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SAUTEED ASPARAGUS

The school year is winding down – graduation time is almost here. I imagine many of the graduates and parents are wondering how the time went by so fast. With each graduation the same question pops up; what will the future bring? It’s quite understandable that this is the time to ponder tomorrow.. After all questions about the future have conditioned the way in which most of us have lived our lives. While in high school I know the graduates for their futures by the curriculum they studied. They knew early on that to open doors they would need the keys of education and experience.

Thinking about tomorrow, there will be many questions to deal with; who will my friends be, and what kind of person will I become in the future? I think it’s fair to say that nearly everything done today is with tomorrow in mind. None of us have a crystal ball with which to forecast the future. Many of the graduates are worrying about the future as once their parents and grandparents did. There are many economic problems facing the graduate of today and I’m sure they know that these national problems will continue. How long can we stand the runaway rate of inflation? When will we see a balanced federal budget and a dollar return to respectability? What will happen to the many unemployed.? Yes, the graduate of today will have to work to make a better future.

“Tomorrow” has to be in the mind of every graduate and their family. As we watch them march down the aisle we wish so many good and wonderful things for their future. We hope they face life as a adventure; a river leading some where, rather than a stagnant pool. Their future stretches before them – time is directional. Each day, month and year can be a new experience bringing them closer to a goal. The future contains something new – something that never happened before. With tomorrow in mind, they are facing the future.

To jump from the emotions of graduation to just plain cooking is a little hard; but just as May brings graduation so does the first tender shoots of asparagus. Here is a favorite of mine: I hadn’t tried sauted asparagus until the last few years, but it is easy and can be a meal by its self.

SAUTEED ASPARAGUS

1 whole lemon

1 bunch fresh asparagus

1/2 large onion, finely

chopped

1 lemon

1 Tablespoon fresh

thyme, stripped from the

stems

1 Tablespoon butter

2 Tablespoon white wine

Kosher salt, to taste

Squeeze the juice of a lemon and set it aside. Trim of the bottom of woody stems and discard them. Cut the asparagus in pieces. Melt the butter in a saut pan over medium-high heat.

Add the onion and sauts for 2 – 3 minutes until translucent, Add the wine and let it simmer for a minute or two.

Add the asparagus and saut for 3-4 minutes until it’s bright green and tender. Add the thyme and half the lemon juice and cook for a minute. Season to taste with Kosher salt, add more lemon juice if needed and serve right away.

“Good Luck, Graduates!” And just remember “The best thing you can do is to get very good at being you.”