Addicted To Asparagus

There are few things on the planet that make me as happy as fresh asparagus. (It's my one weakness). Last week we travelled through the beautiful Okanagan Valley, a few hours from where we live in BC, where the fruit trees are beginning to blossom and the vineyards are greening. There isn't a lot of produce available yet - (just wait til summer when hands and faces are sticky with cherry juice, cheeks are stuffed with fresh peaches and the apples and plums literally fall off the trees), but one thing that is available in abundance in mid-June in the OK Valley is asparagus.

We bought a bumper batch of it and I spent the remaining drive home daydreaming and drooling over all the possible ways I might prepare it in the upcoming week. Cream of Asparagus Soup, Asparagus Frittata, Asparagus Pastry Puffs, Creamy Risotto with Asparagus, Penne with Asparagus and Lemon, Roasted Asparagus...mmmmm. Those slender green spears had their way with me all the way home. Pity my travelling companions who wanted to converse or point out breathtaking scenery or curious wildlife. Not a chance.

While I did drop off a bouquet of the little green beauties to a neighbour as a thank-you for help proferred during a recent recuperation, hubby and I basically spent the week in an asparagus chow down.

How did we serve it? Steamed. No salt. No pepper. No butter. Naked. Vegetable heaven.

It's Meatless Monday. Make something delicious with vegetables. Begin with the A's....