Asparagus Arrives

One of my favorite things about spring is the plethora of fruits and veggies that come into season. During my beloved winter months, I often find myself longing for the fruits of summer, one brighter than the next. With the earlier than usual arrival of spring (or summer on some days) I was reminded just how much I missed this joyous food season during my family birthday party a few weekends ago. Since it was my day, I got to pick the menu and with hardly a second thought, requested the presence of a fruit tray. We had real food too because, unlike me, the rest of the family prefers to have a little more sustenance, but I would have been happy sitting undisturbed with my giant fruit tray. 


Nonetheless, after that weekend I was in full on fresh food mode. My mom let me take all the leftover fruit back to the District with me and I was able to begin my favorite summer tradition of bringing a small fruit salad to work as part of my lunch ensemble. To further excite me, I wandered into the Safeway by my office one day and was greeted by beautiful bunches of asparagus on sale for $1. There are two things I love most in food: bright, beautiful colors and a good deal. In that trip I found them both and was on cloud nine. 


Unfortunately, with so much going on last weekend, I almost missed getting to enjoy my wonderful find! It wasn't until Sunday evening, when I realized I was leaving town for a week soon, and only had two more days to eat or freeze all the fresh produce currently occupying my fridge, that I made time to cook up some of my asparagus. 


Over the years, as my love of asparagus has grown, I've come to appreciate it in a variety of ways: grilled, steamed, tossed in a salad cold. Oddly, what I realized I rarely do with it is bake it. I'm not sure why, but it was quick, painless (except when I burnt my hand on the 400 degree over rack), and did not disappoint.   

Roasted asparagus topped with a three cheese blend

In my continued effort to use veggies up...spinach pita pizza topped with the remains of my pasta sauce

Roasted Asparagus

1. Preheat oven to 400 F
2. Wash and trim desired amount of asparagus (yet another thing I love about asparagus...how easy the bottoms snap off)
3. Lay asparagus on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper
4. Bake for 10-15 minutes (depending on desired firmness)
5. Top with cheese, bake for an additional 1 minute or until cheese is melted
6. Enjoy!