I hope you find the following articles on asparagus as informative as I. Have also included 7 recipes from this article and used them in the meal- master format. Joan Urban Parma, Ohio Copied from "The Cleveland Plain Dealer", April 10, 1991 By Jane Moulton, Plain Dealer Reporter Spearheads of Spring Ah, asparagus! Ambrosia any way it's done Take away the snow, add alittle sunshine, then watch for the green spears to pop up. The arrival pf asparagus also propels us into a yearly war. Experts draw up sides: cook crisp or tender or don't cook at all; peel or not peel; steam or boil; tie or cook loose; cook upright or flat; buy thick or thin stalks; serve plain or adorned. Now there even can be arguments about the merits of green or purple. Local purveyors of asparagus were asked about their preferences in an effort to settle some of these questions. However, their prejudices became obvious. The delightful thing is, there were no real losers; asparagus has enough charms for all. John Shirk, chef at Bella Luna Restaurant, 34205 Chagrin Blvd., Moreland Hills, puts asparagus on as a special when it looks wonderful and is pencil slim. How does he cook it? "Just trim off a few inches of the stalk and blanch it in boiling salted water about a minute. I like it al dente--that's the way you get the most flavor. If you buy it slim, the stalks and tips cook in the same amount of time and you don't have to stand it up to steam the tips." The recipe he shared is for Herbed Asparagus with Shiitakes and Parmesan that he sometimes features as a luncheon special or as a side with fresh fish. His customers must like it. "You can tell they like it by the dishes that come back to the kitchen; it's always gone." Shirk, formerly a chef at Baricelli Inn, has been at Bella Luna since it opened about 1 1/2 years ago. Aficionados battle over what constitutes "cooked." Those that prefer crunchy stalks stand firm on one extreme; those that want it poached-egg soft are on the other. Unlike 30 years ago when softies prevailed, today most people prefer a crisp-tender stalk, so that's how instructions are written. Shirk's one minute is quite crisp. Recipes in old cookbooks generally assume soft stalks; new one's assume crisp. Keeping that in mind, cooking times can be increased or decreased to suit. Right remains the way you like it. Mary O'Shea, education director of the Food Co-Op at 11702 Euclid Ave., is less flexible. "Asparagus should always be cooked 'al dente' of course," she wrote in a note that accompanied two well-liked soups and a simple preparation with shallots and parsley. "I'm sure that overcooking was why I would not eat asparagus as a kid." Increased health conciousness is changing the way a lot of people eat asparagus, she wrote. "The Green Grocer (author Joe Carcione) used to suggest steaming asparagus and serving it with melted butter and lemon juice. (Now) more people are drizzling with olive oil and lemon juice instead." Dean Paraskevas, exotic and imported foods buyer at J.F. Sanson & Sons Co. in the Northern Ohio Food Terminal, likes his plain "Just tie it with a string and steam it." he said. But he did suggest an aspparagus omelet that relates to his Greek background. He also likes asparagus coated with crumbs, fried in olive oil and topped with Romano cheese. Either could be the main course at luncheon or supper. He uses the fried as an appetizer. Thomas Sirna, of Sirna & Sons Mainline Produce, a retail market at 7307 Aurora Rd., Aurora, also likes asparagus unadorned, but he does have a special recipe with which he indulges family and friends. Rings of acorn squash hold asparagus spears, the whole thing garnished with sweet-sour sauce with caramelized nuts. "I can't take full credit because my Mom's always comes out better, but mine still tastes fine," he said. Mom is Christine Sirna of Maple Heights. Tasters thought it was great, and it looks beautiful on the platter. Some people stand firm about cooking asparagus upright in a tall narrow pan to keep the tips out of water and prevent overcooking. They even spend a fortune on a pan to hold it. But do tips really overcook in water? Is it worth the struggle? A large frying pan holds even long stalks easily, and the inch or so of water comes to a boil quickly. Five minutes is usually plenty for whole stalks. For most purposes, cut stalks cook crisp-tender in one to three minutes. Boiling asparagus tends to glorify its green color, but steaming retains nutrients. Microwaving retains both color and nutrients. A pound of asparagus, trimmed, with 1/4 cup water cooks on High (100% power) in about six minutes. A sheet of aluminum foil folded under the lid protects the surface of the vegetable from overcooking and drying out. Sounds crazy, but it works. To peel or not peel is another question. Peeling proponents say about a third more of the stalk is edible and stalks cook more evenly when peeled, but at the crisp-tender point, the tip is unlikely to turn mushy anyway. A little vegetable is lost in the peel, the process takes time, and the ends are lost for soup, so peeling is still debated. Some cooks tie asparagus in a bunch to protect against bruising during cooking and to ease removal from the water. However, bruising isn't really a problem, and two slotted spatulas or spoons easily remove the stalks from the pan. Then they can be drained on a towel over a cake rack and the towel used to assist transfer to a platter. Other than taking sides on thick or thin spears -- another personal preference, as they can be tender when young -- there's little debate on how to pick good aspparagus in the market. Stalks should be firm and straight with closed compact tips. They should be crisp, not rubbery, and there should be no suggestion of mold or slimy deterioration on the tips. All should be the same thickness for uniform cooking. When asparagus has a lot pf fibrous white root on the bottom, the top can still be tender, but priced by the pound, it's rare to get full value. Uncooked asparagus should be refrigerated upright in a container of water with a little sugar. Think of asparagus as freshly picked flowers. Water and chilling keeps it fresh and sugar replaces the natural sugar lost after harvest. Early April normally sends a large supplyof asparagus to the market, but rains in California have been a problem so it's been expensive the last twoweeks. This week prices should be down. Local cropswill come in soon if warm weather holds up. Because of its weather dependency, excat dates are difficult tp predict. Anyone with an asparagus bed should liik for sprouts daily. In hot weather, they grow rapidly and can go to seed quickly, ending the crop for the season. The plain or adorned debate may never be settled. The flavor and texture of asparagus needs no embellishment; cooks shouldn't do anything to detract from it, the purists maintain. However, as exemplified by the recipes that follow, asparagus adds wonderful flavor and texture to combination dishes. {END} Another article was also published in the Plain Dealer April 10, 1991 "Deep purple asparagus new but in short supply" Deep purple asparagus is new on the market and still in short supply. It's ultrasweet and ultratender despite finger-thick stalks. Jim Smith of the Cavalier, Gulling, Wilson Co., produce distributors at the Northern Ohio Food Terminal, says he buys it from Victoria Island growers in California. He had a short stock last week and will get more in another week or two when it will be more available in retail markets. When cooked, the purple stalks turn dark green with a slight purple tinge but retain their sweetness. The shorter the cooking the more purple they remain. They make their loudest statement when raw and purple, so could be featured fresh to use with cheese dips. Because of their tenderness, they can be cut up and used uncooked in salads, such as the shrimp salad furnished by Victoria Island via Smith Purple asparagus is expensive - probably twice the price of similar quality green - but waste is minimal and asparagus faciers almost certainly will think it's worth the extra expense, at least for special occasions. -Jane Moulton