The full article of my culinary adventure is published here, in The Daily Meal.

The corresponding slideshow video of the food is here.

I generally roast asparagus these days because the caramelization they achieve from the oven makes them thoroughly delectable. And it’s quite easy too: just douse with olive oil and sprinkle on salt, lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake at 425 until they get good and brown. Generally about 15-20 minutes.

Now that the spring asparagus has arrived I am just as likely to steam them or poach them in lightly boiling water until they have just softened. About 5 minutes or so; you do not want them to become limp and mushy. Think “al dente.” Pictured here, you can see that I top them with crisp, crumbled bacon – any kind you like will work, including turkey bacon – and finely diced shallots or red onion. Dressing is good olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar or lemon juice if you prefer. Don;t forget salt. And…voila. Some beautiful eating.

Hello spring.

Discover the fructose content of common foods, beverages, sauces, and even sugar substitutes in our infographic “Fructose Overload.” Use the embed code to share it on your website.

Discover the fructose content of common foods, beverages, sauces, and even sugar substitutes in our infographic "Fructose Overload."

Remember when avocado was inextricably linked to guacamole? Well now it’s in sandwiches, in smoothies, in breakfast, lunch and dinner meals, and in snacks in between. Avocado has become a national obsession.

I’ll smear it on grainy toast for the kids’ breakfast. And I might even top it off with a few pistachio nuts. I just used last night’s leftover chicken to make a chicken salad – without mayonnaise – by mashing in creamy avocado instead. (pictured below) A squeeze of lemon or lime juice, a touch of oil perhaps, and a pinch of salt, you’re good to go. At dinner, consider adding thinly sliced red onion, maybe a few radish slices and some grapefruit sections to avocado chunks for a super tasty and healthy salad.

Three things to know.
1) Eat ‘em when they’re just ripe. That is, still somewhat firm, but definitely yielding. Hard as a rock is no good – you want to easily be able to make an indent with pressure from your thumb.
2) You can expedite the ripening process by placing avocados in a closed brown paper bag. It’s science.
3) Yes, they are caloric and supposedly “high fat.” It’s the good fat and you want it. Avocados are considered one of the “super foods.”

Here are 39 Deliciously Unexpected Healthy Avocado Recipes And here’s a vid of the kid and I making guacamole.

Avocado Chicken Salad - No mayo was used

ENJOY WHAT YOU LOVE. Chefs like Rick Bayless and Eric Ripert don’t try to supplant chicken-liver crostini with droopy steamed vegetables. They relish what’s excellent, skip what’s mediocre and stop when they are sated.

COOK AT HOME OFTEN, BUT KEEP IT SIMPLE. “Chefs do not cook at home the way they cook at work,” Ms. Adato said. “Every meal does not need to be a giant event.” For lunch, even an exalted gastronome like Thomas Keller might stick to a swirl of hummus and quinoa with some braised vegetables.

FOCUS ON FLAVOR. Chefs like Nancy Silverton, Sang Yoon and Michael Psilakis know that the complex flavors of spices, herbs, salt, lemon juice or vinegar can amp up the pleasure and mitigate the need for mindless nibbling. “It does make you feel more satisfied,” Ms. Adato said. “You feel like you ate something. You had an experience.”

And there’s also this good looking recipe for Curried Egg Salad.

Before

If there is any advantage to the white meat breast, it’s that it is both lean and quick to cook. So, feeling the need to eat “clean”, I picked up a package of thinly sliced breasts for dinner with the objective to max out the flavor with a minimum of added calories. What has become super convenient is that so many markets now have those self-serve “olive bars.” You know the ones I mean…stocked with not only assorted olives, but marinated artichokes, peppers and the like, all of which pair perfectly with a plain old chicken breast.

Baked Lemon Chicken Breasts with Artichokes, Peppers and Jalapeno can be thrown together in five minutes and cooked on a single baking sheet in another 15. Just brush a baking sheet with a little oil for lubrication, season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides, and feel free to sprinkle any other favorite dry spice if you like; I added a touch of ancho chile powder. I topped the chicken with grilled artichoke hearts and lively peppadew peppers from the olive bar as well as my own lemon slices, some whole garlic cloves and a sliced jalapeno pepper. Be creative: you could easily use olives and capers from the olive bar too, an onion or scallion wouldn’t be bad, an even a sprinkle of vinegar will perk up the profile even further.

After

UPDATE: Here is another really good looking option to spice up chicken breasts with some serious seasoning, but still super clean eating…from one of the foremost fitness, health and wellness experts, David Kirsch.

The pleasure of eating a candy bar lasts but a few minutes. Burning off the calories it delivers can take nearly three-quarters of an hour.

To lose one pound by exercising, you need to burn approximately 3,500 calories. It can take days of moderate exercise to do this. A better strategy for weight loss involves a two-pronged approach: exercising and cutting calories.

Although exercise by itself isn’t the fast track to weight loss, it does offer important benefits beyond cancelling out calories. It slightly increases the rate at which you burn calories even when you’re not working out. And pounds lost through boosting your activity level consist almost entirely of fat, not muscle.

Do the math

Start with this number: 3,500. That’s how many calories are stored in a pound of body fat. With that number you can tally up how much weight you can lose through activity, cutting calories, or both.

Walking or jogging uses roughly 100 calories per mile. (Precisely how many calories you’ll burn depends on a number of things, including your weight and how fast you walk.) So you’d lose a pound for every 35 miles you walk — provided you keep food intake and other activities constant.
If you walk briskly (at a pace of 4 miles per hour) for 30 minutes on five out of seven days, you’ll log 10 miles a week. That means it would take three-and-a-half weeks to lose one pound if the number of calories you consume stays the same.
If you alter your diet and cut back by 250 calories a day (½ cup of ice cream or two sugar-sweetened sodas), you’d lose a pound in two weeks.
By eating 250 fewer calories and walking for 30 minutes a day, it would take just over a week to lose one pound. Reducing calorie intake even more and exercising more would further speed the process.

UPDATE: We’re in. Thanks to those who voted, I’ll be taking this recipe to Houston to compete live against the other three finalists. Go, Fight, Win!

Seriously, does that not look good?

Books for adult friends with a sense of humor:

1. Can you think of even one single man who wouldn’t be thrilled to receive a book entitled
How to Live With a Huge Penis? I can’t. Buy.com.

2. Who says coloring is for kids only? Here is Coloring for Grown-Ups: The Adult Activity Book. Amazon.com.

3. For those particularly obsessed by breasts, fear not. There’s Color My Boobs!: A Titillating Coloring Book for Adults. Amazon.com.

4. A young, free-range chicken… a dominating, ravenous chef… 50 recipes to make every dinner a turn-on… Yes, it’s here, so go ahead and dominate dinner with 50 Shades of Chicken. Fiftyshadesofchicken.com.

For New York-lovers:

5. All types of items — onesies, messenger bags, doggie hoodies — that say NY hearts ME. Get ‘em here.

6. All about New York [*Caveat: Most of these have to purchased in person]. FlavorWire.com.

7. Yo Brooklyn: A hip neighborhood type map for your hipster peeps. Etsy.com.

For foodies:

8. Cool looking stainless steel spice rack, $89. Emmohome.com.

9. I LOVE this kitchen knife set with unique holder. See why it’s also known as “The EX” ($130). Ricsb.com

For those with a passion for coffee and bacon:

10. What would you do with coffee syrup? Pour it over ice cream and into drinks… DavesCoffeeStore.com.

11. High end bacon and stuff. Food52.com.

12. Funky glassware. Uncommongoods.com.

13. Even More Gifts for Food Lovers, according to the Village Voice, from books and accessories to lobster and booze. VillageVoice.com.

For parents of toddlers:

14. The “onesie” that says 9 Months Ago My Mommy Read 50 Shades of Grey. Etsy.

For the 1 percent:

15. Got $28,000 to spare? Might be time for that new spiral wine cellar… TheFancy.com.

Shop away!