Asparagus with Mustard

One of the first vegetables I ever learned to cook was asparagus. My parents would always make asparagus in a quick mustard-sugar dressing, and I couldn't get over how deliciously savory-sweet it was. This recipe therefore became one of the few I actually made during college, given my limited access to a kitchen and ingredients at the time.

The recipe is quite simple, and calls for only four ingredients: cooking spray (or olive oil), asparagus, mustard (whatever your favorite is), and some sugar. First, prepare a mix of mustard and sugar (to taste, I go easy on the sugar) -- you want maybe about 1/4 cup of this, total, if you're cooking a whole clump of asparagus. Simply heat up your pan (coated with cooking spray or oil) to "medium", then toss in your asparagus. Once it is crisp-tender -- which, somehow, is a real cooking term -- toss in the mustard mixture.

One of the many reasons why I love this recipe is because it really encourages you to "get to know" your dish -- this will taste best if you are tasting as you go. Sample the mustard mixture, sample the asparagus as it is cooking -- both before and after you add the sauce. The more you taste, the better you will get with it!

Overall: 9
Ease: 10
Comfort: 7