Lemon Feta Roasted Asparagus

There are so many things I love about the spring but one of them is how garden's start to come back to life.  Asparagus season will be upon us soon so I thought I would post a great recipe my family enjoys.
With this recipe, you can either put the lemon feta on the asparagus part way through roasting so that it melts and gets a little crisp or you can sprinkle it on right before serving.  It tastes great both ways.  If you like a little spice, you can add about a 1/4 tsp of pepper flakes to the feta mix.

A fun fact: Asparagus is one of the few food you can eat with your fingers in front of the Queen.

Lemon Feta Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and halved

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 cup feta cheese

finely grated zest and juice of one lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 450.
2. Whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Then toss the asparagus in with it.
3. Spread the asparagus on a tray and roast for 15 minutes.
4. Toss the lemon juice, zest child pepper flakes (optional) and feta together.  Sprinkle on top of the asparagus before serving.

Cilantro Lime Rice

I love the recipes you can find when you type random ingredients into a search engine.  This recipe is the result of one of those searches.  I had a couple of limes in my fruit bowl that were begging to be used and a bunch of cilantro that my Mom brought for me to use up because she was going away.  I was looking for inspiration for dinner so I thought I might as well try a search to see what would turn up.  I had seen this recipe before, most likely on Pinterest, and tonight was the night I was finally going to make it.

I love how simple it was to add a little extra flavour to a rice dish.  It turned the bland carb staple in to a lovely side dish.  I am sure I will be using this recipe lots in the future!

Cilantro Lime Rice

1 cup uncooked rice

1 cup water

1 cup broth

pinch of salt

juice of one lime

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1. In a sauce pan, combine the rice, water, broth, lime juice and salt.  Cook according to cooking instructions on the package (most rice cooks for different times).
2. Once the rice has cooked, add the minced garlic and cilantro and toss with a fork before serving.