Parmesan Oven Roasted Asparagus

Have you ever known one of the vegetables that you just haven't had a good relationship with? You know the kind. The ones that always make you want to gag every time you eat them? The ones that just don't taste good. Period. You don't like it. Period.

Asparagus is that vegetable for me.
Or at least, it used to be.
Since discovering this recipe, I've made this several times.
And you know what?
I think I may actually like asparagus.
This is a big deal.

Asparagus was the vegetable that would keep me at the dinner table for hours after the rest of my family had finished eating. We had that rule that you had to eat everything on your plate growing up. And silly me. I'd save the worst part for last and by that time it was cold and even yuckier than usual. And I would sit at my chair. Refusing to eat it. For hours. Honest.
The sad truth is I don't remember whether I ever actually ate that asparagus or if my mom gave in.
All I remember is sitting at the table, tasting that cold asparagus in my mouth before it even passed my lips.

So you see, asparagus and I have had a hate relationship.
I hated it because it was terrible, awful, slimy, icky stuff.
It hated me because I refused to eat it.

And now I'm all grown up and actually eat everything on my plate because I know better. I also know better to eat my least favorite things first, though that's a different story. Anyway, one day we got a big ole' bunch of asparagus in our Bountiful Basket. And I thought, "Oh, really? What am I going to do with this?" See, we have this policy to try everything we get in our baskets, even if it's not something we usually buy or even enjoy. But with asparagus I was on the losing end. How could I bring myself to eat it? And then, as if the angels knew of my plight, a beautiful recipe practically fell in my lap. Well, actually it fell into my blog reader, but you get the idea. And I am forever grateful to Your Homebased Mom for this recipe.

I also just want to say that if you ever eat something you don't like, try cooking it a different way. That could change your mind.

Parmesan Oven Roasted Asparagus
Recipe from Your Homebased Mom

Ingredients:
Asparagus
Olive Oil
Kosher Salt
Parmesan Cheese
{there are no specific measurements because everything is to taste}

Directions:
Thoroughly wash and dry your asparagus. Cut about an inch or so off the bottom. If your asparagus is particularly thick, I recommend peeling the bottom half of the outer skin off. This helps remove the toughness that can come from asparagus. Place your asparagus in a small bowl and toss with olive oil. Place on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 350 degrees for about 7 minutes {this is the magic time in my oven - any less than that and it isn't done, any longer and it's too mushy - and trust me, you don't want mushy asparagus!}. At about 5 minutes, remove from the oven and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven for remaining two minutes. Serve immediately.