<p>Can’t wait! I also love oven roasted asparagus much more than steaming them. Just a light coat of EVOO, some minced garlic, good salt and a squirt of lemon at 425 degrees until done.</p>
<p>^My favorite!!! Exactly like that, except I hadn’t thought of the lemon; I;ll have to try that. I do the same with brussel sprouts, cut in half.</p>
<p>I steam an artichoke and then eat it plain. The flavor is amazing. We get them here with huge stems and I love the stems, the inside part is like the heart. I just cut them up and put into the pot to steam. </p>
<p>Interesting note: if you go to a Greek meze, artichokes are served as a first dish, cut into small pieces, raw with lemon. I prefer to steam them.</p>
<p>Here’s a simple but elegant beet salad we learned from a little Italian trattoria on the Upper West Side of Manhattan: Steam 2-3 beets until tender (an hour +/- depending on the size of the beets). Slice and let cool. Arrange beets on a thin bed of lettuce (red leaf or Bibb is good). Slice an avocado and arrange on top of beets. Sprinkle with crumbled chevre (soft goat cheese, natural not herbed). Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and fresh lemon. </p>
<p>The contrasting colors make for a beautiful presentation, the tastes are delightfully complementary, and it’s really easy to make, pretty much impossible to mess up (though I did forget about the beets once and ruined not only the beets but the sauce pan in which I was steaming them). Tip: you don’t need to peel the beets before steaming them. Once they’re soft, the skins will slip right off, much easier than trying to peel a raw beet.</p>
<p>For us here in Minnesota this is cheating a bit on the “locavore” concept since avocados, olives, and lemons won’t grow here. But we get terrific locally grown organic beets and outstanding local sustainably produced chevre, and the other ingredients show off these local products in their most favorable light. Californians and Italians should be able to get all local ingredients.</p>
<p>I love beets. I have been seeing them at the farmers market. They are also easy to grow. Most people roast them but I like them steamed. I also have an avocado tree.
I am going to try it this week.
Also absolutely love asparagus.
Did anyone see Alice Waters on 60 minutes last night? Makes you want to get out and get the garden going. The breakfast she made! The tomatoes looked divine. I don’t know how many of us have a fire oven in our house to cook an egg in a spoon.</p>
<p>I also love beets. Growing up my older brother used to pay me for eating his veggies. He absolutely hated warm/cooked veggies. And beets were his worst - mine favorite 
I cooke mine and then grate them - when they are all mushy I put them in a pot and cook for another 15-20 minutes adding some butter, lots of lemon juice and a little sugar.
Divine, although consistency puts some off ;)</p>
<h1>61- yes! except I squeeze the lemon on the asparagus after roasting to give it a fresh zing.</h1>
<p>another version:</p>
<p>roll in EVOO, sprinkle with kosher salt. Roast. Then grate good Parmesan cheese and on top and serve.</p>
<p>I had those oven roasted brussel sprouts today. I may never steam them again! (I squeezed a bit of lemon on them before cooking.)</p>
<p>Michelle Obama promotes local eating, will America take note and change bad eating habits?</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/dining/19garden-web.html?hp[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/19/dining/19garden-web.html?hp</a></p>