Asparagus & Chocolate

I spent the weekend in Williamsburg and everywhere I went restaurants and health food stores were promoting asparagus and chocolate, not necessarily in the same dish, but as aphrodisiacs for Valentines Day. I realized that until just a few years ago I hated both asparagus and chocolate. 

Raw, fresh asparagus beats soggy,
 canned asparagus any day of the week! 

My only experience with asparagus was out of a can in my youth, pretty mushy and stringy for a kid to embrace.  Sometimes my Mother would hide it and disguise it in her asparagus casserole.  I remember there being cream of mushroom soup, cheese (probably Velveeta cheese food) and I think bread bits.  I thought it was nasty, but my sister loved it. 

My next experience with asparagus was in 1978 when we bought a 250 acre farm and dug a huge trench and planted lots and lots of asparagus.  I figured maybe if I labored for it I would like it.  No, still not a favorite. But then a few years ago I tried roasting it.  Oh my gosh – it became a different vegetable.  Now it is on my top five green veggies!  Little soldiers all lined up that taste sweet and crunchy! (see recipe below)

Worlworth's 5 and 10 Cent Store
A classic when I was growing up!

Now maybe you can relate to the asparagus story – I mean who likes stringy and mushy.  But chocolate?  I doubt I have one reader who doesn’t like chocolate.  Growing up I never liked chocolate.  I remember when I was a youngster in Southern California, my sister and I would walk several blocks to the Woolworth's 5 & 10 candy store every Saturday with our allowance.  You could buy a candy bar for a nickel.  My sister would always get a chocolate bar, Snickers, Almond Joy or Butterfingers.  I ALWAYS got a Payday.  Fast forward five years and we are now living in the suburbs of Hartford, CT.  My friend Susie Gates and I would ride our bikes a few miles to Friendly’s ice cream every Saturday with our allowance. You could buy a Sundae for a dollar.  She would get hot fudge and I would ALWAYS get butterscotch.

My favorite DARK chocolate! I first tried
it in Italy 5 years ago and I was hooked.

I even took my one of my daughters to Hershey, PA to go through the Hershey Museum and did not eat any chocolate.  Because I did not like chocolate, UNTIL I went to Italy five years ago and had European DARK Chocolate.  It was a different breed of chocolate and I became hooked.

So this Valentine’s Day enjoy your DARK Chocolate and your Roasted Asparagus and remember that “we can LOVE each other because HE first loved us”. (1John 4:19)

Roasted Asparagus

Purchase tender spears – thicker ones are tougher and less sweet

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Rinse the asparagus clean

Snap each spear near the bottom, the woody part knows where to snap off.

Delicious, healthy & easy to prepare.

Line up like soldiers on your cookie tray

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Place in oven and cook 20 -25 minutes turning once after 10-12 minutes.

Enjoy!

Dark Chocolate

The darker the better

Organic is best

Fair trade is great

With nuts is divine

With cherries or raspberries is the best

One square (or 60 calorie piece per day)

120 calories is a splurge!!

Control – there is always tomorrow!