When the family gathers for potluck meals, part of the fun is presenting a dish so yummy that there are no leftovers to bring home. Its a little unspoken contest of who can bring the yummiest food, if you will. Although the vegetable dish is the last pick for me to pile my plate high (unless it is one of Laura’s unbeatable salads) I enjoy this colorful and healthful asparagus salad enough that even if there is some left over to take back home, I don’t mind a bit.
- Vegetables:
- 1 bunch fresh asparagus
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese,
- Dressing
- In a small shaker jar combine:
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoon garlic
- 2 teaspoons basil
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- Clean asparagus, chop into bite-sized pieces and steam until just soft. Drain and dip into cold water to keep the dark green color. Chop tomatoes and cut mozzarella cheese into cubes. Mix dressing ingredients in a shaker jar and drizzle over vegetables just before serving.
Asparagus is an especially curious vegetable. The plant is a member of the lily family, which also gives us onions, leeks and garlic. If you are an asparagus aficionado, you already know how healthy it is for you, but did you also know that asparagus is a perennial vegetable? Once started from seed, it takes 3 years to get a good first crop, but asparagus will continue to produce for another 12-15 years, and under ideal growing conditions, a spear of asparagus can grow up to 10 inches in height in a single 24-hour period. If you want to waste five minutes, check out a few of the time-lapse videos of asparagus growing on YouTube.
You’ll find several more tasty asparagus recipes in this brochure, published by the Michigan Asparagus Advisory Board, including simple cooking directions. In the meantime, consider producing some asparagus in your own back yard. Grown organically, it has delicious flavor and is incredibly healthy. AT only 4 calories per spear, your waistline can afford to eat a healthy portion.
posted by KARLYN
