This recipe offers you a great excuse to take a Saturday morning spring drive to a pick-your-own asparagus farm. Take along a small child, even if you have to borrow one from a friend – children are shorter and closer to the ground so you will have to do less bending over to snap the stalks, and kids are greatly amused by the hide-and-seek process required to find the stalks that are ready to pick.

• 1 ½ pounds fresh asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 pound sliced bread*
• 2 cups cooked ham, cubed
• 6 eggs
• 3 cups milk
• ½ sweet onion
• 1-2 tablespoons butter
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon dry mustard

In medium saucepan, sauté onion in 1-2 tablespoons of butter until softened and clear. Set aside. Lightly butter one side of the bread slices. Place half of the bread, buttered side up, in greased 9×13 pan; sprinkle with ½ cup of the cheese. Layer with asparagus,** ham, and cooked onions. Cover with remaining bread, buttered side up. In separate bowl, lightly beat eggs; add milk, onion, salt, and mustard. Pour eggs over asparagus. Cover the pan tightly and refrigerate overnight. To bake, preheat oven to 325 degrees, then bake for 50 minutes; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Return strata to oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and knife inserted in center comes out clean.

*If you are using a commercially made loaf from the grocery store, cut off the crusts before using. If you are using a baguette or similar firmly-textured bread, leave the crusts on but use 8 eggs instead of 6.

** You can parboil the asparagus before assembling the strata; place in a shallow saucepan and cover with water; cover pan and cook asparagus until just tender. However, we think this overcooks the asparagus, especially if it is freshly picked.