Simmered Asparagus
In a pan cook:

1. 1lbs of asparagus
2. 1/8 cup water (preferably filtered)
3. 1/8 of a stick of butter (more or less if you prefer, I perfer more)
4. 2 tsp lemon
5. salt and pepper to taste

Take the1/8 of a cup of water and pour in a pan add asparagus and cover. Bring water to boil and then turn to lower heat add butter and lemon and cover for 3-5 minutes (pending the size of the aspargus spear, they are usually ready when you can pierce the spear with a fork with little effort, but make sure not to over cook or they will go mushy). Remove cover and let the rest of the water evaporate, stir so they all get a little butter on them and add salt and pepper to taste.

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Steamed Broccoli, Asparagus and Kale with Garlic Leeks, Butter, and Lemon

Clean and cut the broccoli into smaller size florrets, clean and break asaparagus tops off and add to steamer (keep asparagus bottoms for soups or other meal, they just need to be cooked a little longer then the tender tops). Cut Kale into one inch stripes add to steamer for the last minute of steaming before broccoli and asparagus are tender. As the veggies are steaming, melt a few tablespoons of butter (olive oil is a good substitute) in a pan, cut up garlic leek(s) into 1/4 inch pieces and add to butter on a low heat as it is melting and saute for a minute. Once the butter is melted turn it up to a medium heat, once the butter starts to bubble remove from heat squeeze 1/2 a lemon into the pan and add the steamed veggies, stir it around so they all get some butter on them and enjoy! Add salt and pepper to taste.

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Asparagus Soup
Serves 4

- 1 Medium onion
- 2 Tablespoons of butter
- 1 Quart of chicken stock or veggie stock
- 3 Red potatoes, washed and cut into quarters
- Sea Salt or fish sauce and pepper
- 1/2 lb. of asparagus, snap of tougher ends and cut into 1/4 inch pieces.
- 1 or more cloves or garlic peeled and chopped.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Heavy cream to taste.

Saute onion gently in butter until tender. Add stock, garlic and potatoes. Bring to a boil and skim. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Add asparagus and simmer another 10 minutes or so until tender. Blend with a handheld blender. Pass the soup through a strainer to remove any strings from the asparagus. Season to taste. Reheat gently, ladle into heated bowls and serve with cream.

Aspargus is a good source of carotenoids, vitamin C, B complex, vitamin E, potassium, iodine, zinc and rutin.

To make sure the aspargus is fresh check the tips to make sure they are firm. When preparing aspargus most people simply bend the spear and let it snap in half on its own naturally, this assures that the tougher bottom ends are gone and you don't have to search to find those points, just bending it does it.