The Pleasure of Cooking with Old Friends
There’s nothing like bonding in the kitchen with friends you have missed. I have cooked with and for my Baltimore girls since our pot-luck days at Davidson College. Thankfully, we could squeeze in a home-cooked meal together on my recent trek back to the East Coast.
We made — surprise, surprise — a whole roast chicken with that herbed salt rub. Hey, it’s an easy crowd pleaser, yet Hannah had never made one. The whole bird can be daunting, though more economical and flavorful. After dinner, we made stock with the carcass (Hannah, what soup will you make? Don’t forget the pot in Adam’s fridge.) Olive oil and rosemary potatoes roasted in the pan with the chicken.
The highlight of the meal, though, was Hannah’s Korean Asparagus (see recipe below). Barbara Kingsolver made me feel guilty about eating them out of season, but California-grown ones were on sale, and we couldn’t resist the recipe. Now we know what to make when the elegant green spears grace our farmers markets in a month. Smelly pee, here we come! I liked the tangy Korean marinade so much I served it over lighty cooked broccoli and carrots, over rice, tonight.
Here’s the Korean asparagus recipe (from Madhur Jaffrey, I believe)
1.5 lbs asparagusDressing:3 tablespoons soy sauce1 tablespoon sesame oil1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds1 tablespoon red wine vinegar1/2 teaspoon sugar1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper1 smashed clove of garlicShave the ends of the spears if the asparagus is thick.Soak the asparagus in cold water for 15 to 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together the dressing ingredients.Boil the asparagus for about two minutes.Drain and run under cold water.Remove the garlic clove from the dressing (if you want) before pouring it over the asparagus and mixing.
BaltimOregon to Maine 
Actually the asparagus came from the Waverly Farmers’ Market. As you know, not everything sold there is local. The recipe is from Madhar Jaffrey’s book _World Vegetarian_ and is called “Asparagus with Korean Dressing.” The chicken and potatoes were to die for, but the cinnamon-sugared fist was still my favorite.
Han
March 17, 2009 at 3:41 am
Missed your blog but what a poignant trip — old places, old friends, and old grandmother. It sounds like you really savored all these old gems. Maybe Corvallis will be in that category some day?
m-i-l
March 17, 2009 at 5:07 am
Oh I think it will be. It felt like coming home to come back here. Just wish we could have all those folks out here and that the flight home wasn’t so excruciating!
baltimoregon
March 17, 2009 at 9:23 am
Yeah I deluded myself thinking the Waverly market had fresh vegetables in winter. But it still is a great community building spot for Baltimore.
baltimoregon
March 17, 2009 at 9:24 am
Loved how you make the meals all sound so fabulous. I can’t wait to try the asperges! Merci.
Nancy
March 17, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Great! Wait to buy local ones if you can:)
baltimoregon
March 18, 2009 at 12:11 am
Laura – I made this recipe tonight with a few expansions. I sauteed cubed chicken in peanut oil and then added red pepper and the asparagus cut into thirds. I chopped the garlic and sauteed that and then mixed up the dressing and poured it over everything in the wok to heat through. Served it warm and it was absolutely delish (to quote Rachel Ray)! Thanks for putting the recipe on the web. Judy
Judy
March 18, 2009 at 5:15 pm