Cutting the asparagus: I find it easiest to use a vegetable peeler to make the strips and start by holding the stem end of the asparagus and running the peeler from an inch or two from the bottom all the way up to the tip. When the peeler no longer “catches,” I flip the spear and do the same on the other side. I then slice the remaining strip into small pieces on the diagonal and thinly slice the part that I was holding into rounds. That way, you get a little bit of visual and textural variety. (See photo for illustration of the three cuts.)