Asparagus and summertime

Asparagus always heralds summer for me, and in the few short weeks where British asparagus is in the shops - delicious, and cheap, for so short a time - I eat it by the bucketload - starters, in salads, as a side vegetable.

I had my first asparagus of the year at my in-laws' at Easter - my mother-in-law grows her own in the back garden, and they served it lightly grilled, with a squeeze of lime. Delicious.

But it was only when I saw it for sale in my local supermarket, and put several bunches in my basket, that it did me my annual favour and reminded me that the time had come to buy my Dad's birthday present. When we were kids, my Mum would always cook him asparagus for the starter of his birthday meal - consumed after my little brother and I had been chased up to bed. I remember hanging over the banisters, as Robert Palmer or Sade played on the hifi, wondering what was going on.

The problem with my most recent shopping basket full of asparagus was that I bought it just after we'd finished painting the kitchen. Having spent 48 hours cooped up in a windowless room with paint fumes, I had no intention of ruining it by making the room all steamy before it was properly dried - but I didn't want to grill the asparagus either, I wanted the clean, fresh taste at first.

I seriously contemplated trying to boil it in the kettle, which had been relocated in the spare room. But instead I settled for putting it in a pan, covering it in boiling water, putting the lid on and leaving it for five minutes. The result was lovely - cooked, but fresh and still with a slight crunch.

I served it very simply - as a starter, with a squeeze of lemon on top, and sprinkling of salt. Delicious.

As for the kitchen? It's done, and we're back in now - I'll post pictures next week when I've got it tidy again! But the weekend covered in paint meant I didn't get time to schedule any blogs in advance - sorry for the silence.