Roasted Broccoli & Asparagus w/ Nutty, Lemony Feta

Since I work full time out there in the cruel, cruel world, Sundays are often set aside for cooking and prepping for the week that's about to come barging in on my good time.

Usually multiple dishes are going on at once.  Some of them for the blog.  Which, as food bloggers know, means writing recipes as I go, or scribbling notes about any tweaks that take place.  And pictures.  Always the running of food and props outside to take advantage of natural light.

Things can get confusing and jumbled pretty easily.  Pretty quickly.  What's this garlic for?  Did I just add cumin to the cookie dough?  Does the lemon go in here?  Or here?  Did I season this pot?  Or this one?

Make that jumbled very easily and very quickly.

This is what you'd call setting the stage.

So why not add some more fun?  I enlisted The Boy to help me one such Sunday.  Because one can never have too much chaos.

There were vegetables being chopped.  Lettuce being washed and spun dry.  Muffin batter being mixed.  And much more.

~~~~~

Do you remember when it was exactly?  That first time you discovered?  That time when it hit you full on?  That one or both of your parents were crazy?

This is what you'd call foreshadowing.

~~~~~

I think I somehow always knew.  (Just checking to see if my parents are still reading.  If I get emails in 5 seconds, I'll know.  That they are still reading.  And crazy.)

The Boy, who is becoming very unbecomingly teenagery lately (by the way), got the full dose of crazy Mama.

It was time for pictures.  I checked my apron pocket.  No camera.  The counter top.   No camera.  I turned to The Boy.
"Can you help me look for the camera?"
Shrug.  (What does that mean?  Yes?  No?  Up your nose with a rubber hose?)
We both started hunting around the kitchen.  The dining room.  The cabinet where I keep the camera (imagine that--where it is supposed to be!)  No camera.

I opened the freezer and peeked in.
"Umm...Mom...why would the camera be in.  The.  Freezer?

A coming of age for The Boy.  The look on his face told me his time had come.  He had finally found me out.

The thing is, it was entirely possible that the camera could have ended up in the freezer.  Trust me.  Crazier has happened on Sundays like these.

This dish was a little crazy--made with scroungings from the fridge and freezer.

Extra broccoli & asparagus from a salad.  The roughly 2 tablespoons of feta I couldn't seem to shake, and the dregs from the bottom of a bag of pecans I had in the freezer.

We ate the chaos of past weeks.  And it was crazy, crazy good.


~ in case you're wondering where my camera turned up...
While all the commotion was going on, The Husband was calmly sitting in the very next room downloading pictures of what he had cooked.~


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Roasted Broccoli & Asparagus w/ Nutty, Lemony Feta

* any measurements are approximate--this is something I threw together as a side dish for 3

about 2 cups broccoli florets
about half a bundle of asparagus (5-6 oz), woody ends snapped off
olive oil
salt & black pepper
2 squirts lemon juice
about 1 1/2-2 Tbsp finely crumbled feta (break up any large crumbles)
zest from 1/2 of a lemon
2-3 Tbsp chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Line a sheet pan with foil.  Place the broccoli and asparagus on the pan and drizzle with olive oil--enough to lightly coat.  Season with salt and pepper and toss.  press the broccoli and asparagus down into a single layer.  Roast for about 15-18 minutes, or until lightly browned in spots.

While the broccoli and asparagus roast, in a small bowl, mix together the feta, lemon zest,and pecans.  Set aside.

When the vegetables are done, remove from oven.  Toss with a couple of squirts of lemon juice.  Place on a small platter and top with the feta mixture.  Serve.


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