SPRING IN JERSEY - ROASTED ASPARAGUS

SPRING IN JERSEY - ROASTED ASPARAGUS

Spring is the time to start planting and thinking of warmer days ahead. Although the first day of spring is in March, sometimes here in Jersey, the weather is still quite cold. As my father would always say, don't plan to turn your heat off too soon, because sometimes you need heat all the way up into June! So even though the days could be quite chilly, when I see one of my favorite spring time crops arrive, I am excited because I know warm days are just around the corner. Spring in the garden state brings two of my favorite crops, asparagus and strawberries. The strawberries come out a little later than the asparagus, usually around the month of May. Asparagus comes out in the cooler weather, usually the month of March, and in time for Easter dinners. The crisp, green stalks are one of my favorite vegetables. 

Speaking of spring and Easter, I so miss those by gone days when as a little girl, my mom and dad would buy me a new dress, shoes, purse and gloves, and I would get all dressed up in my Easter finest and attend Sunday School. I felt so proud about my gloves and pocket book. I can still see them in my mind's eye right now. My father used to drive what was called "the Sunday School bus", and my siblings and I would ride the bus as he drove, going around picking up all of the kids who didn't have parents to bring them to church. And then after church, we would head home for our Easter dinner of delicious ham, steamed asparagus oozing with butter, mashed potatoes, and other sides and dessert. My mouth is watering right now just thinking back to it. And of course, always the Saturday night before Easter Sunday, my mom would dye eggs with us. Oh, how excited we would get looking at the hot, colored water in our coffee mugs, waiting to put in our stark white eggs to see the color transformation. We would all be yelling, "look at my blue egg, or look at my yellow egg!" and my mom saying, "oh, so pretty." And at the time, nothing seemed to be better to us,  than getting up in the morning and eating our colored hard boiled eggs, of course right after we devoured quite a bit of candy from our Easter baskets. 

Well, now getting back to the asparagus. 

The best way I know to enjoy this delicious vegetable, is just to roast it with a little bit of olive oil. Use about 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, to 1 pound of asparagus, tough stems removed. Salt and pepper to your liking, and if you like garlic, use 1 Tbsp. minced garlic. Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. You can use a cookie sheet or any other shallow pan. Rinse the asparagus, dry, and place on the cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, tossing well and sprinkle on salt and pepper. Add the garlic if you are using, and put in the oven. Roast for about 15 minutes, or until tender. Then enjoy the delicious taste of this wonderful, woody vegetable. This recipe makes about 4 servings.