I am amazed that it is April already. The sun is finally shining and spring is here. I know snow can come anytime in Wyoming but, fingers crossed, I hope we’re done with winter.

I love seeing the fresh produce of spring — the asparagus is incredible right now. I found a recipe that is easy to throw together for dinner using asparagus and shrimp. I haven’t seen any rhubarb yet, so I found a recipe for Meyer lemon pie. A Meyer lemon is a cross between a lemon and an orange and it is not as tart as a regular lemon. You can find Meyer lemons at WalMart or if you’re lucky and live in the south you can pick them from your backyard. 

I love looking through cookbooks trying to find something I haven’t tried before, and the Internet has so many recipes you can get lost just looking. Keep cooking and baking, summer’s coming soon.

Roasted Lemon Butter Garlic Shrimp and Asparagus

Asparagus:

1 pound thin asparagus, ends trimmed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Shrimp:

1 1/2 pounds uncooked, peeled shrimp

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/8-1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

3 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley

1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons butter, cubed

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan (10x15) with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Add asparagus and drizzle with olive oil. Add garlic, salt and pepper. Toss until evenly coated then line asparagus in a single layer.

Roast four-six minutes. Meanwhile, remove tails from shrimp. Remove pan from oven and push asparagus to one side of the pan (keep in a single layer).

Add shrimp and drizzle with olive oil. Add garlic, salt and pepper, paprika, chili flakes and parsley. Toss until evenly coated, then line shrimp in a single layer.

Top asparagus with 1 tablespoon cubed butter. Top shrimp with 2 tablespoons cubed butter. Roast for 6 minutes or just until shrimp are opaque.

Remove from the oven and drizzle with lemon juice. Serve with rice or pasta. This recipe was on Pinterest under carlsbadravings.com. 

Meyer Lemon Pie

1 pie crust baked and cooled

Filling:

2 (14 ounce) cans sweetened condensed milk

3 egg yolks

Finely grated zest from 4 Meyer lemons

1 cup Meyer lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of kosher salt

Whipped cream:

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Finely grated zest from 1-2 Meyer lemons

Fresh mint and lemon slices for garnish, optional

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine condensed milk, egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and salt. Using an electric mixer beat on low for one minute, then on medium for three minutes. Pour filling into pie crust.

Bake for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes, then chill for at least one-two hours or until fully set. Using an electric mixer, whisk cream, sugar, vanilla and zest to soft peaks.

Spread whipped cream onto chilled pie. Garnish, if you wish, serve and enjoy. If you can’t find Meyer lemons you can use regular lemons and add 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar to the filling. This recipe was on the tidymom.net website.