Nah, blanching asparagus is mostly a holdover from catering SoP when it's par-cooked first, fridged until day-of, and then seared for looks before being plated/pkgd & held at temp for service.
You can blanch yours, if that's your preference, but they'll lose that brightened snap to their structure and the thinner stalks (=/< โ5mm) risk just degrading into mush in the pan or on the plates. I'm not here to judge fellow anons' varied and unknowable palates. Just the facts. ๐
How long have you been away from that other place, exactly? Do you really believe they'll notice your absence? We wouldn't, FWIW.
Caseless Rinderwurst is "an acquired taste", but I wasn't old enough to get a vote, back in the day. ๐
Re: asparagus, I'm a huge fan and love to prepare it simply, to let it really shine.
Snap the bottom sections off by hand-testing their break-points. (You can cut them afterward, if you prefer clean ends, but refrigerating them first can help keep those snapped edges crisp)
Zest and then juice a lemon and set aside.
Set your skillet/pan on High/Mid-high.
Bring ~1tsp/lb of a light oil (eg. veg, rapeseed, etc., not "olive") close to its smoke point. (pay attn, don't burn it, it can ignite!)
Add prepped asparagus (1.โ) to oil in pan and don't move them (need that Maillard reaction)
Season w/ salt & pepper (kosher & cracked are my pref.)
Watch for a toasted, delicious crust forming on their pan-sides. (eyeball it, don't meddle)
Use tongs (spatula if you're brave/confident, or just roll them 180ยฐ if you're unsure) to turn them to their opposite sides
sprinkle with lemon zest to taste (I add chili flake here) and wait for that sear again.
Remove from pan, and let rest on cooling rack for a couple minutes only (they're less delicious when cold, but still amazing)
If you're feeling froggy and aren't trying to plate rapidly for a slew of guests, now's a great moment to whip up a quick pan sauce (browned butter, herbed crรชme, white wine reduction, etc.) to drizzle over them during plating โotherwise, just plate and spritz lemon juice to finish.
Your toilet's gonna smell suuuper loud afterward (why, asparagus, why?), but it's worth it. ๐ฅฐ
Buy a home? ๐ฅน If you're in the US, you were born decades too late for that, citizen. ๐ค๐ผ
"Added value": prescribed, trickled-out, tiptoed smidgens of steps forward
"Enshittification": unscripted, greed-backed, frantic, top-speed Thomas Salto tumbles into the corner and off the mat.
Yep, sounds about right. "Progress".
Oh, I'm already on the Lifetime Hard Pass and it's all but free โad-free, slop-free, greed-free, bullshit-free, etc.
IIRC, the cost is ~$5/mo for upkeep, took me no time at all to set up, and I get to listen to/watch whatever the fuck I want, whenever & wherever I choose.
Fuck Plex. I hope it dies gurgling & terrified. ๐ฅฐ
Why do you have your phone out during class?
Maaan, I was scrolling way too fast and misread that as "pureed pork". ๐ ๐คข
Also, those asparagus look sumptuous!
What is that, a shit bowl for birds? ๐คฎ
IIRC, the larger a crop grows, the less flavorful it is. For example, most Award Winning Biggest vegetables are nigh inedible (to humans), and often are pulped for fertilizer, etc. after the contest. As a lifelong fan of rhubarb, the green stalk gives me pause in this regard, as well. ๐
You could try chewing first?
No, seriously. That shit is dangerous. Food "slowing down" in your digestive system is a shit way to describe narrowly avoiding choking yourself to death.
Ain't nothing so important that you literally make yourself "late" forever. ๐ถ