Love and Olive Oil

Roasted Broccoli and Asparagus Salad: In Real Life

Roasted Broccoli and Asparagus Salad

Sometimes, life happens.

It happens every day in fact.

And the styled and edited scenes that appear on this blog don’t often reflect that.

So for once, I’m going to take a step back. Show you what dinner at our house really looks like.

Roasted Broccoli and Asparagus Salad

Right now at least, we’re in the middle of some big projects. Projects that take up all of our attention, leaving little time for things like organization.

Yes, dishes seem to be taking over our life and our home.

We’re running out of places to put them.

There are random spoons lying everywhere (it appears I have somewhat of an affinity for spoons. Not knives or forks, mind you, just spoons. Go figure).

There are papers and recipe notes and grocery lists. Cans of paint and stain. Random props and tools and tweezers and twine. Extra tables and wood boards and tethering cords. The tripod never comes down. My lens cap must be around here somewhere…

Roasted Broccoli and Asparagus Salad

There’s barely room for us to eat.

But we still do. Eat, that is. And with our CSA now in its 3rd week, we’ve been enjoying the greenage that we were so missing over the winter. Taylor’s got a knack for taking a bunch of random veggies and throwing them together into a fantastic salad.

I almost didn’t photograph this one, because it seemed so ordinary.

But it would have been a shame not to share it. The asparagus and broccoli are lightly roasted with a splash of olive oil and salt and pepper, and tossed with farm fresh greens. Topped with a drizzle of balsamic and and a pile of freshly grated parmesan cheese, it’s a rustic farm salad. The best kind.

It’s a beautiful meal. It’s a real meal. Unstyled and in the midst of our cluttered dining table and just as cluttered lives.

Roasted Broccoli and Asparagus Salad

Did you make this recipe?

Ingredients:

1/2 bunch asparagus, trimmed
1 small head broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 small head green leaf lettuce, washed and torn
balsamic vinegar
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Toss asparagus and broccoli with a few tablespoons of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Spread out on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender.

Toss lettuce with a splash of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Arrange on plates. Top with roasted veggies and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

All images and text © / Love & Olive Oil

Did you make this recipe?

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30 Comments

  1. Very good. Thanks.

  2. I have made this salad with adding chopped boiled and salted egg  to add protien, It was SO GOOD!! Really nice recipe thank you verh much for sharing! 

  3. Mmmmmmmmmmm so good.

  4. I so love this post–as bloggers we can choose what other see and sometimes it’s a prettier picture than what’s reality. Sometimes it’s good to step back and remind ourselves that live is messy and that’s a good thing!

    Also–as one who oohs and awwws at food photography, I appreciate the step back as a learning point.

  5. Yay for real life. And real food…looks delicious!

  6. Oh I know this look all too well. Life of a food blogger. There’s also the sound of the husband in the background saying over and over “Can we eat yet???”

  7. i love how effortless you shots look when shooting food in your own space. i always need a moment of *yikes, company’s coming – CLEAR the deck” before i can snap a shot.

  8. So so true! As a “newbie” on the blog scene, I’m still struggling with photography, styling, etc. So it’s kind of comforting to see that your dinners aren’t always immaculate and perfectly lit and beautifully presented – even if they look it in your pictures! (which are always beautiful by the way). Working a 9-5, commuting half an hour one way, and then trying to come home and make something in time to photograph it before the sun goes down is just not working out right now.

    ….Maybe i’ll just start shooting my meals in “real life” all the time. haha :)

  9. I am starting to love all things balsamic, so I have a feeling I’d love this!

  10. Ah, real life! Your real life “mess” is beautiful to me, really. It looks lived in but artfully so :) I think you’d faint if you saw my mess, especially after cooking!

  11. Thanks for sharing! I love seeing behind the scenes. It makes me feel better about my ordinary dinners. Also, you have such lovely light in your dining area! So Jealous!

  12. Broccoli and asparagus are my two favorite veggies! The photos are beautiful and this salad looks so refreshing! Thanks for sharing.

  13. Such a beautiful salad! Refreshing, light and easy; just how I like it!

  14. This salad sounds delicious, I have all the ingredients so I am definitely trying it for lunch!

  15. You are too cute–I get the whole tripod never comes down lens cap around here somewhere. My pool table room has unofficially been turned into a small photo studio! In our next house I will have a small photo studio room with floor to ceiling windows! lol. I’m glad you stepped back to show that you are normal too… I think people who are not food bloggers don’t realize what our tables and homes really look like… how we struggle to constantly store all the props, etc!

  16. I hear you and know how you feel! The salad sounds and looks awesome. Hugs!!

  17. I so love the behind the scenes pictures (although your place looks gorgeous no matter what you say!) and this salad just sums up summer really.

  18. We’re having roasted broccoli with panko tonight, garnished with a little bit of Parmesan. Going to serve it with sesame noodles. Simple. Delicious.

  19. C’est la vie! Love the simple salad, and love the reality that is life. Crazy, wonderful, and not always styled. :)

  20. Ohh this meal looks so lovely and gourmet :) I love the greens in it. Next summer I hope to sign up for a CSA!

  21. This is stunning. I love real life, even if it’s chaotic sometimes!

  22. Great post! Green salads are the best–and this one looks fantastic!!

  23. looks like a nice and easy recipe to whip up on a summer day. thanks!

  24. This sounds so lovely! I need a good green salad like this!

  25. It’s perfect! I love sneak peaks into lives behind the blog and the pull back shots. Makes it all more real and fun :)

  26. My two favorite veggies in one place! Awesome.

  27. I wish your real life and my real life came together more often.

  28. Looks like my…life. LOVE that salad.

  29. Lovely photos! They feel so personal and real! Great salad!

  30. I’m so glad you did share this salad! It sounds delightfully fresh and flavorful. I love this peek into your “real life.” Thanks for sharing!

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