Kara & Michael’s Blog

I have to tell you – my mother always liked vegetables but didn’t cook very many different kinds because she had to feed a very picky family, including yours truly. I refused to eat any vegetables outside of lettuce when I was a kid, and vegetables grossed me out so much that I couldn’t swallow them without gagging.  I threw up canned green beans, canned corn, canned peas.  Until eventually my mother allowed me to skip serving them to myself.

But, what I’ve come to find is that I do like vegetables. I just like them when they’re fresh and tasty and done in a simple way.

Michael and I picked up some gorgeous local asparagus on Saturday.  I agreed to this mostly because I want to like asparagus.  I love the tips of asparagus when they get all roasted and nutty.  My mother would roast them in olive oil (much like this recipe),  but I always refused to eat the stringy stems that way – they lacked the flavor of the tips.

So Michael suggested we utilize the freshness of the asparagus by steaming it for a short time in the microwave.  I was dubious. He peeled the stalks, set the spears in a tiny amount of water, microwaved them for three minutes in a covered dish and served them with tiny bits of butter and salt and pepper.

They were nothing short of amazing. I don’t often enjoy my vegetables (just kind of shovel them in there because they’re all I have to eat), but these were good.  They maintained their texture but gave way to my fork, the stalks were easy to eat and not nearly as stringy as they can be. The tiny amounts of butter and salt and pepper were just enough to emphasize how light and grassy tasting the asparagus was. It was like spring in my mouth.

Maybe the locavore thing lets us get better vegetables. Maybe better tasting food spoils and doesn’t travel well.  Maybe being shipped ruins the quality of food. All I know is – I have never had a better piece of asparagus.