Fresh Green Hericot Vert with Roasted Vegetables

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For me, the color green is probably the most beautiful color on earth!  When I lived in Arizona, someone once said to me in reference to the colors of the Southwestern landscape, "you're either a green person or a brown person", which at that time I realized that I'm definitely a 'green' person.  In my natural surroundings, green just signifies life!  But to many people at this time of year, the color green represents St. Patrick's Day!  So in honor of this great saint, I prepared a lovely and mouthwatering side dish.

I wanted to use the small and delicate French green beans, known to many as Haricots Vert.  The peppers in the market right now are so shiny and bright that I had to add them to the green beans.  Roasting veggies is the way to go for us; by doing so their flavor is enhanced to perfection!  The beans are also lightly coated with a warm garlic-onion-herb mixture with just a touch of lemon zest.  This dish is so easy and healthy!  The vivid colors of the vegetables truly stole the show from the grilled salmon that I served them with.  We could have eaten the ENTIRE platter of these wonderful crunchy beans!

Just look at the color of these vegetables!!!  Just gorgeous!

The Italian parsley and chives came straight out of my garden today; and I picked up those huge leaves of basil from Trader Joe's.

A bit of a blurry photo, but both my husband and I were super anxious to dig in and so the blurriness shows my excitement!

Haricot Vert with Roasted Vegetables

1 pound thin green beans (Haricot Vert), trimmed
4 Tbsp butter
8 green onions, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped fine
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped fine
2 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped fine
1 tsp. freshly grated lemon zest
olive oil
1 medium sized tomato, diced
1/4th of a red pepper, diced
1/4th of a yellow pepper, diced
Freshly grated sea salt and black pepper

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
In a large frying pan, melt the butter and then add the sliced green onions and garlic.  On medium-low heat, saute the onions and garlic.  Watch them carefully, so they do not turn brown, which by that time, the garlic is burned.  Take them off the heat as soon as a hint of golden comes to the garlic.  You will re-warm this just before adding the beans so that everything is warm.
Meanwhile, coat a baking sheet with olive oil.
Scatter the chopped peppers and tomatoes on the baking sheet and roll them around to coat them well.
Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the vegetables.
Place the baking pan with the veggies on a middle rack and roast for 10 minutes, stirring around occasionally to make sure that all sides of the vegetables are roasted.
When water on the stove is boiling, add the Haricot Vert green beans, and cook for 4 minutes (or steam the beans, if you prefer).
Immediately transfer the beans to the frying pan and coat completely with the warm garlic and onion mixture.
Add the herbs and lemon zest to the bean mixture.
Gently mix everything together so that the beans are coated with the herbs, zest, garlic and onion.
Transfer the beans and garlic-onion-herb mixture to a platter.
Scatter the roasted vegetables on top.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately.

This is simply one of the most beautiful and delicious side dishes ever!!

Just look at the HUGE size of the basil in comparison to the yellow pepper next to it.  I've never seen such large basil leaves.  Just incredible!

I just can't get enough of this color ~ ~ now, this is eye candy to me!

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Seasonal Saturday with Five Featured Blogs!

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It's Spring Break for me!  I'm so ready for this to get some things done around the house.  The garden is calling, as well as are many recipes that I've dog-eared in magazines, saved on the Web, or torn out of a magazine!  It's not just me that's itching to get things accomplished, but also after such a long winter, many bloggers are posting about how they've prepared spring ingredient-based recipes, engaged in spring-cleaning, and or are just getting outside to enjoy the change in the seasons.
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Last week I began featuring five inspirational bloggers from the previous week's Fresh Clean and Pure Friday/Seasonal Saturday linked-up posts.  For those who are new here, these are the themes:  a foodie blog, a decor blog, a nutrition/lifestyle change blog post, a gardening/nature blog post, and a blog post focused on anything miscellaneous (quilts, hand-made items, thoughts, etc.) that matches the theme of this get-together.  Here are those blogs and their posts from last week that captured the season of spring and/or how we're freshening up our lives!  I hope you can take a moment to visit some of these blogs for their great inspiration!

Kim, at Stirring The Pot, featured a classic combination in her recipe for Pastina with Peas and Carrots.  I love spring peas and really enjoyed the addition of carrots in this creamy pasta.  The colors are so fresh and representative of spring. Kim's recipes never fail to satisfy her family's and her readers' tummies.  Ya gotta check her blog out!

Three generations of women, Diane, Andrea and Emma, have created a neat concept for their blog, Tablescape Times Three, where they choose the same dinnerware and create three different tablescapes and ideas.  It is really interesting to see how the three different generations design their own individual style of preparing their table setting!

Danielle's blog, Analytical Mom, focuses on so many concepts that are near and dear to my heart and to many bloggers as well:  family, food, health, sustainability, and abundant life . . . what a great overall life focus!  I selected Danielle's post on raising chickens because this woman is truly making a lifestyle change . . . she has adopted a family member's chickens and is taking on a whole new world in doing so.  

Birds must be on a lot of people's minds lately, they certainly are the trend, along with butterflies, in interior decor right now. LindyLouMac is an ex-patriot who is living not only her dream . . . she has moved to Italy with her husband.  She blogs about life in Italy, events that she attends, the music that she enjoys, and the simplicity of life around her.  In this post from News From Italy, she captures one of the hardest things via camera . . . birds!  To me, birds and their sweet songs, are a sure sign of spring!

Susan over at Pandora's Cottage, took a couple of old, rusty retro aluminum yard chairs that I've always loved, and returned them to their glory in her post on recycling and re-using these beautiful, classic chairs for your yard or garden!  I can just imagine rocking in the shade in one of these old chairs with a tall glass of ice tea on a summer day!
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So now it's time once again to share one of your posts . . . and as always, I do gently remove any post trying to sell stuff, giveaways, coupons, etc.  Posts need to relate to anything fresh, clean and pure in your life, or one that is seasonal.
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Please be kind and link back to this blog too . . . thanks for your blogging etiquette!


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Mushroom Tart with Three Cheeses

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Sometimes each of us goes on some sort of binge with one or two types of food or ingredients.  Currently for me, I've just had a huge weaknesses for all things fungi . . . mushrooms that is!  Plus mushrooms are in season for such a long time throughout the year.  Even a simple dish of sauteed mushrooms is enough to make me happy.  I can't even imagine going to a steakhouse without ordering a side of sauteed in warm butter - -  'shrooms!  I just love the meaty, buttery taste of mushrooms either alone or included in a dish with other ingredients.
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I found this recipe in a Fine Cooking magazine special publication on breakfasts a few months ago and knew that I just had to make it.  Talk about simple and easy, and oh yes, tasty.  Of course I had a few changes to amp up the flavor a bit too!

First of all, I doubled the cheese by adding the zingy tastes of both Asiago and Pecorino-Romano cheeses to the subtleness of Fontina cheese.  What a difference this made!  I also doubled the garlic and Italian parsley . . . I mean, "why not?"  ;-)
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This was truly a delicious puff pastry tart with the adjustments that were made . . . so much flavor with a delicate and flaky puff pastry that is so light and airy.  The mushroom tart was also better after it sat for about 10 minutes.  I just loved this recipe and I know that it will have repeat performances for both family and friends as either an entree, side dish, or cut into smaller pieces for appetizers!
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Mushroom Tart with Three Cheeses (Fontina, Asiago & Pecorino-Romano)

For the mushrooms:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 - 3 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. mixed fresh mushrooms, wiped clean, trimmed and sliced 1/4" thick
4 cloves garlic, minced (I doubled this from 2 cloves)
Freshly ground sea salt and black pepper
4 Tbsp. chopped, fresh Italian parsley (I doubled this from 2 Tbsp.)
Chopped fresh herbs:  chives, oregano, thyme (or your favorite dried Italian blend)

For the tart:

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, left out to thaw for about 45 minutes
Flour to dust a wooden board or surface
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup grated Fontina cheese
1/4 cup grated Asiago cheese (my addition)
1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese (my addition)
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Prepare the sauteed mushrooms:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saute pan over medium heat until butter foams.
Add garlic and mushrooms.
Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. sea salt and stir until the mushrooms start to release their moisture and begin to shrink, 2 - 3 minutes.
Increase heat to medium-high so that you hear a steady sizzle; stir occasionally.
In about 5 minutes, when liquid evaporates and mushrooms begin to brown, give just an occasional sweep with the spoon (about once a minute) to let the mushrooms brown nicely, cooking them another 2 - 4 minutes.
Resist desire to stir to often.
Turn off heat and toss in the parsley and pepper to taste, adding more salt if needed.
Add other herbs.
Set aside to cool.

To prepare the tart:
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Meanwhile, thaw the puff pastry at room temperature until pliable, 45 minutes.
Position a rack on the bottom rack of the oven at 425 degrees F.
Lightly dust work area with flour.
Unfold the pastry sheet and roll into rectangle about 10 x 15 inches, and about 1/16" thick.
Slide it onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
With the exception of about an inch border around the edges of the pastry, prick the pastry all over with a fork.
With a pastry bush, brush the beaten egg over the border only (you won't need all of it, so fry it up and either eat it or give to your puppies like I did).
Bake until the pastry begins to puff and the surface feels dry, about 5 minutes.
Scatter the sauteed mushrooms onto the pastry, leaving an inch of the border uncovered.
Bake until the crust border is puffed and deeply golden brown, about 10 minutes.
Scatter the cheese over the mushrooms and continue baking until the cheese melts, another 5 minutes.
Let cool briefly on a rack.
Slide tart off of the pan and parchment paper.
Slice and serve.

An assortment of 'gourmet blend' mushrooms (below).

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The mushrooms after an awesome saute in butter, olive oil, garlic and herbs!

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A close-up peek at this gorgeous puff pastry and the mushrooms blanketed by the cheeses!

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