Birthday Coffee

But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold.

                                                            Oliver Wendell Holmes

Happy Sunday! Tomorrow the recipe!

Fresh Lobster Ravioli with Asparagus and Peas

I love Trader Joe's lobster ravioli but they are "spendy" so I am always looking for a way to increase the volume to make them stretch as a main course. My most recent solution...toss the ravioli,  a cup of green peas (fresh or frozen) and a pound of fresh asparagus in a 6-quart pot of boiling water for 3-4 minutes, drain, toss with a yummy garlic sauce and top with a few pats of Brie. Served with a crunchy warm bread. Yum

Fresh Lobster Ravioli, Asparagus and Peas 
Serves 4-6

Bring the 6-quart pot to a boil, add one package of Trader Joe's lobster ravioli, 1 cup of peas (frozen or fresh) and one pound of fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut crosswise on the diagonal into 1-inch pieces. Add the ingredients slowly so as not to stop the boiling. Boil for 3-4 minutes, be sure your ravioli cooks long enough to heat the filling. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together, 2-3 medium cloves of minced garlic add to 1/4 cup olive oil with 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and 1/8-1/4 tsp. of cayenne. Drain the pasta and vegetables and toss with the garlic-olive oil mixture. Toss with 1/4 cup of toasted pine-nuts and about 4 ounces of Brie cut into small pieces so it melts easily. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with chopped parsley if desired.

Happy Birthday Heike!

Today I am celebrating the birthday of one of my very best friends, Heike.  I lived in Germany for a while and came to embrace the German culture, language and food. Heike and her very lovely family come from near Cologne and I feel so blessed to have them in my life. We not only share a love of cooking, art, gardening and animals but I also get to continue to experience some of the things I miss most about the German culture. For example, birthdays!! In Germany, at least in the Pfaltz area, on your birthday you make lots of cakes and invite friends to your home for coffee. Everyone brings flowers and sometimes a gift, but mostly the gift is the gathering and sharing. For years now we have been enjoying this tradition and I love gathering Heike's gift together. I am heading there now with a gift bucket of her favorite things. Do you have a favorite birthday tradition? Does it have a cultural origin? Cheers!

                        Happy Birthday Heike!