Lavon and Miss NiNi talk about fluffing and measuring flour.

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Lavon and Miss NiNi talk about spring time growth and grilling asparagus.

GRILLED ASPARAGUS

Delicious, crispy asparagus grilled on an open flame releases the flavor and makes kids love their veggies. Add or reduce time cooking time to your liking. One pound will adequately serve 4 people but more veggies are always encouraged.

1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt

Preheat grill to medium-high; lightly oil grill. Toss asparagus with oil until evenly coated. Sprinkle with salt. Lay crosswise on grill. Cook about 5 minutes then turn for another 5 minutes. Other grill seasonings may be used to suit your taste. Parmesan cheese is a good flavor combination. Sprinkle before grilling (may brown faster) or immediately after removing from grill to melt on the hot stalks.

Notes: Look for firm asparagus stalks with deep green or purplish tips. Check the bottom of spears. If they are dried up, they have been setting too long. Use as soon as possible but if you have to store, stand stalks upright in a glass or other container with a small amount of water in the bottom.Prepare by grasping each end and bending it gently until it snaps at its natural point of tenderness.

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Lavon and Miss NiNi talk about soup.

QUICK VEGETABLE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

2 teaspoons vegetable or olive oil
½ onion, chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
½ cup carrots, chopped
4 cups (2 cans) chicken broth
5 oz can of chicken meat
1 to 2 cups thin noodles
Pepper to taste
Optional: Fresh or frozen spinach

Heat oil in skillet or cooking pot to medium heat.
Add onion, celery and carrots. Cook 3 to 5 minutes.
Add broth, chicken, noodles and seasoning.
Simmer until vegetables are almost tender and noodles are cooked
About 10 minutes. Add frozen spinach. Heat through.

Note:
Use ½ to 1 cup leftover chicken instead of canned
Substitute any pre-cooked vegetables. Add at end.
Cook fresh spinach before adding to soup.

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Lavon and Miss NiNi talk about and share a recipe for frosting.

BUTTERCREAM FROSTING—Miss NiNi

Ingredients:

• 2 T. butter, browned
• 1-1/2 c. powdered sugar
• 1 t. vanilla extract.
• 2 T. whipping cream
• 2-4 T. whole milk

Method:

In a small pan and on low heat, melt butter until color changes to light brown. (During this process, the melting butter will be spitting and sounding very noisy. Listen carefully. When the sound quiets, the butter should be brown and ready to add to the powdered sugar.)

In the bowl of an electric mixer, place powdered sugar. On a low speed, mix in browned butter. Add vanilla extract, whipping cream, and milk. (Amount of milk added will vary depending if you want to drizzle or spread the frosting.) Turn mixer to medium speed; beat until smooth.

Yield: Frosts about 1 dozen cookies.

Miss NiNi

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DEVILED EGGS

Hard cook (not hard boil) 6 or 12 eggs.

1  In a 2-quart saucepan, place the eggs in a single layer. Add enough cold water until it is at least 1 inch above the eggs. Heat uncovered to boiling over high heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Cover with lid; let stand 15 minutes.

2  Immediately pour off the hot water from the eggs, then run cold water over them in the saucepan until completely cool.

3  Tap each egg lightly on the kitchen counter to crackle the shell. Roll the egg between your hands to loosen the shell, then peel starting at the large end. If the shell is hard to peel, hold egg under cold water while peeling.

Note: older eggs are easier to peel than fresh eggs. Uncooked eggs will keep in the carton for 3 weeks past the time you bring them home from the store.

Ingredients for 12 eggs; decrease by half for 6 eggs

3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard or 1 tsp dry mustard
1 tablespoon minced sweet pickle
Dash of salt and pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
Optional: 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Note: if the mixture seems dry, add a tsp of pickle juice

Cut each egg in half length wise. Remove yolks into a quart-size zipper bag. Add other ingredients, zip and “knead” bag with your hands to mix all ingredients.  Press yolk mixture toward one of the bottom corners. With a pair of scissors, carefully snip a small bit off the corner of the bag. You now have a “pastry bag” from which you can pipe the mixture into egg white halves. Sprinkle with parsley and paprika if you wish. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate one to eight hours. Serve cold.

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Lavon and Miss NiNi discuss the upcoming Cass County Master Gardeners Spring Garden Seminar.   Find out more about the seminar and get a registration form at www.extension.iastate.edu/cass.

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Lavon and Miss NiNi discuss a recipe for meringues.

CHOCOLATE PARISIENNE MERINGUES—adapted from ifood.tv

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 egg whites at room temperature
• 1 t. white vinegar
• ½ t. salt
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate squares, finely grated
• 1 c. almonds, finely chopped
• 6 oz. semisweet chocolate pieces
• 1 T. vegetable shortening

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Prepare cookie sheets by covering with parchment paper.

In large bowl of mixer, beat egg whites with vinegar and salt until foamy. Beat in granulated sugar, 1T. at a time until firm peaks form. (Adding the sugar in small amounts helps dissolve the sugar during the beating process.) Gently fold in grated chocolate and almonds.

Fit a piping bag with a ¼-inch round decorating tip. Gently put stiffly beaten batter into piping bag and squeeze out the air from the bag. Position the tip and bag directly over prepared pan and pipe meringues onto parchment, making the size of a Hershey’s Kiss. Leave 1 inch of space between the meringues. (Or can drop half-teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets.)

Put meringues into preheated oven. Turn oven off.  (Yes, that’s correct.) Meringues will remain in the oven with the oven door closed overnight or until oven is completely cool. Remove meringues from oven.

Melt semisweet chocolate pieces with shortening in a small heavy saucepan over low heat. Gently pick up meringue, and dip half of cookie into chocolate and place on parchment-lined cookie sheet. Allow to sit until chocolate is firm.

Yield: About 12 dozen meringues.

Miss NiNi

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Lavon and Miss NiNi discuss Scones.

FRUITY BUTTERMILK LEMON SCONES—adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Ingredients:

• 3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
• 4 t. baking powder
• ¾ t. salt
• ½ c. sugar
• Grated rind of 1 large lemon
• 1 c. chopped or slivered dried fruit (apricots, cherries, cranberries, currants or combination of fruits)
• ½ c. cold butter
• 1 large egg
• ½ t. lemon oil, optional; for more lemon flavor
• ¾ c. buttermilk OR ¾ c. water plus 3 T. dried buttermilk powder
• Garnish: Crystallized sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, buttermilk powder (if using powder), baking powder, salt, sugar, lemon zest, and dried fruit. Cut butter into ¼-inch size slices. Using your fingers, a pastry fork, or pastry blender, work butter into dry ingredients. Mix until butter is about pea-sized pieces. Whisk together egg, optional lemon oil, and buttermilk or water. Add to dry ingredients, stirring gently until everything is well moistened and just combined.

Using a large cookie scoop or measuring cup sprayed with nonstick spray, drop ¼-cup measures of dough onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined or Silpat-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 1-1/2 inches apart.

For more traditional wedge-shaped scones, divide dough into four pieces and place on a well-floured work surface. Pat each piece into a 4-3/4-inch circle about ¾-inch thick. Transfer to two baking sheets, two rounds to a sheet. Don’t divide the circles into wedges yet; you’ll do that after they’re baked.

To add sparkle to the scones, prior to baking sprinkle tops with crystallized sugar.

Bake small round scones about 18 minutes or until they’re golden brown. For larger rounds, bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove scones from oven and serve warm. If you’ve baked the larger rounds, cut them into six wedges each before serving.

Yields: About 15 smaller round scones or 24 wedge-shaped scones.

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Lavon and Miss NiNi talk more about using slow cookers.

ALMOST PRIME RIB

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Lavon and Miss NiNi talk about gluten-free cooking.

For more information about gluten-free products and gluten-free baking, explore this website at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/glutenfree/

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