Coconut Oil

I never thought I'd convert. I loved my olive oil too much. But over the past few months I've took some steps in cooking outside my norm and used coconut oil in place of olive oil. And OH.MY.GOODNESS.

I no longer buy olive oil for cooking. I use it strictly for salads only. Coconut oil is my preferred product. Not only is it nutritionally superior (for cooking), it adds this rich slightly nutty toasted flavor to food.

Our most recent obsession is asparagus. Our seasonal obsession. We LIVE for asparagus harvest. We are fortunate to have wild asparagus on our property. And for those of you who have had the absolute pleasure of eating WILD asparagus, you can appreciate our love for it. It doesn't come close to anything (even the organic version) you'd buy in the store. The flavor is amazing and I'm lucky if the picking actually makes it to my kitchen. Most often it is consumed on the walk back home. The kids LOVE it and prefer it raw.

John and I, however, have fallen for a baked version.

preheat oven to 450
liquify a couple tablespoons of coconut oil
drizzle it over asparagus and roll it around
sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper
bake for 5-7 minutes or until soft but slightly firm

And ENJOY. Seriously, this is heaven. A complete meal.

My brother stopped in tonight. I offered supper (meatloaf, mashed potatoes, baked asparagus) to which he declined. Which was shocking. Apparently he had just eaten. I insisted he grab an asparagus spear to nibble on. He accepted and as soon as he bit into it his eyes got huge..."OH....that is.....(sigh) good...." Needless to say he grabbed another before he left.

Heaven, I tell you. Absolute culinary bliss.

OH....and not all coconut oil is created equal. Just like olive oil, you get what you pay for. This version is both affordable and scrumptious. This is part of a short list of "subscribe and save" groceries for me: