Stinky Pee: Back in Season

"You know, when you get your first asparagus, or your first acorn squash, or your first really good tomato of the season, those are the moments that define the cook's year. I get more excited by that than anything else." -Mario Batali

In the odd event you haven't quite woken up from winter hibernation, you might not have noticed that spring has sprung! That's right- it's that time of year when the threat of snow is gone and the trees stretch their limbs and drop pounds of pollen on everything. (Seriously...everything.) And while it's safe to say that most people are not the biggest fans of allergy-induced runny noses, few can deny that spring brings with it one of the most delicious vegetables around:

ASPARAGUS!

This vegetable is documented to have been used as a vegetable and medicine as early as the third century AD. The young shoots of the vegetable are what's normally eaten, and this 'superfood' is rich in protein, fiber, vitamins A, C, E, and K, among others. Not to mention that asparagus is low in calories and sodium and contains no cholesterol. Wow!

But what makes asparagus particularly well known is the effect it has on people's pee. Most people who have eaten asparagus know that when one visits the restroom after nibbling on these delicious shoots, your pee will, well...stink. There has actually been debate as to whether or not all people produce this stench after consuming asparagus, as only a fraction of people claim to have noticed it. While some believed that people digest asparagus differently (with some digesting in such a way as to produce the stench and others not), a study done in Israel in the 1980s proved otherwise. The study showed that even if one didn't smell their own 'asparagus urine,' other people could detect the smell. Yes, that's right- these study subjects smelled each other's pee. It's now believed that everybody produces the asparagus pee smell, but only about a quarter of the world population has the genes that allow them to detect the smell!

Fun facts aside, check out the asparagus in your local produce section. The vegetable's season starts in mid-April and lasts just over two months- plenty of time to get asparagus into tons of your meals. To start you off, here's one of me and Karl's favorite recipes:

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Shrimp and Asparagus in a Cilantro Remoulade

Ingredients:

*Most of these serving sizes are really flexible, so feel free to use as much or as little as you see fit.*

• cilantro (you'll want a decent amount- a big handful will do)
• garlic (1-3 cloves)
• lemon
• olive oil
• shrimp (deveined, deshelled, etc)
• asparagus (cut to bite-sized pieces)
• hot pepper
• grape tomatoes

1. Finely chop the cilantro and garlic. Zest the lemon until you have roughly 1 tsp of rind (you can use a cheese grater to get shavings pretty easily).
2. Over medium-low heat, saute the shrimp and cilantro/garlic/lemon zest mixture in ~ 1 tbsp of olive oil.
3. Once the shrimp are cooked, add asparagus and hot pepper. Use as much hot pepper as you want- the more seeds you use, the spicier your meal will tend to be.
4. When the asparagus is cooked to your liking, add tomatoes (cut in halves) and saute briefly- no more than a minute.

And that's it! This meal is delicious over a bed of angel-hair pasta or cous-cous. If you want to change up the flavor, substitute the cilantro with another leafy, green herb (like parsley) or the grape tomatoes with any soft, colorful veggie (like red bell peppers).

Here's hoping your meals are delicious and your pee is stinky! :D