Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

3 lb Fresh asparagus (to 4 lb)

HOW MUCH? Three to four pounds of fresh asparagus yields
approximately 3 to 4 pints.

SORT IT: Wash well, then arrange stalks by size.

PEEL IT: Take a vegetable peeler or paring knife and gently peel down,
starting about 4 inches from the tip. Cut off about 1/2 inch of the
lower stalk. Leave spears in lengths to fit the freezer containers,
or cut into 2 inch pieces.

BLANCH IT: Drop into large pot of boiling waater -- 2 minutes for
small diameter (less than 1/2 inch); 3 minutes for medium diameter
(1/2 inch to 3/4 inch); and 4 minutes for thick diameter. Cool
immediately by plunging into cold water; drain well and pat dry with
paper towels.

FREEZE IT: Although not necessary, I prefer to lay my blanched and
freezer ready asparagus in a single layer on cookie sheets andplace
them in the freezer about an hour before packing. The partially
frozen pieces won't stick together when completely frozen and can be
removed in small batches; the remainder can go into resealable
pakages and be returned to the freezer. Pack asparagus in freezer
containers, leaving no head room. With spears, alternate tips and
stem ends. If it's a wide top container, pack with tips down. Seal
and Freeze.

COOK IT: The secret to cooking frozen asparagus (and any frozen
vegetables for that matter) is to cook in a small amount of liquid
just until barely tender. Remember that you've already done a partial
amount of the cooking when you blanched it. So treat frozen
vegetables like fresh, except for a shorter cooking time -- you'll
hold onto more of the nutrients as well as flavor, color and texture.
Also, most vegetables are best when cooked without thawing (except
corn of the cob).

Source: Oregonian FoodDay Typos by Dorothy Flatman 1995
Submitted By DOROTHY FLATMAN On 06-21-95

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