“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” –Oscar Wilde

Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine.  Makes 4 servings.

• 1 bunch fresh asparagus, trimmed
• Cooking spray
• Pepper to taste, sea salt (optional–you have a lot of salt in your soy sauce)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Arrange asparagus on a baking sheet.  Coat with cooking spray and season with salt and pepper.  Bake asparagus 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tender and starts to caramelize.  If you take it out while still crunchy and fresh in the middle, it’s not as good.  Pour sauce on asparagus immediately on taking it out of the oven, so it will sizzle.  Can use this sauce over salmon or whatever else you are baking with the meal.

Sauce:

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and slightly brown it (If you’re not used to doing a brown butter, all you have to do is put it in a saucepan over medium low heat for about 5 minutes or until it’s nutty and brown. Then spoon off the milk fat (butter foam) and discard. What you’re left with is a clear, rich brown butter. Because you lose a little volume by discarding the foam, always add a little bit more butter than called for in the original recipe).  Then, remove from heat and stir in soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.  Pour over the baked asparagus and enjoy.