It's Spring Somewhere...Time for Asparagus

Since the daughter has evidently neglected her blog for other creative writing endeavors (or as she calls it, "homework"), it's time for pop to pick up the baton and carry on. She'll be back soon I'm sure. Let's see how long it takes her to jump back into the editor's seat.

You can have your extra hour of sleep. I absolutely despise the onset of Standard Time. It means I go to work in the dark, I come home from work in the dark, and when it's not dark it's either a) cold; b) rainy; c) cold and rainy; or d) cold, rainy and almost dark.

There. Now I feel a little better after a therapeutic rant. 

All this darkness has me looking forward to spring. The days getting longer, the color green replacing brown in the palette of the landscape. With spring comes asparagus, and I'm pretty sure that it's spring somewhere, so indulge me. Go ahead and cringe, Michael Pollan, but I'll bet I could walk into my Whole Foods Market and find my spring asparagus trucked in from just down the road in New Zealand.



With thoughts of Spring in my mind, here's a super easy way to enjoy asparagus. Sadly, it does not have any impact on that rather unfortunate side effect of eating asparagus.

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Bunch o' asparagus, washed and tough ends snapped off
Olive oil cooking spray
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Preheat the oven to 450°. Take your asparagus and pat it dry and place it on a cookie sheet lined with foil. Spray the spears with the cooking spray (or toss in a little olive oil if you don't have the spray).
Put the asparagus in the oven for 6-9 minutes, depending on the thickness of the spears. You want them bright green, and still fairly crisp.

While the asparagus is roasting, heat the butter over low heat in a saucepan until melted. Then remove from heat and add the balsamic vinegar and soy sauce. Pour the mixture over the asparagus and serve immediately.