab 
• Layered Crab on Potato Crisps 
• Crispy Soft-Shelled Crabs with Curried Mango Sauce 

Hitting the gym or just hitting the road, do double duty by eating the foods that will keep both hunger and heft at bay. Lean proteins do the body right as you move through your day. From breakfast to dinner – and every snack in between – there’s a protein-packed ingredient that will satisfy your appetite while maintaining your waistline. Check out these recipes from the Food Network Canada Kitchen that are rich in protein and flavour possibilities: