Classic Roasted Spring Asparagus

For this recipe of classic roasted asparagus, I pulled out all the stops! I sprung for the plumy purple variety of asparagus only in season for a few weeks in my area, and let my Small Fries peel the bottoms.

To their surprise, the asparagus was green on the inside and looked quite pretty all aligned in a row coated in California's best olive oil and Maldon sea salt. For the last surprise, I asked the kids what color the asparagus would be out of the oven. When I pulled out a sheet pan of vibrantly GREEN asparagus - "Hmm I wonder what those color changing asparagus taste like?"

In my experience, learning to see the whimsy and fun in foods like vegetables is key to getting kids interested in taking the first bite.