May is National Asparagus Month, and May 24th is National Asparagus Day. We’ve got an asparagus pizza recipe that’s almost guilt free: lots of fresh veggies and a whole-wheat crust.

You can bake it in the oven or grill it.

> The history of asparagus.

> More asparagus recipes.
 
 
RECIPE: ASPARAGUS & LEEK PIZZA

Prep time is 15 minutes, cook time is 15 minutes. Thanks to Colavita for the recipe!
 
Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation For Baking

1. HEAT the oven to 500°F. If using a pizza stone, allow the stone to heat up along with the oven for a half hour before baking on it.

2. STRETCH out the dough on a cornmeal-dusted peel (see footnote† for substitutes) to about 10-12” in diameter, and brush the top with olive oil.

3. PEEL the asparagus: Hold a single asparagus spear at the base and lay it flat on a cutting board. Cut and discard the tough end. Using a vegetable peeler (a Y-shaped peeler works best…you could also try a mandoline, but be careful of your fingers), run the peeler lengthwise down the asparagus, creating long shavings. Repeat with the remaining stalks. Your strips will be all different sizes, but that just adds to the texture (and fun!).

4. PLACE the asparagus peelings in a bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, and freshly chopped thyme.

5. CLEAN the leeks thoroughly by rinsing them with water. It’s easiest if you chop them first (you’ll only be using the white ends), so you can rinse all the nooks and crannies free of dirt.

6. HEAT a skillet on the stovetop over medium heat. Pour in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Place the chopped leeks in the skillet, and sauté until wilted, about 5 minutes.

7. ADD the shaved asparagus, and sauté for about 3 minutes, allowing the flavors to combine.

8. DOLLOP the mozzarella along the surface of the stretched-out pizza dough. You can also grate some Parmesan cheese over the mozzarella.

9. DISTRIBUTE the shaved asparagus and leek mixture over the top of the cheese. Sprinkle on a bit more fresh thyme.

10. DRIZZLE with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

11. SLIDE the pizza onto the stone in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the top of the pizza before serving.
 
 
Preparation For Grilling

This pizza is fantastic when grilled. If you’d like to grill this pie, heat up your grill and oil the grate.

Before you begin, it’s handy to have a few things in place:

 
1. INSTEAD of dusting a peel with cornmeal, brush both sides of the stretched-out pizza dough with olive oil.

2. PLACE the stretched-out dough (without toppings!) directly onto the grill grate, and close the lid. Let it bake for about 2 minutes (this goes very quickly!).

3. OPEN the lid and using the tongs, flip the crust to the other side. Starting with the cheese, place all the toppings on the pizza as neatly and quickly as possible. Don’t forget the seasonings! Close the lid and allow to bake for another 2-3 minutes.

4. REMOVE the pizza from the grill (use the tongs) and place it onto a serving platter. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top. Serve.
 
 
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*Make crispy fried leeks from the green leek tops—a delicious garnish. Heat a small saucepan with olive oil over medium-high heat. Drop in a piece of leek, and when it bubbles and floats to the surface, add the rest and fry for a couple of minutes until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and serve on top of burgers, main proteins, salads, soups, etc.

[1] Asparagus and leek pizza (photos #1 and #5 © Colavita).

[2] Fresh spring asparagus (photo © Zoe Schaeffer | Unsplash).

[3] Most people use just the white part of leeks and throw away the green tops, which are flavorful and full of vitamin C. See how we use them in the footnote* below (photo © Good Eggs).

[4] Fresh thyme (photo © Karolina Grabowska | Pexels).

[5] Brush the pizza crust with extra virgin olive oil.

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[1] Drinkmate can carbonte any beverage—not just club soda and other soft drinks, but coffee, juice, tea, and wine. It’s available in black, red, white, and Arctic blue (all photos © Drinkmate).

[2] You’ll love carbonated iced tea.

[3] Carbonate cocktails or straight spirits. That’s what bartenders did in the 2021 World Cocktail Competition.

[4] One carbon dioxide cartridge carbnates 60 liters, or 63.4 quarts.

[5] Carbon wine for instant bubbly, whether red, rosé, or white.

What’s not to love about Drinkmate beverage carbonating system? You no longer have to carry heavy bottles of club soda and carbonated soft drinks—or recycle the empties.

You save money, schlepping, time, and the environment—no empty soda bottles to recycle.

The unit has a small footprint on your kitchen counter. No electricity s required.

(Read the captions in FB Photos)

And unlike other home carbonation systems, which are limited to just carbonating water (subsequently adding syrups to make soda), Drinkmate can carbonate any beverage.

So we’ve been having lots of fun carbonating:

 
A true delight is carbonating chocolate milk into an instant egg cream, and carbonating still white wine and rosé into sparkling wine. A celebration with bubbly is just a push of the button away.

It works with red wine too—and few of us have actually experienced a sparkling red. It’s delightful.

And Drinkmate was chosen as part of the finals in Diageo’s World Champion Cocktail Competition last year. Fifty top bartenders from 50 countries competde against one another for the title of “World’s Best Bartender.”

Drinkmate enabled them to create exceptionally carbonated cocktails in the Johnnie Walker Hidden City Highballs Challenge.

(Carbonating anything besides water in a SodaStream machine, for example, will void the warranty.

You’ll want a Drinkmate for your kitchen, and if you’re lucky enough to own a boat with a galley, one for there as well.

And Father’s Day gifting is just around the corner.
 
 
PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY

First of its kind proprietary technology* makes Drinkmate able to carbonate any liquid. Drinkmate offers carbonation lovers everyday versatility by carbonating any beverage.

The technology uses the familiar carbon dioxide canisters that other systems use, and there’s a cartridge exchange program to recycle the empties and give you a discount on the next cartridge purchase (it’s easy via door-to-door exchange, drop ship, or brick and motor stores).

There are four colors: black, red, white, and the new Arctic blue.
 
 
SYRUPS FOR HIGH-END SODAS

While other carbonating systems developed syrups for popular soft drinks—cola, ginger ale, root beer, and low-calorie versions of these and others, etc.—Drinkmate turned to the more elegant soft drink culture of Italy.

Made in Tuscany with lower levels of pure cane sugar, the options include:

 
There’s also a Mojito Mocktail and an Energy Drink.

You can use syrups from other brands to make other drinks, including sugar-free sodas and flavored carbonated water.
 
 
GET YOUR DRINKMATE!

Head to the website. It’s that easy.

It’s also available on Amazon.

For retail, here’s a store locator.

[6] See how easy it is to carbonate drinks, with the push of a button.

[7] Start the day off with bubbly: carbonate your orange juice!.

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*Drinkmate is the only home carbonator with a multi-stage pressure release valve, called the Fizz Infuser. Using the Fizz Infuser, Drinkmate safely and quickly allows the carbonation of any beverage with controlled pressure release. Other brands can only carbonate water, because their one-stage, quick pressure release cannot handle other beverages safely. The Fizz Infuser has both CO2 gas inlet and release functions integrated into a one unit, dual valve system that allows for controlled and safe pressure release.
 

[1] A composed salad of avocado and orange. The recipe is below (photo © Foods & Wines From Spain).

[2] A composed salad recipe of vegetables and chickpeas. “Composed” means that the ingredients have been arranged individually in an attractive composition (photo © Anna Pelzer | Unsplash).

[3] This composed salad is not as perfectly composed—the ingredients are not as neatly placed. But it’s still a composed, as opposed to tossed, salad (photo © Nadine Primeau | Unsplash).

[4] A composed fruit salad, for breakfast or dessert (photo © Trang Doan | Pexels).

[5] A tossed salad of spinach, strawberries, spearmint, and goat cheese (photo © Doville Ramoskaite | Unsplash).

[6] A tossed salad of mixed lettuces, tomatoes, grilled shrimp, and blueberries (photo © Taylor Kiser | Unsplash).

[7] A tomato and peach tossed salad with white cheddar curds (photo © Adam Bartoszewicz | Unsplash).

May is National Salad Month, a time to explore new recipes, as attached as you may be to your current ones. There are many types of salads, the major categories of which are:

 
Most salads are traditionally served cold, although some, including grain and vegetable salads, can be served warm or hot.

Salads can be served as appetizers/first courses, entrées, sides, and desserts. Dessert salads can be sweetened, molded, or even frozen, and can be combined with fruit gelatin, whipped cream, or sour cream.

Salads can be composed (photos #1, #2, #3, #4) or tossed (photos #5, #6, #7).

 
> Check below for a delicious avocado and orange composed salad recipe (photo #1).

> You’ll also find a template for the perfect vinaigrette.

But first:
 
 
THE STRUCTURE OF A SALAD

Culinary students learn that the structure of a salad includes the Base, Body, Dressing and Garnish. Thanks to the Utah Education Network for this information.

 
The earliest salads were wild greens and herbs seasoned with salt. They represented the first vegetables to become available in the spring in northern climes, a refreshing repast after the winter diet of roots, tubers, nuts, seeds, and meat or fish, but no fresh greens or fruits [source].
 
 
RECIPE #1: AVOCADO & ORANGE SALAD

You can use a standard navel orange, but the visual and palate appeal of cara cara oranges and blood oranges gives the recipe an added lift. You can also substitute red grapefruit.

Thanks to Food & Wines From Spain for the recipe (photo #1).

For a wine pairing, wine specialist Adrienne Smith suggests Malvasía.

“There is something about a young and aromatic, dry Malvasía wine made in the Canary Islands that goes well with just about anything,” she says.

“Delicate enough to not overpower the avocado, but at the same time bold enough to match the acidity of the oranges, these wines from areas like Lanzarote* are hard to beat.”

Prep time is 30 minutes or less.

> The history of the avocado.

> The history of the orange.

> The history of blood oranges.

> The history of cara cara oranges.
 
Ingredients For 1 Large Or 2 Small Servings

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the oranges. Slice off the tops and bottoms and then cut off the peel and pith, following the curve of the fruit. Next, holding each orange over a sieve placed on top of a bowl to catch the juice, cut along the membranes to release each segment. Squeeze out any juice from the pulp and discard.

2. MAKE the dressing. Place the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and black pepper into a jar and emulsify using a hand-held stick blender. Alternatively, shake the mixture in a screw-topped jar. Add the reserved orange juice and mix again. When ready to serve:

3. HALVE the avocado, remove the stone and peel off the skin. Cut the flesh crossways into slices. Place the greens on the plate, arrange the avocado slices and orange segments on top and drizzle the dressing. Garnish with parsley and red onion as desired.
 
 
SALAD TIPS

– Keep washed and drained greens wrapped in a dry paper towel and refrigerate in a plastic container or a large plastic bag.

 
 
RECIPE #2: THE PERFECT VINAIGRETTE

Vinaigrette is an emulsion of oil, vinegar, and seasoning. The seasoning can be as simple as salt and pepper but can have added citrus zest, fruits (puréed), herbs (including prepared herbs, like horseradish and wasabi), mustard, and spices.

The classic formula for a vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid. The acid is typically vinegar but can be citrus juice, or a combination of both.

Oil. Any culinary oil can be used. Olive oil is standard, but less expensive oils such as canola, corn, grapeseed, and sunflower can be substituted.

Nut oils are especially delicious, as is sesame oil. If using dark sesame oil, which is very strong, you should blend it with olive oil or one of the other mild oils.

Vinegar. Any kind of vinegar works, from apple cider to balsamic to red or white wine to rice vinegar. Check out the different types of vinegar.

Seasonings. If using mustard or puréed fruit, you can substitute it for a portion of the acid. It can be just a hint, e.g. 1/8 teaspoon, or a full-out Dijon mustard or strawberry vinaigrette, made by substituting 1/3 of the vinegar/acid.

You can also substitute citrus juice (grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, yuzu) for 1/3 to 100% of the vinegar.

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*Lanzarote is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (D.O.P. for wines. It encompasses the entire island of Lanzarote, in the Canary Islands. The Canaries are a Spanish region and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are 62 miles west of Morocco.

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