By Week 419. Spring 2024. I am 41 years old and standing in my kitchen — the Bench house kitchen, the one that held cancer and divorce and cinnamon rolls — and the stove is on and something is cooking and the house smells like fresh herbs and possibility and this is my life. This is the life I built.
The clinic was busy this week — spring puppies and summer emergencies and the constant, comforting cycle of animals who need care and humans who love them enough to bring them in.
Mason is 13 and navigating middle school with the quiet competence that has always been his way — focused, kind, certain of who he is in a way that took me thirty years to achieve.
Lily is 11 and riding horses with the fearlessness of someone who has never considered the possibility of falling.
I made spinach and feta frittata this week. The food continues. The food always continues. It is the thread that connects every week to every other week, every year to every other year, every version of me to every other version — the woman on the kitchen floor, the woman at the chemo recliner, the woman at the grill, the woman at the outdoor table under the string lights. All of them, connected by the food they made with their hands. All of them, me.
Spring produces its own kind of permission — to open the windows, to buy the asparagus at the farmers’ market without overthinking it, to roast something bright and simple and let the smell of it fill the house. This week, alongside the frittata, asparagus went into the oven too: tossed in olive oil, seasoned with everything I had on hand, cooked until the tips went just a little crisp at the edges. It’s the kind of side dish that asks almost nothing of you, and gives back more than it should — which, I’ve found, is exactly the right recipe for a Tuesday in April when you are 41 and grateful and exactly where you are supposed to be.
“Everything” Roasted Asparagus
Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh asparagus, tough ends trimmed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon everything bagel seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Flaky sea salt, to finish
- 1 lemon, halved (for serving)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Heat your oven to 425°F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup.
- Prep the asparagus. Snap or trim the woody ends from the asparagus spears. Spread them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet — do not crowd them, or they’ll steam instead of roast.
- Season generously. Drizzle the asparagus with olive oil and toss to coat. Sprinkle evenly with everything bagel seasoning, garlic powder, red pepper flakes if using, and black pepper. Toss once more so every spear is well coated.
- Roast until tender and caramelized. Roast for 15–20 minutes, depending on thickness, until the spears are tender when pierced with a fork and the tips are just lightly crisped and caramelized at the edges.
- Finish and serve. Remove from the oven and immediately squeeze fresh lemon juice over the top. Scatter a pinch of flaky sea salt over everything and serve hot, straight from the pan.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 90 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 7g | Carbs: 6g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 160mg