Asparagus "Fries"

For someone who spends a lot of time in the kitchen, you'd think I would know better.. But I have a TERRIBLE habit of trying to multi-task and leaving food unattended while it is cooking. I can't tell you how many times I have returned to boiling, smoking, burnt, ashy messes! I always regret my foolishness and vow to STOP leaving food alone with heat sources. However, today something quite nice happened for once as a result of leaving my food and forgetting about it.

Asparagus must be in season because it has been on sale almost every week and since it is one of my favorite vegetables, I have been eating it every week. Growing up, my family would always eat it the same way: Sauteed in butter or olive oil with fresh garlic, salt and red wine. I don't think I would be allowed to bring wine to work (bummer!) so when I started my asparagus binge a few weeks ago, I started just roasting it in the oven. I drizzled a little olive oil on it, sprinkled it with salt and put it in a glass baking dish at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Today I was feeling curious and exploratory and decided to put it on a metal baking sheet instead of in a glass dish to see if it changed anything. As I was laying it out on the baking sheet, I was reminded of my sweet potato fries and decided to lay out each asparagus stem so that it wasn't touching any of the others and see if the stems got crispy at all. I turned up the heat a little to 425 degrees and headed back to my desk with the intent of checking on them in 10 or 15 minutes.

Alas! Today was super busy at work and I forgot all about my asparagus crisping away down in the oven! Almost 35 minutes had passed when I remembered them and dashed downstairs. I expected a smoking, charred mess. Instead, I had a pleasant surprise! The stems were not burned and when I bit into one, it actually had almost the consistency of a Cheeto! I think the high heat must have dehydrated them some because they were airy and crunchy and really good!

I am sure cooking the heck out of them that way removed almost all nutritional value, but hey... They still must be healthier than regular french fries, which I will confess I get terrible cravings for. I know, I am a strange female but I will take french fries over chocolate any day!

And that is the end of my asparagus fries tale.

Happy snacking!