Kids Cook! #1 (Lemon Asparagus Pasta)-Lizzi

Introductory note from Mom:
This summer, both Lizzi and Anakin are cooking one meal/week. Here is Lizzi's first...



I found this recipe in Simply in Season a while back, and always wanted to try it. When Mommy told Anakin and I that we would each be cooking one meal a week this summer, I decided to make it. The whole family declared it a success. The menu consisted of this pasta, Chef Salad (lettuce, hard-boiled eggs, ham, green onions and poppy-seed dressing), and fresh strawberries for dessert. We used a little less dried dill, and still found it fairly strong. Overall, VERY delicious. ~Lizzi



Lemon Asparagus Pasta
from Simply in Season

8 ounces angel hair pasta (**see gluten-free note below)
2 1/2 cups asparagus (cut into 1" pieces)

Cook pasta in boiling water 4 minutes. Add asparagus and cook 2 minutes longer or until tender. Drain.

1 T. butter
1/2 c. green onions, chopped
1 1/2 t. lemon peel, grated
3 T. lemon juice

While pasta cooks, melt butter in large frypan over medium heat. Add green onions and lemon peel and saute 1 minute. Add lemon juice and cook until liquid is almost evaporated.

3/4 c. milk (I used rice milk in the gluten-free portion. Worked great.)
2 eggs

Beat together. Add with pasta and asparagus to pan with green onions. Cook over low heat until milk mixture is slightly thick, about 4 minutes. Do not boil.

1 T. fresh dill (chopped, or 1 t. dried)
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. ground nutmeg.

Stir in. Serve immediately.




** Gluten-Free: We did a double recipe with half being gluten free. We tried a new kind of spaghetti pasta, Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta, Spaghetti Style, Supergrain, containing organic corn flour and organic quinoa flour. This was by FAR the BEST gluten-free pasta we've tried. Not slimy or gummy like many of the rice pastas. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between this and regular wheat pasta. So, so good. And it held up great through all the cooking.

Mom's notes:
This meal was AWESOME! So proud of Lizzi's first attempt in the kitchen. While she cooked, Anakin brought his copy of Simply in Season to the kitchen (they each have their own copies) and started looking for a seasonal recipe that he could make on Thursday. Since they each have their own cookbook, they have ownership in planning & preparation. And since the recipe book is seasonally based, they know where to turn to find recipes with ingredients that we can easily find in the garden or at the farmer's market. I'm having them both make notes in their own cookbooks about the recipes they try.