Tactical Asparagus

Lest you think that the only thing on our plates at Grass Valley was beef, take a gander at the grilled asparagus Jeff prepared and served with a balsamic reduction.

I had never made a balsamic reduction before so when Jeff asked me to oversee his while he was tending the steaks on Guy's ginormous gas grill (it doubles as an aircraft carrier in time of war), I was initially a little anxious.

Turns out I needn't have been - all you do is gently boil balsamic vinegar until the bubbles become large and shiny and the vinegar thickens a bit.

Poured over the asparagus, the tangy vinegar, made sweeter by the reducing, complemented the bright, earthy asparagus perfectly. This enormous platter of green was all but gone by the time dinner was over.

I think it was a clever ruse to keep us from finishing our steaks - how could we resist? Having made that rash bet, Jeff needed to ensure that he could keep his honor without having to make good on the promise to eat the Manhattan phone book. Feed 'em lots of lovely asparagus and a side of pesto tortellini and you'll win your bet for sure.

Stoned

For several evenings recently, we've been enjoying an appetizer of fruit and prosciutto while I make dinner. We are trying all kinds of stone fruits - peaches, nectarines, apricots - but our favorite so far is plums. The dark purple ones with the tangy skin that tickles our taste buds. When wrapped in a ribbon of prosciutto, they are a taste sensation.

If you want to totally gild that lily, drizzle a little balsamic vinegar over or dip them in it. Ooh, baby, summer's here and life is goooooood.

Bummer Chicken

Well, phooey! I'm still bummed about my broken glass plate and have been boycotting the kitchen since that disaster. I did venture out to the barbecue and grill this demure little butterflied chicken, but mostly I've just been pouting.

I cooked the chicken using indirect heat, heaping the coals to one side of the trusty Weber and placing the chicken on the other side until the last turn, when I wanted to crisp and brown it a bit. It was basted once or twice with some bottled balsamic vinaigrette dressing to which I added a splash more vinegar and a big pinch of dried mixed herbs. The method worked well - the chicken was moist and flavorful - but it took quite a bit longer than the more direct heat. I'd recommend it if I was wasn't still pouting.

Roasty Toasty

You may have heard that here in northern California we are short on water. There have been dire warnings of water rationing each evening on the news and we fear the fires that come in the summer after too-dry years. We watch anxiously the measuring of the Sierra snowpack and wonder if we'll be collecting shower water again for our gardens this summer. Conversations with neighbors tend to drift to the amount of water each flush or car wash uses and how to reduce it.

Well, you could have fooled me!

After weeks of unrelenting heavy rain when nary a shadow could be seen on the ground through the heavy cloud cover, and the dog and I both have muddy paws when we come in, it would seem that our water situation must have at least been slightly improved. The Powers That Be have not relented in their harangue about water levels, however, so I decided it was time to declare officially in my kitchen that water rationing is in effect.

This batch of roasted vegetables is my first offering to the rain gods. It's all warming and tasty and toasty, good for what ails you, especially on a rainy day. All you do is cut up winter-type veggies in roughly same-size pieces, toss them in some good olive oil, drizzle them to taste with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle them with Garam masala before roasting them in a 350-400 degree oven until they are tender, roughly 40 minutes. I used unpeeled kabocha squash, red yam and russet potato, all cut in slivers. To those, I added a white onion, sliced lengthwise through the root end to keep the spears together and a full head of garlic, sliced across the top to expose the cloves. The roasting softens the skins to delicious edibility and the flavors mingle nicely in the oven.

Best of all, it uses not a drop of precious water to deliver its roasty toasty flavors.