Fresh Tart

This is a quickie lunch or dinner idea, very basic but satisfying and packed with flavor.  Remember when I first posted Mark Bittman-via-Jean-George's ginger fried rice and commented that I'd be riffing on the delicious theme for years to come?  Well here's one riff.  I was so taken with the crave-worthy combination of leeks sauteed with rice, topped with an egg, and finished with nothing but sesame oil and soy sauce, that I couldn't wait to apply the concept to other simple ingredients.

Here I used silken tofu, which has a very scrambled egg quality to it, soft and pillowy with a mild flavor.  I love it, even plain.  Lightly stir-fried with a leeks and soy sauce, and finished with a drizzle of sesame oil, it's completely delicious over buckwheat soba noodles.  You could finish it with the crispy garlic and ginger that so delightfully tops the ginger fried rice, but I didn't even spend that much time on this dish.  This is a really basic, ready in 10 minutes kind of meal.  Eat it in your work clothes, still standing, starving for something warm, pleasantly salty, and comforting.  The fact that it's nutritious is a nice bonus.

On a weekend note: check out the Easy Cream Scones recipe I posted on the Minnesota Monthly/Dara & Co. blog this week.  Nice for Sunday morning, right?  Coffee, paper, warm scones?  See what you think.

Silken Tofu with Soba Noodles
Serves 2

4 oz. soba noodles (or other pasta)
1/2 lb. silken tofu
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. oil
1 leek, white and green parts only, sliced thin
toasted sesame oil

Optional garnishes:
chopped scallions
toasted sesame seeds

Set a large pot of salted water on to boil.  When the water boils, add soba noodles and cook according to package directions.  Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add the oil and leeks and saute until leeks are softened, about 5 minutes.  While the leeks saute, mash tofu in a medium bowl.  Add soy sauce and mash/stir to combine.  Add the tofu to the softened leeks and gently stir-fry until warmed through. Drain the soba noodles and divide into two bowls.  Top with the tofu.  Drizzle a little sesame oil over the tofu and sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds, if desired.

We kicked off my son's 14th birthday celebration(s) with cream puffs for dessert tonight.  Few desserts are as festive and impressive as cream puffs - who doesn't love them?  They're so creamy...and puffy.  (Yeah, sorry, I'm a little tired this evening.  Suffice it to say they're seriously good.)

And here's a little secret...they're one of the easiest desserts on the planet to make.  It's true, I swear.  With a mixer and nothing more than water, butter, flour, and eggs, they take about 10 minutes to whip up, 30 minutes to bake. Less effort than a box of cake mix and a million times more fun.

J'adore them filled with nothing more than lightly sweetened whipped cream.  My husband requires a little drizzle of killer chocolate sauce as well; I concede its charms, especially with a feather-light sprinkling of coarse, crunchy salt on top.  You can't imagine how good (although you can, because chocolate and salt are amazing together in lots of things).  Of course they're delicious filled with ice cream if you're so inclined.  Make them bigger and call them cream puffs.  Make them smaller and call them profiteroles.  Just don't call me late for dessert.  (So sorry, so tired, I'm done now, I promise.)

Cream Puffs
Adapted from The Doubleday Cookbook by Anderson & Hanna
Serves 6-8

1 c. flour
1 c. water
½ c. (1 stick) butter
¼ tsp. salt
4 large (not extra large) eggs

Filling:
1 c. whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. sugar

For puffs: preheat to 400 degrees. Put flour in the bowl of a mixer.  Bring water, butter, and salt to a boil.  Add all at once to flour and beat quickly until mixture forms a ball. Break an egg into a cup and slide into flour mixture.  Beat until blended.  Add remaining eggs, one at a time, beat well.  Each egg must be blended in before the next is added; mixture will look odd at first, almost curdled, but as you beat, it will become smooth.

Drop pastry by rounded tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet to form 12 puffs.  Bake 30-40 minutes until puffed, golden brown, and hollow-sounding when tapped.  (Note: do not open oven door during first 15 minutes of baking.)  Cool puffs on wire racks away from drafts.

For filling: beat whipping cream, vanilla, and sugar together until soft peaks form.

To serve: cut a 3/4-inch slice off the top of each puff.  Fill with whipped cream and replace tops.  (Drizzle with warm chocolate sauce if using.)  Serve immediately.

Have you noticed the buzz about ramps and wondered what's up?  Ramps are wild onions that taste like mild garlic and when they show up in markets, it's a sure sign that spring has sprung.  Lalalaaa!  I suspect that's why they make spring-fevered foodies a bit crazy.  And like fava beans, morel mushrooms, and fiddle-head ferns, ramps are kinda sexy, uber-trendy, and in the end, just really delicious.  I spotted a pile at Whole Foods and decided to work them into the potato pizza I was already planning for dinner.  Sorry red onions, ramps are hotter than you.

Lest you think I'm a snooty foodie for my ramp romp, let me point out that the crust pictured is...purchased.  I do love to make pizza dough, but my favorite version is best started the day before, and this was a last-minute dinner plan.  We're all (and that's a miracle, to have the whole family in agreement) loving the Whole Foods brand organic pizza crust, for sale in their packaged bread section, available in both white and whole-wheat.  The ingredient list isn't long or scary and the crusts bake up thin, light, and crisp.

But certainly make or buy your own favorite crust - this topping would be good on almost anything, including nothing.  (I had to work hard to not just eat the potatoes off the roasting pan.)

I used fresh oregano and pancetta with the potatoes, but you could substitute your favorite herb(s) and use ham, bacon, or no meat at all.  I liked the contrast of chewy, salty pancetta with the soft potatoes and crisp crust.

While you roast the potatoes, saute the ramps and pancetta.  It all comes together quickly, fast enough for a weeknight dinner.  A simple salad of greens, shallots, and vinaigrette, with plenty of salt and pepper, is perfect alongside.

Pizza with Potatoes, Pancetta, and Ramps
Serves 2-4

1 pizza crust
olive oil
1 lb. small red-skinned potatoes, sliced thinly
2 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 bunches ramps, chopped (bulbs and green tops; substitute scallions, sweet onion, or red onion)
2 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Put potatoes, oregano, and garlic in a large bowl and drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil.  Sprinkle generously with salt toss to coat evenly.  Spread the mixture on a baking sheet.  Roast for 15 minutes, turn potato slices over, and roast for another 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender and lightly browned at the edges.

Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add 2 Tbsp. of olive oil to the pan, then stir in the ramps.  Sprinkle the ramps with a little salt, then saute until wilted, about 5 minutes.  Scrape ramps into a bowl and set aside.

Return the pan to the heat and add pancetta.  Saute, stirring frequently, until pancetta is browned and crispy.  Drain on paper towels.

To assemble the pizza: drizzle a little olive oil on the crust and spread around with your fingers.  Arrange potato slices on the crust in two layers.  Taste potatoes and if they need a little salt, add some.  Top with ramps and pancetta.  Scatter cheese over the crust and grind fresh pepper lightly over the pizza.  Bake for 12-15 minutes on the rack until cheese is melted and bubbling and crust is crisp.

I love family-friendly spaghetti with meat sauce as much as anyone (for a great recipe, check out the version my friend Maud posted on food52 this week, her mom's famous recipe, secret ingredient...a pinch of curry powder, can't wait to try it).  But I like to mix up our pasta selections as well, especially given the amount of pasta the kids request - they'd easily eat pasta for every dinner, and likely lunch too.

This easy chicken lo mein is a crowd pleaser and a great way for those of us not born with pasta-eating metabolisms to fill out a bowl with something more than...pasta.  Customize this recipe as many ways as you'd like - try beef, shrimp, or tofu instead of chicken; add mushrooms, cauliflower, pea pods, or whatever we'll soon be finding at the farmer's markets (yay!) instead of broccoli and peppers.  You get the idea.  I like to top mine with toasted sesame seeds and sriracha for crunch and heat.  I'm always about the heat.

Chicken Lo Mein
Serves 6

1 lb. spaghetti (or Asian-style pasta)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into 1/2-inch slices
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
3/4 c. chicken broth
2 Tbsp each fish sauce, hoisin sauce, and soy sauce
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. curry powder
3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly, divided
canola or peanut oil (or similar)
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 head broccoli, trimmed into florets
2 c. shredded cabbage
1 red bell pepper, sliced thinly

Garnishes:
toasted sesame seeds
sriracha sauce
chopped scallions

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.  In a medium bowl, stir together cornstarch, Chinese five-spice powder, and soy sauce.  Add chicken and toss to coat thoroughly.  Set in the refrigerator.

In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, fish sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, and curry powder.  Set aside.

Set out a large bowl.  Heat a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.  Add a drizzle of oil, then 1 Tbsp. of garlic, onion, and broccoli and stir-fry until the broccoli is bright green but still quite crisp, about 4 minutes.  Scrape the onion and broccoli into the large bowl.  Add another drizzle of oil to the pan, then another tablespoon of garlic, cabbage, and red pepper.  Stir-fry until the cabbage is wilted and the red pepper is tender-crisp, about 4 minutes.  Scrape the cabbage and red pepper into the bowl with the broccoli.  Return the pan to heat and add another drizzle of oil, the last tablespoon of garlic, and the chicken pieces.  Stir-fry until chicken is cooked through and lightly browned, about 8 minutes.  Scrape the chicken into the bowl with the vegetables and toss.

When the water boils, cook the pasta to al dente.  Drain pasta and return to pot.  Set pot over a low flame and add chicken, vegetables, and chicken broth mixture.  Toss thoroughly until heated through.  Serve with garnishes.

Given my husband John's 50th birthday, preceded by my emergency root canal (ouch!), I've done precious little cooking this last week.  But there's been plenty of eating...  (Sorry for the loss of the top of your head, Honey, I figured it was worth the shot of you enjoying those killer frites...)

We kicked off the celebrating last Thursday night, with Debbie & Stu the Wine Genius Williams, at Piccolo in Minneapolis.  Piccolo is Doug Flicker's new venture - his former was local-ingredient pioneer Auriga, site of our first (blind) date many years ago - serving small plates of artfully composed and delicious food.  Like the plates, the restaurant itself is small (piccolo means tiny in Italian), but since the ceilings are high and the decor light and spare, even a long drink of water like me (even in 4-inch heels) felt comfy.  We tasted 1/3 or more of the menu, all fantastic, although my very favorite was the fried pork hock with garlic potato puree, Brussels sprouts, and speck.  The tender pork hock meat was removed from the bone, chopped, seasoned, pressed back around the bone, lightly breaded, then fried until crispy.  Oh yeah.  Crunchy-tender, alongside the uber-porky Brussels (speck is an intensely-flavored ham) and creamy potatoes, this dish pillow-talked with my German DNA.  Gute nacht, baby.  (Read Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl's Minnesota Monthly review here.)

The celebrating continued on Saturday, despite round one of a root canal, when our friends Shane & Kathleen Coen brought over Taste of India takeout.  We feasted on chicken (curry and tikka masala), beans (dal and chana masala), warm naan, pickled vegetables, and raita.  Novocaine and good pills assured I was feeling no pain - I happily downed everything.  In retrospect, yikes, but there it is.  I discovered that I did not imagine my enjoyment - leftovers for Sunday's breakfast confirmed the tastiness.

And then Sunday, the actual Big Day, we took the kids to Manny's for steaks.  Are you horrified by all of this food?  I am, it was completely over the top, but when you've survived half a century, people want to celebrate with you.  So bring on the giant steaks, hashbrowns, mushrooms, salads, the whole steak-house-style, moaning-groaning feast.  The kids were blown away, and given their growing-teen metabolisms, put away an impressive amount of food.  John and I floundered, despite all the deliciousness, definitely suffering food hangovers.  Which worked out just fine, since the best part of dinner at Manny's (to me) is the leftovers anyhow - serious leftovers.  We hauled home piles of steak, mushrooms, and hashbrowns, and had it all over again last night.  Despite round two of a root canal mere hours before, the meal was completely fantastic.  (Yep, more pain pills, but I know that it rocked because John and Nathan devoured it all, inhaled it in fact, all good.)

And we're not done celebrating!  Heck no.  Dinner at Bar La Grassa is coming soon, as is a small gathering at Create Catering's Dining Studio in June.  John doesn't much enjoy big parties (unlike his wife!), but he is having a blast getting together with small groups of friends, stretching the party out over several weeks.  Great fun for me too.  Happy John's Birthday to Me!  And to you Honey, Happy 50th, here's to many, many more.

When I serve rice for dinner, I make extra so I have leftovers for a delicious, easy lunch.  Even still, given how much rice my family can put away, that means sneaking some out of the pot and into the fridge before we eat.  I use the stolen rice the next day to make myself a simple soup, or ginger fried rice with an egg, or something as quick and nutritious as an easy burrito.  (Between this post and my pork tenderloin taco post at Dara & Co./Minnesota Monthly, you can tell I'm craving Mexican food...it's a Spring thing for me...)

If I have leftover steak too, well there you go, I make a steak and rice burrito.  But if my husband takes all the steak to work for his own lunch, I fill out my burrito with beans.  I die for a pot of home-cooked beans, stewed into creamy, smoky glory with bacon or ham, and often have just that stashed in the freezer (I make a big pot every couple of months, freeze individual portions, beans freeze very well).  But when the freezer is empty, I'm a big fan of canned beans too.  After a quick rinse, they're ready to saute with a little olive oil, garlic, and chili powder for heat.  Heat!

In no time, they're perfectly ready to join the rice - with guacamole or slices of avocado, a crumble of cheese, a dollop of salsa - to fill a mad burrito.  Better than steak, in fact.  (Have you noticed these passes my husband is getting - eating my shrimp, below, and taking all the steak to work?  It's because he's turning 50 on Sunday, so I'm being a little extra nice to him this week.  When I turn 50 - which won't be for several years, in case you're wondering - he'll be extra nice to me too.  He doesn't cook much, but he always has a good stash of cookies, which I'm sure he'll share.  In the far-off future.)

Black Bean & Rice Burritos

Makes 4 burritos

1 c. of cooked rice, warmed

1 14-oz. can of black beans (or pinto or navy beans, if you prefer), rinsed and drained

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium clove garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2-1 tsp. ancho chili powder (adjust according to heat of powder and preference)

1/2 tsp. salt

4 8-inch flour tortillas, warmed

Garnishes:

fresh limes

avocado slices or guacamole

grated or crumbled cheese (cheddar, jack, or feta)

fresh cilantro

sliced jalapenos (pickled jalapenos are interesting, too)

Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat.  Add the olive oil and garlic and stir until garlic is sizzling, about 1 minute.  Add cumin and chili powder and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in the beans, sprinkle with salt, and stir around until heated through, about 3 minutes.  Remove from heat.  To assemble: put 1/4 c. rice on each tortilla, top with beans and garnishes.  Serve.

My previous solution to improve less-than-stellar shrimp was to fry them into crispy, golden submission.  I still stand by that completely delicious method (who doesn't like fried shrimp?), but I now offer a lighter, less messy - grilled!  - option as well.  And it is good, like seriously good.  Here's the skinny.

This is yet another recipe from America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated Light & Healthy 2010 (The Year's Best Recipes Lightened Up).  Can you tell I've enjoyed perusing it?  I bought their pitch for maximizing flavor by 1) butterflying the shrimp to expose them to as much marinade (flavor!) as possible, and 2) giving one side of the skewered shrimp a light sprinkling of sugar to achieve a nice crusty glaze.

Both ideas work beautifully - the brief marinade improves the texture and adds big flavor, and the sugar gives a pretty, tasty char.  I served them over grilled toasts to soak up the additional marinade I spooned over them, and had to fight my husband off the few I photographed.  Back off, man!  (They'd rock alongside rice as well.)

Grilled Lemon Shrimp

From America's Test Kitchen Light & Healthy 2010

Serves 4

Marinade

3/4 c. fresh lemon juice plus 1 tsp. grated lemon zest

1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley

2 Tbsp. olive oil

6 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes

Shrimp

1 1/2 lbs. extra-large shrimp (21-25 per lb), peeled, deveined, and butterflied

1/2 tsp. sugar

1. For the marinade: Combine the lemon juice, zest, parsley, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper flakes in a medium bowl.  Measure and reserve 2 Tbsp. of the marinade for serving.

2. For the shrimp: Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels, add them to the bowl with the remaining marinade, and toss to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes (no longer).  Remove the shrimp from the marinade and thread onto skewers.  Sprinkle one side of the shrimp with the sugar.

3. Heat grill to high heat.  Clean and oil the cooking grate.  Place the shrimp, sugared side down, on the grill.  Cook until lightly charred, 3-4 minutes.

4. Flip the shrimp and slide to a cooler part of the grill or turn off gas.  Cover and continue cooking the shrimp until the second side is no longer translucent, 1-2 minutes longer.

5. Remove the shrimp from the skewers, toss with the reserved marinade, and serve.

Grillin' and chilin', a real warm-weather day.  Puppy Louis spent all day outside, playing in the park and back yard, snoozing on the deck, and acquiring a fair number of burrs (luckily, they slide out of his fur pretty easily).  We spent all day outside too, reading and...playing with Puppy Louis.  I might even be a little pink, which is miraculous given that these days my sunbathing includes long sleeves/pants, a scarf, a hat, sunglasses, and a boatload of sunblock.  The sun is not my friend, even though it makes me so very, very happy.

We had a late din, nothing more than a burger, kind of perfect.  I've said this before, but I reiterate each season...

Great Burgers

1. Buy best-quality ground beef, not too lean.

2. Gently work generous salt and pepper throughout the meat before you form the patties.

3. Gently form the patties (if you pack 'em, you puck 'em), until they just hold together.

4. Press the center of the formed burger to make it a bit thinner than the rest (the sides seize up as the burger cooks; a thinner center ensures even cooking).

5. As you cook them, do NOT press down on them (who started that?), you'd just squish all the juicy goodness out of them.

A sunny Sunday morning, coffee brewing, puppy lazing, paper waiting... Yep, time to bake...something.  Not sure exactly what I was craving, I reached for one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, Marion Cunningham's The Breakfast Book.  A treasure, this book, packed full of clever breakfast ideas and perfect recipes.  Today, based on available ingredients, and because they sounded just right, I chose Peerless Corn Muffins.

As with most muffin recipes, these stir up in just a few minutes.  Why don't I bake muffins more often?  Mostly because there are so many meh muffin recipes out there, right?  And they have to compete with pancakes, French toast, coffee cake, biscuits...

Anyhow, these made it into the rotation.  I confess that I made a few changes to the recipe.  For one, I didn't have cake flour, so I used just shy of one cup of all-purpose; worked just fine.  Also, I used only 2 (vs. 4) Tbsp. of oil.  And, I threw in some blueberries (and an extra tablespoon of sugar since the berries were quite tart), which turned out beautifully.

I fried some crispy bacon to have alongside, which got Nathan and me thinking...  We decided that next time I'd put the bacon in the muffins (in lieu of berries).  Yeah.  The smell of bacon had Puppy Louis at the back door in no time (he has discovered alone-time in the back yard and is loving it).  I smell bacon! (That's Whole Foods brand nitrate-free, thick-cut, applewood smoked bacon - it's fantastic.)

The muffins baked up notably light and tender for cornmeal muffins, and not-too-sweet, which made them extremely honey-friendly.  Split open a warm muffin, add a bit of butter, when it's melted, drizzle away.  Warm honey, warm berries, warm butter, warm muffins.  Strong, hot coffee to wash it all down.  Now that's what I was craving.  (When I make them next, with bacon, we'll drizzle with a bit of warmed maple syrup.  Lordy.)

Suitably fortified, it's time for a walk in the sun.  I am so happy that winter is over.  Have I said that yet?  No less than 100 times?  Lalalaaa!

Peerless Cornbread Muffins

Adapted from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham

Makes 12 muffins

1 egg, room temperature

1/2 c. (1 stick) butter, melted

1/4 c. vegetable oil (I used 2 Tbsp.)

1 c. milk, warmed

1 c. cake flour (I used 1 scant c. all-purpose)

2/3 c. yellow cornmeal

1 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sugar (I used 2 Tbsp., since I added berries)

Optional:

3/4 c. blueberries (add 1 Tbsp. sugar; before stirring in the berries, toss them with a bit of flour so they don't sink to the bottoms of the muffins)

or

4 slices bacon, fried until very crispy, crumbled into small pieces

Serve with:

butter and honey (or maple syrup)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease the muffin tins.

Beat or whisk the egg, melted butter, and oil in a mixing bowl until well blended.  Stir in the warm milk.  Combine the cake flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar in another bowl and stir with a fork until well mixed.  Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and stir until blended.  This is a light, medium-thick batter.  (Stir in blueberries or bacon, if using.)

Spoon the batter into the muffin tins so each cup is 3/4 full.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges of the muffins are slightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.  Remove from tins and cool a little on racks, or simply serve in a basket, hot from the oven.

Fava beans are back in the markets and that means Spring!  I bought a bunch at Whole Foods, as well as a bunch of asparagus, and sauteed the two with a little garlic, in perhaps a little butter, and ate them - fresh and earthy - over creamy polenta.  Pure Spring comfort, eaten with a spoon.

A fine meal...just for me.

After a week of cooking for the family, even while sick, it was awfully nice to make a simple, restorative dinner for myself.  I even stole a few minutes on the deck today, in the sun, the best possible medicine. (Except for codeine cough syrup, that is some miraculous stuff.)

I'm trying to remember to not just serve myself small portions, but to practice leaving at least a few bites of food on my plate.  Easier when I eat alone.  Once I get talking...sipping wine...waving my hands around...sassing out my opinions...I completely forget... And then my meal is gone.  What did it taste like?  Um...

In that case, it helps to begin with an extra-small portion.

Fava Beans & Asparagus with Polenta

Serves 2-3

Note: if you're lucky and find fresh morel mushrooms in the market as well, include them in this saute - even better!

1 c. polenta/coarse ground corn meal

3 c. water

1 tsp. salt

2 Tbsp. butter, divided

1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish

1 lb. fava beans in their pods

1 bunch of asparagus, top halves trimmed into 1/2-inch pieces, bottom halves discarded

1 Tbsp. butter

1 clove garlic, minced

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Combine polenta, water, and salt in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, then turn heat to low.  Simmer polenta, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until very thick, creamy, and tender, anywhere from 15-45 minutes (varies by grind).  Add more water and cook longer if needed to achieve a creamy, tender consistency.  When done, stir in 1 Tbsp. of butter, the Parmesan cheese, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  Cover and set aside to keep warm.

Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to boil.  While the water heats, remove fava beans from their pods (discard pods).  When the water boils, add the fava beans and cook for one minute.  Using a slotted spoon, remove fava beans to a small bowl and set aside.  With the water still boiling, add the asparagus and cook for one minute.  Drain asparagus into a colander and quickly rinse with cold water.  Set asparagus aside.

With a sharp knife, trim a little edge from each fava bean, just enough to create a small opening in the waxy coating.  Gently pinch the fava beans out of their coating, into a small bowl.  Discard the coating.

Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant and softened.  Add the fava beans and asparagus and stir, sprinkling lightly with a little salt, and cooking for 2-3 minutes, until heated through.  Serve favas and asparagus over warm polenta.  Top with a few grinds of pepper and a shower of grated Parmesan cheese.

(You will likely have leftover polenta.  Spread polenta into an 8-inch square pan and chill.  Cut into squares and fry in olive oil, serve alongside a poached or scrambled egg, for a fantastic breakfast or lunch.)