Menu Plan Monday - Roasted Wasabi Asparagus!

With my daytimes being so intense/unpredictable lately due to a very hungry/cuddly baby, I'm trying to devise a menu based on non-specific baking/cooking times, or items able to be mostly preassembled the night before.

But: Asparagus is cheap ($1.69/lb.) at Giant this week! Anybody who's been following this blog for a while knows what an asparagus fanatic I (A.) am. Truly, my family's less-maniacal (yet amicable) feelings for it is the only reason I don't serve it every lunch and dinner while it's in season. :) In honor of Spring 2010 Asparagus Season, I've included my roasted wasabi asparagus recipe below.

Other Giant sale items making it into this week's menu plan: $1.66/lb. strawberries and Cracker Barrel cheese.

Monday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with raisins, milk - had thawed some chocolate chip pumpkin bread yesterday, so that was breakfast with banana!
Lunch: Spinach salad with papaya, cheddar, avocado, ranch
Dinner: Baked potatoes with toppings, wasabi asparagus

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Maple sausage, microwave "fried" eggs, milk
Lunch: Banana peanut butter smoothies, Trader Joe's Jaipur Vegetables
Dinner: Spinach salad with (made ahead) antipasto salad: couponed Hormel pepperoni, mozzarella, tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Mango crumble (made ahead with couponed Dole frozen mango chunks), milk
Lunch: Spinach omelettes, sliced apples
Dinner: Garlic ginger shrimp and broccoli

Thursday:
Breakfast: Strawberries (on sale at Giant) and bananas, slices of Cracker Barrel cheese (also on sale at Giant), milk
Lunch: Tuna salad (made ahead) on spinach salad with tomatoes
Dinner: Crock pot chicken with carrots, leeks

Friday:
Breakfast: Crustless quiche (made ahead), banana, milk
Lunch: Miso (broth made ahead) with spring onions, tofu, and brown rice
Dinner: BLT shrimp salad, strawberries

***

Roasted Wasabi Asparagus:

In a 1 gallon zip bag, mix:
Generous amounts of: Wasabi paste
(Wasabi paste is sold in Asian section of your grocery store, Target, or WalMart, or Asian grocery stores - 1 tbsp. gives a vague taste, 2 tbsps. a bit of kick, 3 tbsps. considerable heat, 4 tbsps.+ = five-alarm-clear-your-sinuses)
Non-flavored oil (extra light virgin olive oil, safflower oil, etc.)

Small amounts of:
Ground ginger
Salt
Pepper
Sugar (if you like your heat bolstered with a bit of sweet)

The ratios here depend on your desired effect, but you should end up with a generous amount of marinade, a thinned out green paste. Cut 1-2 lbs. asparagus stalks into thirds, and then place pieces into gallon bag of marinade. Shake well to coat evenly. Place on foil-lined sheet and put in oven or toaster oven at 450 F for 13 minutes (this is for tender-crisp just barely blistered on the outside texture).