Roasted Asparagus

I get so excited, just like a kid on Christmas, when asparagus goes on sale at the supermarket. Usually it's about $3.99 per pound, which is just silly, but every month or so I'll catch it at $1.99 per pound. Happy days! You can bet your booty I'm picking up a bunch.

I always struggled with how to prepare asparagus. There's this tiny little window between when it's perfect and when it's mushy. I had always steamed it, which left it fairly flavorless. My boyfriend's dad will pan fry it, which is always tasty, but it still seemed to end up mushy.

Once I discovered roasting as a technique for cooking vegetables, I knew I'd never cook veggies the same way again. If it works for everything else, why not asparagus? Okay, seriously, when I took the first bite, I thought I'd died and gone to asparagus spear heaven. So simple, and so, so good. So good.

It's still a bit temperamental, and it's easy to over do it, ending up with mush. So please, please people, check the asparagus before you expect it to be done. My mom used to say of cooking, "You can always add more, but it's almost impossible to take it out." The same principle applies here. You can always cook it longer, but you can't un-mush it.

As a side note, when prepping the delicate little veggies, don't use a knife. Literally break the ends. They will break at a good point, eliminating the tough, woody ends. If it snaps clean, you're good.

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh asparagus spears
Drizzle olive oil
Drizzle lemon juice
Sea salt
Ground black pepper
Onion powder

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil and coat with cooking spray.

Wash asparagus. Break the ends off just above where the tough, woody stem ends. Arrange on baking sheet in a single layer.

Drizzle a small amount of olive oil and lemon juice over the asparagus. Roll them around to coat all sides. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt, pepper and onion powder.

Bake for 7 to 10 minutes, or until the spears are fork tender. Length of time will obviously depend on the thickness of the spears. Check them early and cook additional if needed.