Naked Canvas

A Scrumptious Vegetarian Dish: 

I was really craving some asparagus and cherry tomatoes this evening.. odd haha, so this is what I threw together: 

Basmati Rice

Asparagus

Cherry Tomatoes

Garlic Expressions * 

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Fresh grated Parmesan Cheese 

* Garlic Expressions is a delightful vinaigrette, limited to only a few grocery stores.  I believe we have it here in Denningers and Fortinos.  According to the website: Garlic Expressions is a "100% natural, classic vinaigrette perfect for salads, meats, vegetables & pasta made with fresh, whole garlic cloves, no preservatives or additives & cholesterol free."  I really enjoy this product!  It's a great base when you want to cook something on the stovetop in oil and garlic.  This is like an all-in-one, ready to use product!  It's also a great salad dressing base as well.... 

1. Bring water to a boil in a small saucepan (this will be used to cook the asparagus).

2. Basmati can be cooked on the stovetop, but I generally like to cook my rice in the microwave, so I measured out my rice/water/butter ratios and threw that baby into the microwave for about 18 mins. 

3. Cut asparagus into small bite size pieces.  Also, slice the tomatoes into quadrants of 4 (or any which way you desire!) 

4. Throw the asparagus into the boiling water, cook to your preferred texture.  I like really soft asparagus, so I let them sit in the water for about 20 mins. 

5. In a fry pan, heat up the Garlic Expressions and a little bit of Olive Oil.  

6.  Add cherry tomatoes to the pan, and allow them to heat up/simmer (they usually become quite watery and make a bit of a sauce) 

7. Once asparagus is cooked, drain and add to the fry pan - let them sit in there for a few mins so as to soak up the garlic flavour. 

8.  Add parmesan cheese to the pan, mix in. 

9.  In a separate bowl, transfer the basmati rice and then pour the sauce/vegetables overtop.  Mix well. 

10.  Voila!  This was the finished product: (so yummy and simple!) 

        

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

I will be back with more (hopefully frequent) posts soon :) 

Steph 

xoxo