A is for Asparagus

A is for Asparagus originally published on Food and Fond Memories on April 1, 2011 by sandyaxelrod 8 Comments (Edit)

Asparagus!

When I was six my family moved into a beautiful ranch house in suburban Philadelphia. Our new home was built on property that had formerly been fertile farmland and apparently one of the crops was asparagus. For many years we had them growing in our flower beds right along with the beautiful landscaping. Each and every spring for those first few years on Rugby Street my mother had to figure out what to make with this abundant crop. She made cream of asparagus soup, stuffed chicken with it, veal Oscar and just plain, as a side dish steamed with a little butter on top. I ate so many meals with the slender green spears that I reached a point of total disgust at the mere mention of them. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that I started to crave them when I would notice them regally standing in the produce section like perfect soldiers. Since I live in Florida we seem to get really beautiful spears all year round. And now that I like them again Steve and I enjoy them roasted in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, pepper and this fabulous seasoning from Croatia that our son Brian and his wife Eve brought back for us when they went there for Eve’s brother’s wedding. Or, being a grilling enthusiast I also love to simply grill the asparagus which adds a wonderful hint of smokiness. As much as I love them I am careful not to prepare them too often because I know you actually can have too much of a good thing and I don’t want that to happen to me again.