There was a time in my life when I considered asparagus an untouchable vegetable, a vile green stalk that was periodically forced on me by my feckless parents; I call those the dark years.

In the Baptist church I grew up in, I made the rounds through working nursery, Vacation Bible School, and teaching Children’s Church services, and one staple that was to be found in almost every wing of that massive church building was The Veggie Tales. I mention this because The Veggie Tales managed to make asparagus cute, in the form of Junior Asparagus. He wore a hat and looked downright sheepish, giving a side smile that reminds me very much of the shy way my little brother used to smile (grimace?) when my sister and I embarrassed him.

(For those familiar with the cartoon, I do apologize for the possibility that you might have the theme song in your head for the rest of the day.)

Junior Asparagus, though animated, humanized asparagus; he redeemed it, made it cute. That was a rather large feat considering that, in my experience, asparagus was a stringy canned stalk, bitter-tasting swamp fingers. The stalks were often served heated, on a plate, in their juices. My stepfather drizzled a fair amount of hot pepper juice over his serving, I think, to mask the taste.

When I was in college, many years after my parents had given up the fight to get me to eat asparagus, I went to a friend’s house for dinner. It was a spur of the moment visit, a last minute phone call for me to come over and eat the rather large fish she had gotten that day at the DeKalb Farmer’s Market, and because it was a spontaneous visit, I showed up with empty hands and empty stomach; it’s the sort of friendship where that is okay, where I would later make her sit down while I washed dishes and cleaned her kitchen and poured us another glass of wine so she could have a few minutes to relax from being a single mother.

The way asparagus should be | edgewriter.wordpress.com

I showed up at her house, and to my horror, she pulled from the fridge a bunch of fresh asparagus. Now I was brought up right. I say “please” and “thank you.” Even as an adult, I find myself falling into the habit of referring to adults older than me as “ma’am” and “sir.” I believe in thank you notes and birthday cards; I hate being late for anything. And my mother can rest easy that, according to my code of manners, if someone is about to serve me food that I know full well I don’t like, I will eat it with a smile on my face and love in my heart. So I watched as my friend heated olive oil, added some freshly minced garlic, and then tossed in the asparagus stalks, searing them as the fish baked. She cracked sea salt and pepper over the pan, and I remember relishing the smell of garlic filling the kitchen. When one knows they will eat a food they hate, they take comfort in the small things they do like. I really like garlic.

My friend served me baked white fish, rice, and (gulp) asparagus. I sampled the fish and rice first, and then took my first bite of asparagus.

You probably know how this story ends. That asparagus rocked my face off. It wasn’t stringy or bitter; it looked nothing like the bloated fingers that came from the green Del Monte cans of my youth. I confessed my debacle to my friend and told her how pleasantly I was surprised that asparagus was actually good. When I mentioned it to her again after writing this week’s column, she laughed and told me she’s converted many friends to asparagus lovers.

I’ve seen the light.

As with most things, I discovered that day that fresh asparagus was the only way to go. And so this week, when I picked up (for the second week in a row) my bunch of asparagus from the Five Points Farm Market CSA, I knew I wanted to make something with asparagus for my CSAcation.

A cook's pallet | Pic by Andrea Nolan

I have grown so used to cooking for my two roommates and myself that I sometimes worry I’m forgetting how to cook for myself. Since it’s final exam week, the three women of our household are on different eating schedules, so I found myself in the rare situation of having to cook a meal for only myself yesterday.

The great thing about asparagus, and really most fresh veggies, is that they can always be tossed with pasta for a delicious, healthy combination. Another universal vegetable truth is that cooking them with bacon only makes them better. Bacon has been compromising the nutritional integrity of my vegetables for many years, and though I have now branched into more sophisticated pork, like prosciutto, I have a special soft spot in my heart for bacon’s smoky flavor in vegetables.

Pasta Toss with Bacon, Asparagus, and Red Pepper

Yields 2 servings.

¼ red pepper, sliced

6-10 stalks asparagus, washed, bottoms snapped off, and cut into 1-inch pieces

1 clove garlic, minced

5-6 sweet cherry tomatoes, cut in half

2 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces

Drizzle olive oil

Farfalle (bowtie)

Cook pasta to al dente perfection.

While pasta is boiling, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon, cooking until done and a little crispy. (This process is called rendering the fat. What a wonderful word: rendering. To render. A word with so many meanings, and one of them specifically has to do with cooking.)

Remove bacon from pan, and add garlic. Saute, stirring constantly, for about thirty seconds. Add red pepper, repeating the process until pepper is coated. Add asparagus and stir, allowing to cook 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and stir constantly, cooking just until tomatoes are heated through.

Drain pasta and put back into pan. Add vegetable mixture to pasta, tossing to coat. You may want to add a small drizzle of olive oil to coat pasta completely. Add bacon pieces.

Serve with salt and pepper to taste. I topped mine with kasseri cheese, but parmesan would also be a good choice.

That's one photogenic tomato | Pic by Andrea Nolan

This dish is light, tasty, and is a great way to use up vegetables in the fridge. You could substitute the asparagus with green beans or broccoli, add mushrooms, onion, anything. It can easily be multiplied to feed more people, so it’s the perfect dish for entertaining, especially if you’re not sure how many people to expect. When I mentioned on Facebook that I was cooking my veggies in bacon grease, a friend noted that pancetta would also be a good option. Indeed it would.

Eat well, CSAcationers, and take care.