Balsamic Asparagus

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Here in the blogosphere I think I’ve officially been celebrating St. Patty’s Day for about a month now. And I’ve been having a blast! I feel like the luckiest gal alive sometimes because I get to celebrate EVERYTHING weeks ahead of time and be totally prepared for when the big day arrives.

The first item of business this morning was checking our leprechaun trap. We were certain we would catch one of those sneaky little green guys this year. No luck. Seriously? Our trap was quality-checked and built with the best cardboard available. It came directly from Amazon.com.

And what little green guy could resist glitter glue and Monsters, Inc. stickers? They were covering the entire box. And what about the inviting Lincoln Log ladder? OR the AMAZING rainbow with clouds. There was absolutely NO WAY he could have known that shamrock was covering the hole to a trap. I mean, come on. How, rude.

I suppose we should feel “lucky” that he even stopped by. He did leave behind some chocolates, so I guess we’ll let the whole, “Why didn’t you fall down our hole” thing slide, but next year, there’s no escape.

Now back to reality. Today I’m not sharing a sweet treat, but rather something a bit more healthy, and obviously, green. I know, I know. Boo! Oh, stop it now.

With spring just around the corner, asparagus will soon be in abundance. If you love this stuff like I do, you’ll be in heaven. I don’t like overdone asparagus, I don’t like underdone asparagus. I don’t like woody asparagus, I don’t like stringy asparagus. I’m pretty picky about my asparagus, folks. I’m pretty picky about everything, actually, but I promise you won’t be disappointed with the recipe I’m about to share.

The first thing you’ll need to do is wash and trim your asparagus. Cut off the thick woody ends and then steam the spears for about 8-10 minutes. I do this step right in my steamer (which I absolutely LOVE). You can also do it in a steamer basket on the stove top. The asparagus should be bright green and still crunchy – definitely not ready to eat yet, but perfectly prepared for the next step. The broiling is what takes this asparagus to a whole new level and the balsamic absolutely puts it over the top!

Transfer the asparagus to a baking pan and follow the instructions below. Get your green on, people!

Balsamic Asparagus

Ingredients

• 1 lb. of steamed asparagus spears
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• Salt to taste
• Garlic pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Turn your oven broiler on high.
2. Place the steamed asparagus into a baking pan and drizzle the olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the spears. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
3. Broil on high for 5 minutes or until the spears show the slightest bit of browning.
4. Remove from the oven and eat immediately.