My Noisy Life, Stand up to Falls, Barrie's Asparagus Farm,

What a short memory I have. Monday morning I heard voices outside and thought it was the tenant upstairs who uses his cell phone on his balcony and talks in a loud voice. Matt reminded me it was the construction workers once more. A couple of hours later, the alarm bells rang. We were warned that they were testing them today but I had forgotten that too. The bells will be rung frequently throughout the day and the construction workers will be there til about 5:30 using their crane which beeps when backed up. Not to mention all the other noises. Ain't life grand. One compensation just occurred to me, once they start working on our wing the cell phone guy won't be able to go out onto his balcony. Three cheers. Unfortunately we can't just disappear because I have exercise classes and the Stand Up to Falls seminar to attend. For two pins I'd say nuts to it and let's go bowling, but I really don't want to miss the seminars.

Oops, having written the above, I went back into my computer room, in my nightdress and this is what I saw.

Guess I will have to be careful from now on. It will be even worse when they are working on our wing. Our living, dining room wall is all window and looks out onto the balcony where they will be working.

Unfortunately, our exercise class, followed by our Stand Up to Falls seminar was rather spoilt because they were drilling right outside the window. With the exercises, she could just do something and we could copy, but the poor young lady who was trying to talk to us about falls had to keep stopping whilst they made one heck of a noise. I even asked them if they could stop drilling for 20 minutes or so, but they wouldn't do so. With any luck, they shouldn't have to do any more drilling there on Friday. Our instructor was laughing at the end, drilling one moment, alarm bell the next. At least we won't have the alarm bells for another year.

As we finished early decided to head out to the asparagus farm. I had $65 worth of orders for both asparagus and rhubarb and then I forgot one friend. I ended up dividing my asparagus with her. I was going to make more soup but don't have enough now. My fault, I goofed. The farmer served me and popped a bag of their Kettle chips in my rhubarb bag as a thanks. I wish he hadn't, I tried some later, they are delicious. Very moreish. I have had to hide them from myself.

Asparagus Shandong-Style (Liang Ban Lu-Sun)

1 ½ lbs asparagus, trimmed and cut crosswise on the diagonal into 2" pieces
1 Tbs Japanese reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
2 drops red chile oil
½ tsp toasted sesame seeds

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add asparagus to pot and cook until tender-crisp and bright green, 1½–2 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain, then immediately plunge into a large bowl of ice water; set aside to cool, 2–3 minutes. Drain again, then transfer to paper towels, pat dry, and set aside.

2. Whisk together soy sauce, sesame oil, and chile oil in a medium bowl. Add asparagus and toss. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with sesame seeds.

Servings: 2

Source: Saveur

Author Notes
A specialty of Shandong province, this dish is traditionally reserved for banquets because asparagus is so expensive in China. But in the United States, when the price comes down in summer, take advantage of this flavorful dish.

Have a great day