Today's microwave recipe: How to cook fresh asparagus in the microwave, quick 'n' easy and absolutely delicious. Weight Watchers Friendly. Low Cal. Low Carb. Naturally Gluten Free. Paleo. Vegetarian. Not just vegan, "Vegan Done Real".
~recipe updated, first published back in 2014~
~cuz everybody should eat asparagus this good!~
~more recently updated recipes~
F-A-I-L. How in bloody h-e-double-toothpicks in nine years of cooking vegetables did I ever miss this most basic way to cook asparagus? These are my explanations feeble excuses for somehow overlooking the microwave for cooking asparagus:

"Couldn't see for looking," my mother used to say when she couldn't find something and then suddenly, there it was, right before her eyes.
Some times the most obvious is least expected.
Some times it's possible to hide in plain sight.

When the first asparagus showed up in the supermarket a couple of weeks ago, Missouri was still a frozen, snowy pla…

Today's easy pancake recipe: Whole-wheat pancakes with fresh spinach, light and fluffy. The pancakes are "dyed" green (St. Patrick's Day, anyone?!) from the all-natural spinach but yet, there's no bitter spinach taste at all. Surprisingly good, frankly they taste just like regular pancakes except maybe a little "greener". Thanks to both Greek yogurt and spinach, they're also high in protein. And besides, aren't they just plain fun?! Weight Watchers Friendly, WW 2 PointsPlus. Vegetarian.
So let's talk pancakes, shall we? Cuz everybody loves 'em, at least my family does! I don't repeat many recipes in my column Kitchen Parade – but pancakes are an exception! There's my sister's recipe (thick and fluffy with tiny, small, medium and large batches for changing family sizes) and my mom's recipe (the classic! calling for either buttermilk or "sweet" milk) and cornmeal pancakes (especially good with blueberries) and …

Oh people, what a gorgeous cornbread recipe this is! Sweet Potato Cornbread is made with a whole field full of sweet potatoes – kidding! but lots! But there's no flour so it's naturally wheat-free and gluten-free. Seasonal. Vegetarian. Golden color and delicious! Total winner, here!
Y'know, trips to the mailbox just aren't what they used to be, are they? In fact, they're hardly necessary. A bill or two, a statement or two. The odd old-fashioned if much-appreciated thank you note and postcard. But after that? It's just junk mail that hits the recycling bin with barely a glance.

But when Southern Living magazine hits the mailbox? Be still, my beating heart! Every month I want to settle in right away, thank you very much. Pour a cup of coffee, now please. (If this sounds like a paid advertisement or a sponsored post, banish the idea! I'm a happy paid subscriber. Southern Living knows this blogger from nobody.)

Mine may be a northern soul but page after pag…