I absolutely love asparagus.  When I was a child growing up in California we once drove to the farm land (I’m not sure which city, perhaps Stockton – per my quick google search) to attend the asparagus festival.  My mom’s friend worked for the Towe Auto Museum in Sacramento and we drove to the asparagus festival in an old (somewhere around 1930s) Ford rumble seat.  A rumble seat is a pull out seat that is in the back of the car, and is where the trunk would be.  My brother, sister, and I sat in the rumble seat and were bundled with some warm blankets, hats, and jackets.  On the way home from the asparagus festival it started to rain.  We had to duck our heads under the blankets because there was no room for 5 people in the front / covered seat.  Ah, the memories.

Asparagus with garlic is a fantastic side dish.  It doesn’t require too many ingredients, doesn’t take too much time, is pretty healthy, and is full of flavor.

For 6-8 people you will need:

2 bunches of asparagus

olive oil

salt

pepper

garlic powder

onion powder

4 cloves of garlic, chopped finely.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees or broil.  Wash and break the ends off of the asparagus and place in a Pyrex dish.  Sprinkle the seasonings, olive oil, and garlic over the asparagus, and mix to coat.  Place the baking dish in the oven – bake for about 20 minutes in the 400 degree oven OR for a little under 10 minutes if broiling (be careful that the asparagus doesn’t burn).  You don’t want to overcook the asparagus, it should still be crunchy and not at all limp.