Asparagus is in season!

A friend was coming over for dinner and I was having cravings for spaghetti, which I don't eat too often.  I had a coupon for free sauce, so I decided to take advantage of it.  I had to include a vegetable, so I looked to see what was available at my local market.  I remember hearing asparagus was in season and I found some that was grown locally from a transitional farm.  This ended up being a perfect choice!

For the spaghetti sauce, I sauteed some mushrooms, garlic and sliced a tofurky beer brat I needed to use up.  After the mushrooms were browning and soft, I added the spaghetti sauce and lowered to heat to warm.  This was served on top of a thin spaghetti noodles.  

While the sauce was heating up, I prepared the asparagus.  Usually I just steam asparagus, but I wanted to try something different. The results were tangy and salty (but not too salty) and just right.  I could have eaten all of the asparagus myself, but I had to share.  Here is what I did.

Tangy Roasted Asparagus

25 Asparagus Stems

1 Tb Olive Oil

1 Tb Lemon Juice

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

1/4 tsp Salt

Rinse off and chop off the ends of the asparagus.  Spread the stems on a baking sheet.  Combined the oil, lemon juice and minced garlic.  Spread this on top of the asparagus and toss to cover all over the stems.  I used my hands to do this.  Sprinkle the salt and pepper on top and toss again to cover the stems well.  Place this in the oven at 400 degrees and cook for 15-20 minutes, tossing the asparagus to cook evenly on the sheet.

*Asparagus is also great raw!  Try some in your next salad.