Sequestration Meal #567

 

I really wanted Spanish asparagus with red peppers, onions, and garlic (recipe from Cooked and Loved) when asparagus season rolled around again, so I planned this whole meal around it. With my asparagus, I had buttery lemon tofu (recipe from Plant Based on a Budget) and Brazilian carrot rice (recipe from Brazilian Kitchen Abroad).

The asparagus was pretty great, though I think I cooked my peppers and onions just a bit too long this time. Still, this is a truly amazing way to have asparagus, and so colorful and pretty! I was really glad to get some spring veggies.

The tofu could probably have used a bit more liquid; I ended up adding more soy sauce because my lemon juice evaporated too quickly. But it tasted good and it was pretty simple--actually the easiest thing to make in this whole meal.

The carrot rice was just okay, to me, and I think if I made it again I would cook the rice in broth rather than water. But it went well with other things and added more veggies (I am perpetually adding veggies; this may be a bit of a compulsion these days). And it was nice, too, that I'd just bought a little parsley plant, so I had a fresh garnish for it.

We'll see if the parsley lasts long enough to be worth buying a potted plant. I seem to perpetually get aphids and have to throw them out. But I have happily been able to nurture some mint and some chives for a few months, so I will keep my fingers crossed.

You came here for food, but I'm curious to know what others think of the lighting here--I felt frustrated with myself when I went to look at the photos I'd taken and realized I'd gotten it in light/shadow rather than evening it out the way I normally would. But it is kind of interesting that way, somehow, too.