There are always those times when you do not have enough stove space, do not feel like dirtying more dishes than necessary {I have a huge issue with dirtying as many dishes as possible even when making something that doesn’t require more than two!}, or have the time to sit and watch water boil. This may be because of a big holiday dinner with more sides than people eating or you want to serve in the same dish you cook in. It’s because of this that when we all learn of a better, faster, simpler way to do something it becomes cherished and passed around. That’s how this trick evolved in my house. My husband and I were over at our friend’s house for dinner. As we are catching up and chatting, the men about their things and the women about ours, I noticed my friend Ashley put a corningware dish into the microwave for a few minutes but didn’t think much of it. However, a short while later as she was serving all of us the food she made, I realized that she was simply steaming the asparagus in the microwave!!! I kept thinking to myself, why have I or anyone else for that matter never thought of this trick before! She filled me in on the details you’ll see below. A month or so later, we had my friend Ashley and her husband over to our house and made asparagus myself using her trick, which I had already used several times, with my own spin on it. I have since spread this trick to as many people as possible and even used it last Christmas at my parent’s house since there was no room on the stove to even think about steaming them in a pot. Actually, I have never pulled out a pot to steam asparagus ever since! I have even tried this trick with broccoli and it works just as well.
Equipment:
- All you need is a corningware dish, or something comparable, with a lid and a microwave.
Feel free to explore the ingredients that you put in with your asparagus, however, here’s what I do:
- Cut or snap off the hard bottoms of each asparagus steam and then place in dish.
- Put just enough water to barely cover the bottom of the dish; you may need more if you are doing a lot of asparagus at once.
- Drizzle a little olive oil on top and red wine vinegar {my addition to my friend’s original version}.
- Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Microwave for 2-3 minutes. Check to see if the doneness is to your liking. If not, put in for another 2 minutes or longer until it is done.
- That’s it!!! Simple and easy and you can serve right from the dish.
{A Hint of Ginger | What’s your spin on it?}: If you come up with other concoctions for seasoning your asparagus {herbs, flavored oil or vinegar, etc.}, please share with all of us. I’m always looking for new tastes to try so I don’t get stuck in my way with making it the way I know works.
A Hint of Ginger 