For me, two things really herald the beginning of Summer: Grilling and Asparagus! And when you combine the two? Heaven! Add a little fresh lemon and a toss a smidge of finely grated quality cheese over at the end and you’ll have a fun, “dressed” up Grilled Asparagus with Lemon & Parmesan with little to no effort at all.
.
Asparagus, trimmed, peeled and cooked in the microwave, then grilled.
Pickling vegetables, almost any vegetable, is a simple process, and pickling asparagus is no exception. A jar or two for the fridge can be made in literally minutes, no “canning” or “processing” required. If you can boil water, you can make these fantastic jars of Easy Refrigerator Pickled Asparagus. It’s that simple.
Easy Refrigerator Pickled Asparagus
A series of mishaps around a Chef’s published recipe (some hers, some mine) turned out to be quite the happy accident. The result though is nothing less than a fabulous alchemy of flavors: lightly grilled smokey asparagus, punchy Kalamata olives, shaves of nutty Parmesan and nutty Quinoa form the base of Grilled Asparagus and Quinoa Salad. Really this is a main meal, maybe a brunch meal – the term Salad doesn’t do it justice.
Grilled Asparagus and Quinoa Salad
Asparagus is always a sure sign spring is coming – somewhere anyway, if not in the frozen North where I live. And when it’s in a bright, lemony marinade like this simple Marinated Asparagus, it just perks me up. Hello, Spring, where ever you are!!
Marinated Asparagus
My brilliant sister-in-law (yes, the same one who showed me how to make these Fresh, Vibrant Greens) showed me a variation on the cooking of Asparagus that blew me away. Yep. She cooks her Asparagus Standing in the Microwave. The bottoms are done beautifully and the tips fresh and gorgeous.
The tips are perfect when asparagus is cooked standing up in the microwave