Poached egg & pan-seared asparagus on pâté & toast

I bought a bunch of asparagus a few days ago. Fat, juicy, crunchy looking asparagus. But my cold have drenched me of my desire to cook & bake for the passed few days, so the lovely asparagus have just been laying there, staring at me everytime I opened the fridge.

They would have eventually started talking.

So I started obsessing over the thought of what I was going to make with them. Seriously, it haunted me for 2 days! I really didn't want to turn on the oven to make a quiche or a tart, it's too hot for that. Luckily, my brain still haven't given up on me after the extensive researching & planning for our Eastern Europe trip, I geared towards breakfast for dinner. Not very original, but still better than nothing!

Poached egg & pan-seared asparagus on pâté & toast

• a bunch of asparagus, stemmed, washed & dried
  
• a dash of olive oil
• a couple teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
• sea salt
• an egg
• some pâté (optional)
• a slice of bread
  
• black pepper
  

In a big bowl, marinade the asparagus in the olive oil & balsamic. Sprinkle the salt on top. Let them sit for a few minutes.

Heat a pan over medium high heat. Dump all the asparagus in, including the marinade. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the crunchiness of your choice . (I cooked mine for about 3 minutes because I don't like mushy vegetables)

Remove the cooked asparagus. Pour a few cups of water into the pan, but not to the rim. When the water starts simmering, crack the egg into a ladle, place the ladle into the pan and gently nudge the egg out (Gently so that the egg white doesn't run all over the place)

Mean while, toast your bread and spread some pâté onto it. Place some asparagus on top. At this point, the egg will be cooked, so remove it with a ladle that has holes in it so the water doesn't come with.

Place on top of everything else, crack some black pepper over it, and bite. Make sure you have a napkin ready for the dripping egg yolk.

Oh yeah...

Lemony Peppered Shrimp on Pasta & Asparagus

Yummy. Quick to prepare. That's all I need to say!

I used asparagus, tiger shrimps and pasta meat sauce that I made & stocked in my freezer. Which you can substitute with whatever you prefer or have on hand (string beans, chicken, you get the point)

So, pour yourself a glass of wine, and here we go...

Lemony Peppered Shrimp on Pasta & Asparagus
per portion, approximately

• 6-7 asparagus (because I like a lot of vegetables) washed.
• spaghetti (the amount that you want to eat)
• 1/2 cup tomato pasta sauce (I don't like a pool of sauce in my pasta dish) with meat or without.
• a splash of olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 3-4 shrimps, shelled & cleaned
• a couple of grates of lemon zest & squeezes of lemon juice
• pepper

In a medium large pot, boil water. Throw asparagus in for about 2 minutes. Take out and dump into a pot of really cold water to stop them from cooking any longer.

Keep the water boiling, cook pasta until al dente. Remove pot from heat to drain.

Put a pan on the burner, lower heat to medium high. Put meat sauce in and stir. Heat til bubbly, which takes only a half minute or so, drop the pasta back in. Cook for another 30 seconds to a minute. Place asparagus on plate. Put pasta & sauce on top.

Bring the pan back on the burner. Heat olive oil & swirl it around. Throw in the garlic. The immediately the shrimp. Stir. While shrimps cook, add in a couple of squeezes of lemon juice. Once they are cooked, grind pepper on top, and add the lemon zest. Place on top of everything else in the place.

What? you already finished your glass of wine???? Tsk tsk tsk!!! Go on, quick! Pour yourself another and grab a fork. I won't tell....