We had penne with asparagus for dinner on Thursday and, boy, was it good! Here is a tip to make preparation super easy. While your salted pasta water is coming up to a boil, snap the ends off the asparagus (if you are being fancy you can peel the asparagus first for a slightly higher yield), cut the stalks at an angle about the same size as your penne, and leave the tips separated. With two minutes left on your pasta toss all the pieces into the boiling water except for the tips. Reserve a cup of pasta water.  Drain the pasta and asparagus when the pasta is ready and throw in the tips. The heat of the pasta, asparagus, and some of the reserved pasta water is enough to cook the tips. Stir the pasta, asparagus, and enough reserved pasta water  to make a thin sauce. Put in bowls with a drizzle of good olive oil and some grated Parmesan cheese if using.

One pot, super easy, simply delicious!

Whole grain penne with asparagus