Dinner Smells Like What Now?

Just a little over a week ago, I posted about roasting zucchini in the oven and ended the update with the following question: Hmm, what else can I toss in the oven to roast?

When I linked the post to Facebook, I got some suggestions for what roast next!

Sheena: Asparagus, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, broccoli, eggplant, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, onions ... Just about any vegetable! Super yummy!

Joycie: Brussels sprouts all the way (with chopped up bacon and lemon slices)! Butternut squash with butter cinnamon and brown sugar.

I was really happy to go grocery shopping last week to pick up some new veggies choices, and asparagus was one of the things on my must try list. Growing up, I wasn't too big of a fan of asparagus, so when we had it for dinner, I didn't really eat too much of it to actually know what the "asparagus pee" was all about. As I got older and grew to appreciate the strange taste, I also learned firsthand that the asparagus smell really is evident later on when you go to the bathroom! It cracked me up that when Howard came over to the kitchen to see if I needed any help, he smelled the air and said, "Mmm, it smells like someone's pee!" Haha, I know that sounds gross, but we were laughing so hard about it that I had to include it here. 

When Howard and I went to a small couples potluck dinner at our friends' house, we were able to enjoy asparagus from the oven. So delicious! Why hadn't I tried doing it myself before?

I just followed the directions on The Pioneer Woman's website. I love her site and other blogs like it because seeing the pictures really makes me more confident in trying new things. It makes me wonder how I would've done everything when my mom had to learn how to cook just by watching other people or following recipes without pictures! I also appreciate that being online makes it so easy to search for a variety of recipes and just tweaking things when needed. I found other options that required garlic or other seasonings and stuck with olive oil, salt, and pepper.

After I cracked the pepper on top of the asparagus, I immediately said to Howard, "The Pioneer Woman said to use a lot of pepper!" and he started laughing because he was hearing how many times I twisted the top of our Mickey pepper mill. A lot of it ended up on the parchment paper too, so it probably seemed like even more than it actually was. Let me tell you though, it was worth it! Of course, I am a "pepper monkey" like Dave Martin in Top Chef season 1. I just think it's the best way to season food! I'm sure any other seasonings would work too because really the star is the asparagus itself. These were the thinner ones, so I probably didn't need to leave them in the oven as long as I did, but they were still absolutely delicious. They were tender but still had the tiniest bit of bite. There was only one asparagus that had a rough bottom because I should have snapped it a little higher, but other than that, no problems at all!

Okay, next time I think I'll try roasting carrots!