Oven Roasted Asparagus
Oven Roasted Asparagus evokes one of two responses, people either respond with yummy or yuck. I’m sure you can guess which way I responded most of my life. 😉 Nowadays, I love it and can eat asparagus for my entire meal!
A friend of mine rounded up volunteers to bring meals to my daughter and I after my first major MS attack. My daughter was only in the fifth grade and I was barely able to get around the house on my walker, cooking was NOT a possibility! One of the kind cooks brought a meal with steamed asparagus. I was hungry, it was food, and it was there.
Believe it or not, but it didn’t kill me! As a matter of fact, I didn’t think it was that bad. I’ve tried it again a few more times since then. I learned that I do NOT like asparagus from a can. I wasn’t sure how to cook it, but I knew that canned asparagus was NOT for me.
A couple of months ago, some friends and I ate at Olive Garden. We tried one of their new dishes, Roasted Asparagus. I suddenly realized how I wanted to cook my asparagus.
Proper Cold Storage for Un-Roasted Asparagus
Since I didn’t grow up cooking fresh asparagus at home, I had to do a little research on how to prepare and cook it. Fresh asparagus is best stored upright in about an inch of water. I happen to have an Asparagus Keeper from Good Cook. Unfortunately, Good Cook no longer produces them, but you may find them locally in stores that sell Good Cook products. If you’re unable to locate an Asparagus Keeper, try using a wide mouth jar and cover with a plastic bag with holes punched in it. No matter what you store the asparagus in, cut one to two inches off the bottom before storing in the fridge for a few days to help keep it fresh.
Now, for some additional Asparagus education, I credit Dr. Oz and WebMD. After seeing several episodes on Dr. Oz and other medical shows, I learned about asparagus making your urine smell “funny.” Until I began eating asparagus myself, I had no idea about this smelly subject. A break down of the amino acids in the asparagus releases a sulfur like odor into your urine. Eat asparagus but don’t smell anything different after eating asparagus? You’re either missing the gene that allows you to smell the odor or you may have a stuffy nose. 😉
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- Asparagus
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- Rinse asparagus.
- Cut hard, woody stems about 1" to 2" from the bottom of the asparagus.
- If the asparagus is tough and woody all over, it can be peeled with a vegetable peeler. I didn't like the look of eating rosebud thorns and peeled all of those off.
- Rinse again if desired.
- Place asparagus in a an oven safe cooking dish. (I preheated the skillet.)
- Coat with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Bake at 375* for 15 - 20 minutes.
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