Grilled Asparagus, Cookie Alert and Porkers!

First, it can't be asparagus season without a post about this awesome veggie! We grow asparagus. We sell asparagus at our roadside stand.

Folks love fresh asparagus and I know why: It's delicious! But I always used to steam it, think of all those years wasted!!!  ARRRRRGGGGHHHHH!

Now I grill it or bake it, similar to how I do Brussel sprouts and broccoli....

Take the tender asparagus, trim the ends if necessary, lay out on baking sheet...

drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with seasoning (I use this roasted garlic and herb, it's my fave for lots of things!) Sprinkle with salt and bake or grill!

Baking is easier because it doesn't fall through the grill! Bake at 350 degrees until it's actually starting to crisp.

Amazing!

And then there are these, the clever Zip-Loc containers I keep on hand for mailing cookies and freezing treats. Today's M&M/Chocolate chip cookies were baked fresh for granddaughter Emma's soccer game but days of rain have flooded the fields, so the game was cancelled. (Note the use of two "l"s in cancelled).

No worries! Fresh cookies tucked into the Zip-Loc containers and popped into the freezer! Around here it's never a bad idea to have stashes of cookies in the freezer:

I just looked and I can't believe I haven't given you this cookie recipe yet.

Is that even possible???? I'm taken aback! I'm amazed! I'm chagrined!!! Putting that on the list of recipes to share! Ghirardelli chocolate chips, farm fresh eggs, and M&M's!!! Oh, Mylanta, they're wonderful!

And here's a new friend!

Well, it was love at first bite. These are a great snack for high-protein or low-carb diets, you have the fun of chewing (I can never be a juicer!!!!) and these are just plain delicious! A new family favorite!

So tonight, once the kids were all picked up and Emma's  game was canceled. (notice I'm spelling it both ways because I'm airport savvy, it doesn't matter if they use one 'l' or two, I'm still not getting on a plane! Which happened two weeks ago in Midway....Do you know what happens when middle school cheerleaders start practicing their cheers at midnight in an airport with hundreds of stranded travelers? I don't either, I curled up and dozed off so I wouldn't be a WITNESS to their possible demise!!!)  :)

Anyway, I digress, we have a couple of English Walnut trees that have been infested with a nut borer... so we have to cut off all the infected branches and burn them to help curtail the spread of this tree-killing bug... And that means what can we throw on the grill for super quick supper while we're cutting and burning?

PORKERS!!!!

Also known as White Hots (white hot dogs) up here.

We use Zweigles Brand (gotta love German sausage makers!) and they're a crowd-pleasing favorite in upstate. If you order a white hot at a call-in hamburger stand, they yell "Porker!"

:)

Everyone here knows what a porker is!!!

Oh, there's the pretty plate again! Hello, plate! And no, I haven't unpacked any of his friends because I still haven't washed the cupboards. Soon, maybe? Although windows might take precedence!

So that's what's going on here.... baked or grilled asparagus, porkers, salted nuts and sick trees and I'm in the middle of a crazy fun marriage of convenience story, one of those things where you know the hand of God is there... right there.... if only the hero and heroine are smart enough to pause... breathe... and see what's right in front of their eyes! It's my second book for Franciscan Media and I'm so proud of them, jumping in with Christian fiction that includes Catholic characters!

I love writing ecumenically, but I also like being able to have a little "name that church" fun like Jan Karon did in her delightful "Mitford" series.

Keepin' it real makes me real happy!

Multi-published and best-selling author Ruthy Logan Herne loves cookies, Cookie Monster and Kermit the Frog. She understands it's not easy being green and she's all over the Rainbow Connection and this one with English singer Ed Sheeran is wonderful!

She loves God, her family, her country, dogs, kids, spring peepers, coffee and chocolate and isn't afraid to eat the occasional cookie!