Some great asparagus recipies for the season.

[eridani]

Got them from Blue Valley Meats, eastern WA purveyors of grass-fed meats.

Steak and Asparagus Stir-Fry

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/steak-asparagus-stir-fry

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsalted chicken stock (such as Swanson)
1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon cornstarch
5 teaspoons canola oil, divided
12 ounces boneless sirloin steak, cut into 1/4-inch strips
12 ounces medium asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into strips
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 green onions, chopped

Preparation

1. Combine first 6 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk.
2. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add beef; stir-fry until browned but not cooked through (about 1 1/2 minutes). Place beef on a plate; discard liquid in pan.
3. Return pan to high heat. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil; swirl to coat. Add asparagus and bell pepper; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add crushed red pepper and green onions; stir-fry 30 seconds. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add stock mixture; cook 3 minutes or until sauce is slightly thickened. Return beef and any juices to pan, and cook for 1 minute.
Note:

MyRecipes is working with Let's Move!, the Partnership for a Healthier America, and USDA's MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to a trove of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit www.choosemyplate.gov.

Lemon Chicken with Asparagus and Potatoes

http://damndelicious.net/2015/03/20/lemon-chicken-with-asparagus-and-potatoes/

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 cups baby red potatoes, halved
1 pound asparagus, trimmed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
In a small bowl, combine olive oil, Dijon, lemon juice, lemon zest and thyme; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using your fingers or a brush, work the mixture onto both sides of the chicken.
Melt butter in a large oven-proof skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken, skin-side down, and sear both sides until golden brown, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.
Add potatoes to the skillet; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place into oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are easily pieced with a fork.* Add asparagus and chicken to the skillet.
Place into oven and roast until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 175 degrees F, about 25-30 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Notes

*Cooking time will vary depending on the size and thickness of the potatoes.

Baked Mustard-Crusted Salmon with Asparagus and Tarragon

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/baked-mustard-crusted-salmon-with-asparagus-and-tarragon-56389444

Ingredients

1 bunch thin asparagus (about 1 pound), trimmed
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
4 (6-ounce) skin-on salmon fillets
8 teaspoons country-style or whole-grain Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon


Preparation

Preheat oven to 275°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss asparagus with 2 Tbsp. oil, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper on prepared sheet, then arrange in a single layer on one half of baking sheet. Bake asparagus 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, spread each salmon fillet with 2 tsp. mustard. Sprinkle fillets with 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper total. Toss panko with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle panko mixture evenly onto salmon fillets, then dust with smoked paprika.
After asparagus has baked for 5 minutes, remove baking sheet from oven. Place prepared salmon fillets skin side down on empty half of baking sheet. Return to oven and bake until salmon is firm but still pink in the center and asparagus is tender, 14–16 minutes more for medium rare salmon. Divide salmon and asparagus among four plates and top with tarragon.

Cooks' Note:
If asparagus spears are thick, increase initial baking time to 10 minutes before adding the salmon fillets to the baking sheet. If you prefer your salmon more well done, increase cooking time by 5 minutes and check for doneness.

Pork and Asparagus with Hoisin Sauce

http://damndelicious.net/2012/09/18/pork-and-asparagus-with-hoisin-sauce/

We’ll first saute some chopped up pork tenderloin with some fresh asparagus. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper.Transfer the pork and asparagus to a plate and add some garlic back to the skillet.Once the garlic is nice and fragrant, stir in the hoisin and mirin, making sure it’s well combined.

So here’s how you make this:

We’ll first saute some chopped up pork tenderloin with some fresh asparagus. Don’t forget to season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the pork and asparagus to a plate and add some garlic back to the skillet.
Learn More About Dairy-Free Recipes Here

Once the garlic is nice and fragrant, stir in the hoisin and mirin, making sure it’s well combined.

Once the sauce reduces a bit, go ahead and add the pork and asparagus back to the skillet, making sure that it gets coated with that hoisin sauce goodness. At this point, you can add the sambal oelek if you want a little bit of heat in your dish.
Serve on a bed of brown rice (or white rice or even quinoa) and devour, please. You could even drizzle on some of that Sriracha too.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 pound pork tenderloin, excess fat trimmed
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1 tablespoon sambal oelek, optional
Brown rice, for serving
Green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

Heat sesame oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat. Add pork and asparagus and cook until the pork has browned and the asparagus is tender-crisp, about 4-5 minutes; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer to a plate.

Add garlic to skillet and saute until fragrant, about 1 minutes. Stir in hoisin and mirin and cook until sauce has reduced slightly, about 3 minutes. Add pork-asparagus mixture and gently toss to combine. Stir in sambal oelek, if desired.

Serve immediately with brown rice, garnished with green onions and sesame seeds, if desired.

[northernsouthern]

1. Have you tried Asparagus 'Guacamole'?

I had it last year and it was good. This year I ended up eating most of the asparagus from the garden raw, but sounds like cooking them a bit releases more healthy things so I will cook most of them next year.

[eridani]

3. Wouldn't it be a bit "stringy" for guacamole? n/t

[northernsouthern]

4. No, of fresh it is incredibly soft.

You pick it before 7 or so inches and it just snaps like a pickle. If you are using store bought then make sure you are using the tops more than the base.

[Lunabell]

2. I love asparagus.

I boil water, throw the asparagus in, cover,remove from heat, after about 3-4 minutes strain and throw some butter on it. It leaves the asparagus just blanched, crunchy with a nutty taste.

[northernsouthern]

5. I have been...

Spraying with olive oil pitting them in oven or stove covered for just a few with salt, garlic, and pepper...maybe some provolone and then taking it out while it still has a little crunch.

[SheilaT]

6. I like a very simple grilled asparagus.

Ground pepper, some kosher salt, sprinkle a little olive oil on the spears, then grill them.

I have an electric counter-top grill that works very well. I haven't actually done grilled asparagus in far too long, one of the disadvantages of living alone. But I should sometime soon. The problem is that the clean-up of the grill is tedious, and if I think about it too hard, doesn't seem worth the effort. Luckily, I have a fairly short attention span and don't tend to remember about the clean-up until too late.

[eridani]

7. Those grills really ae a pain in the ass to clean, but they do work great on asparagus nn/t

[SheilaT]

8. You are right about how difficult they are to clean,

but I just block that out. I use my grill mostly for my Grecian Chicken (take boneless, skinless chicken, two or three breasts, cut into appropriate sizes. Sprinkle with a generous amount of oregano. Cut up 2-4 garlic cloves, depending on size of cloves and your fondness for garlic and sprinkle on the chicken. Squeeze one lemon over them. Then pour olive oil, probably several tablespoons. Use your own judgement here. Make sure the chicken is coated on all sides with the above ingredients. Let marinate several hours to overnight if you're that organized. Then grill. I serve with Rice-A-Roni rice pilaf and sauteed veggies: onion, sliced carrot, zucchini chunks, red pepper. Snow pea pods if they're available.) The chicken comes out moist and freezes beautifully.

I live alone, so fixing up something that freezes well is a high priority. When I make this meal I'll be planning ahead, and will also be fixing lemon-pepper blackened catfish filet which I fry in a pan, or pork chop teriyaki (pork chops marinated overnight in teriyaki sauce, then grilled on the above pain-in-the-butt-to-clean grill). Again the stir fried veggies and rice pilaf are essential to the meal. I often wind up freezing the rice, and sometimes have to toss out veggies that I didn't get around to sauteeing.

The grilled pork chop teriyaki also freezes nicely. What I like best about meals like this is that once I've done the original chopping of the veggies for the stir-fry part, and cooked the rice pilaf and grilled the chicken, pork, or catfish, I can have a meal ready in about five minutes. I'll heat the meat or fish in the microwave, along with the rice, while I'm stir-frying the veggies. Nice.