And now for something completely different . . .

Asparagus. I was dinner shopping this evening and paused in the frozen veggie aisle, contemplating my green, leafy nemeses. I thought, "Asparagus is pricey, but I've eaten it and not been repelled. Cheap veggies that are gross are a bigger waste of money than more expensive veggies that I will actually eat."

So I got some frozen asparagus. It was . . . edible. It tasted green and not very bitter (my primary bête noir with veggies), and some of the pieces were tender and some were tough and stringy. But I probably only got a quarter cup down before I couldn't eat any more. Still, veggies were eaten!

Now, asparagus is in season, and I'm betting fresh is better than frozen in this situation, and roasting seems like an interesting variant. What are my Buffistas favorite methods of cooking the little spears?

Drugs and Winter Soldier! Excellent coping mechanisms. If you replace drugs with vodka and Steve Rogers with Matt Murdock, you have my night.

Fresh asparagus is WAY better than frozen. Try to find the little skinny ones -- thinner than a pencil if possible. Either cut or break off the ends -- supposedly, if you break them, then they'll break at the right place to get rid of the tough parts. Put it in a roasting dish, and toss with some olive oil and salt, at about 425 for maybe 10 minutes. The timing will depend on the size of the asparagus.

I also pretty often add some asparagus to my scrambled tofu, so I'm sure it would work with scrambled eggs, too. Not sure how the timing would work out for that, though.

What are my Buffistas favorite methods of cooking the little spears?

Get yourself some fresh asparagus. It should be bright green or purple. You want it firm and the tips should be closed, not open and flowering: [link]

Preheat oven to 425. Wash the asparagus in cold water. I usually trim off the bottom of the stalk where it's tougher and more fibrous. I also tend to chop it into smaller pieces for easier eating, put the asparagus into a plastic ziploc bag with some salt, black pepper, and garlic powder, then drizzle in some olive oil. Seal the bag and shake it to coat the asparagus. Then I line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil, dump the asparagus on it, and stick it in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Less time if the asparagus is thin, more time if it's thick. When you take it out of the oven, sprinkle it with some shaved parmesan (use real parm, not Kraft "Parm"). And then put it in your face.

I have nothing to add except that cats love chewing on the broken off ends. Or mine did anyway.

Also, I assume you still have frozen asparagus left over? You can roast that the same way. Give it a few trial runs. You'll get your money's worth out of the frozen veg and get some practice while you're at it.

It was frozen in a bag that was designed for steaming in, so it's already cooked. Payday's tomorrow, so I'll find a small bundle and do a test run. I'm willing to absorb the $2.50 cost of what I didn't eat.

Roasted asparagus is delicious. I also like to cut it in small lengths and saute it.

Glad Tim (and his piercings) are doing well!

We are about to renovate the bathroom. The DH is out of town and I had to stay home from work to let the window replacement guys in to work, and to keep dogs and cats locked up in the office with me, so they wouldn't: A. Bark insanely B. Try to escape their hellish imprisonment with people who cater to their every whim C. Bonk their heads on the workman's leg to alert them that petting should be administered and/or D. Supervise by standing on the area to be worked on.

They weren't going to start until June 15th, but the contractor said another job was way easier than they thought, so they can start on Friday. Yikes!