My dad's cousin Shirley's yummy marinated asparagus

Asparagus season is about to end. How sad! It's back to normal-smelling p--whoops, sorry TMI!
I treat asparagus like BC cherries--they are with us for such a short and intense season, I eat as much as I can, as often as I can! And I do it guilt-free because they are so dang good for you.

I'm a big fan of Edgar's Asparagus, an Alberta family farm growing 17 acres of the tasty green spears. They're the only ones in Alberta doing it! Their asparagus is so sweet and crispy 1) you'll NEVER need to trim it and 2) you'll probably only get a small portion of it into the pot--it's so lovely to eat raw.

So here's a recipe that my mom uses from Shirley. I like it because it's cold and, heck, it has oil and garlic in it. How can it not be DELICIOUS?

Steam and drain 1 lb asparagus (usually a bundle) then chill.

For the marinade, mix together the following:
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
2 cloves garlic minced
1 1/2 tsp basil (I like using fresh)
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1/2 cup oil

Marinate/chill the asparagus in the sauce--an hour is fine.
Mmmmm mmmm.

Maitecita's Sweet Seventeen Salad Dressing

Today is Maite's seventeenth birthday, so in her honour I'm posting a delicious recipe she invented for a salad dressing that uses honey. I used it when Judy Schultz came to lunch a couple of weeks ago for her Edmonton Journal series "Dinner on the Farm".

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 clove garlic
2-3 tbsp honey
3-4 tbsp apple juice
dry basil to taste
salt to taste

In a small bowl add the vinegar to the olive oil and whisk together. Slowly whisk the honey into the vinegar and olive oil. Press 1 clove of garlic into the dressing, add the salt and dry basil to your liking. Pour over any salad; this dressing goes well with salads that include spinach, arrugula, cherry or grape tomatoes, jicama, or carrots.