Edible (Delicious) Asparagus

I've never been a huge fan of asparagus, I thought it was okay, but never sought it out to cook it myself. Recently, I've been buying one "unusual" fruit or vegetable each week or so to help my kids appreciate a wider range of foods. I don't want them growing up thinking that peas, corn, and broccoli are the main sources of vegetables, or that the only way to eat them is out of a can or a freezer bag.

We've tried pomegranates (big hit), artichokes (bigger hit, which makes me happy because I love them but my Mister is lukewarm about them, now I have two more fans), kiwi, and last week, asparagus.

My mother loves asparagus, and would feed it to us at least a couple of times a year. The best I ever ate as a child was fresh picked and uncooked from my great-grandparents' ranch.

This asparagus was nice and slender (the best way to get it).

Here's the recipe (as much as you can call this a recipe):

Melt a chunk of butter in a sautee pan. Add sliced mushrooms and onions (this is essential, I tried again without the shrooms or onions and it was not the same) and garlic. Saute until mushrooms shrink a bit and onions have turned translucent. Remove from pan (keep the butter). Add more butter if necessary, add asparagus (with the bendy parts snapped off the bottom) and saute lightly, add a little water, cover and steam for a few minutes until the asparagus starts to darken a bit. Salt to taste.

Enjoy.

You can either put the mushrooms and onions back on top of the asparagus, or you can use them in something else. I was making stroganoff that evening which was why I just happened to have a pan of buttery mushroom and onion juice that I thought, hey, I could cook the asparagus in that.

Happy accident.

We'll be planting asparagus in our garden next spring.

(photo credit),