An Affair with Asparagus

I've been so consumed with berries and cherries that I have been neglecting my good friend asparagus here on the blog. Asparagus is like a childhood friend. Now she lives too far away to have a day to day impact on adult life. But because relations with her were so strong at some point it doesn't matter how many miles or how many days separate us. Whenever there is an opportunity to catch up on life there is always a strong sense of comfort and appreciation towards one another and a longing desire to be together in the interim.

Asparagus was a memorable food from my childhood. We didn't eat it often and certainly not seasonally.  Well I suppose it was seasonal wherever the asparagus was grown because asparagus is not a vegetable that can be forced. She comes up but once a year in late spring to display all her glory and then ducks into the shadows while annual vegetables steal the summer spot light biding time until next season. So whenever that garden miracle occurred, be it in China, Peru, Germany or Australian in the case of imports or California, Michigan or Washington in the case of domestic commercial production, and the veggie showed up in our local chain grocery store, my mom would purchase a bundle of spears and either grill, steam or saute them. They were a preferred vegetable side at my childhood dinner table.  Perhaps it was because they seemed novel each time they showed up.  Perhaps it was because of what we called them: monkey tails! It was the clever name my mom and uncles gave them when the were children and it stuck with the next generation. "Are we having monkey tails for dinner?" I would eagerly ask each night after knowing that my mom had bought some at the store. My relationship with asparagus was strong, I absolutely loved eating it, but is was sporadic if not somewhat unpredictable. But never the less it had a lasting impact on my taste buds and I always look forward to its return in spring.

This borrowed caption shows how asparagus is harvested from a home garden.

As a seasonal vegetable, asparagus comes when it comes and goes just as quickly. It's not a vegetable that can be extended early into the season and it will only come back nice and tender (read edible) so many times before nature must take its course and monkey tail enthusiasts must wait until next season.  Because asparagus is a late spring vegetable I use it to gauge the timing of the harvest for the year. Though not the first vegetable to come up, it is a good of the season's timing. This year asparagus came early and so too have the other crops that followed (apricots and cherries for instance as you can read about here). Luckily asparagus decided to stick around this year. I'm not sure why or what factors played into this gift, but the farmer I buy asparagus from has been selling it for several weeks longer than normal.  Generally speaking I consume asparagus by steaming, grilling, sauteing, or broiling it. I use it as a dinner side and I love it mixed with other spring greens in scrambled eggs or omelets in the morning and as an addition to pasta in the afternoon. Its even yummy thrown on a spring pizza. But this year I have been challenged to find new and creative ways to eat asparagus since it is only appealing as is for so long. Even though I've eaten my fair share I can't ignore asparagus so long as she is around, so I've had to get creative. A quick note about asparagus before I delve into a recipe I recently tried and loved and an original one I tested out on the 4th of July. Asparagus does not preserve well (although I've never pickled it- which sounds good). The preservation guidebooks I refer to recommend freezing it, but I find that it is excessively soggy once cooked and it is never as tender as it was in the spring.  The entire spear takes on the tough stringy-ness like the bottom of a fresh spear (which you would cut off). There are other veggies, like corn, peas and green beans, that store much better for winter use. So when it comes to asparagus it is wise to appreciate her while she is here and let her go with confidence knowing that she will return just when your desire and longing for her is strongest. She is indeed the epitome of seasonal eating!

Asparagus can be served, by itself, steamed, broiled, grilled or sauteed.

You will find basic ways to prepare asparagus under the recipe tab or by clicking here.  Since asparagus season lasted longer than normal this year I also had a chance to try out some new and creative ways to use asparagus including the recipe for Asparagus Goldenrod found below. Asparagus Goldenrod is a breakfast dish combining the spears with hard boiled eggs. It is a vegetarian dish unless you add a meat on the side like I did. In fact, it reminds me of a modern version of biscuits and gravy with a vegetarian twist. This is a great savory breakfast meal for the weekend or thrown together on a weekday if you hard boil and peel the eggs the night before. 

This non traditional savory breakfast will brighten your morning and fill your stomach.

Another great way to use asparagus is in a cold Cream Cheese Snack Wrap. These tasty wraps were made with ingredients I had on hand and required very little prep work. Once they were assembled they were left sitting on the table for the household to snack on. It was the 4th of July and we had a yummy french toast brunch that morning so we only needed something light to tie us over until my all-American dinner of hamburgers, watermelon, summer squash and root beer floats (everything made from scratch of coarse). After brunch we went on a midday hike so we were all a little hungry, but because of the afternoon heat and the fact that I was already consumed with prepping for dinner I wanted to keep the munchies simple. These guys did just trick!

These cold wraps are a great grab and go snack item

Individual Flash Freezing Technique for Preserving Berries

Berries are quite delicate and don't keep for very long in the fridge. After just a few days they start to get soft and darken and if they are not stored in a single layer (ie you leave them in the berry basket they come in) they can even begin to mildew in that short amount of time. Luckily berries preserve quite well when frozen using a technique called Individual Flash Freezing. Once frozen berries are great in pies, cobblers, cakes and other desserts. They also work well in smoothies and other frozen drinks.  Berries can be thawed and turned into sauces, chutneys and spreads. They are great thrown into oatmeal just before its done cooking or in pancakes and waffles where they add a touch of sweet and juicy flavor to an otherwise boring and routine breakfast. They do not work well thawed and eaten as if fresh.  Keep in mind that once frozen, thawed berries are very mushy. What is preserved however is the incredible color and sweet flavor.

Raspberries are frozen unwashed in a single layer.

Begin by washing* and placing berries that have been patted dry in a single layer on a cookie sheet covered with parchment or freezer paper. If you are freezing strawberries, slice off the green top also. Freezer paper is sometimes available in grocery or big box stores only on a seasonal basis, but it is a lot cheaper than parchment so I recommend picking it up if its available near you. *Note: I actually don't wash the berries I buy because I know the farmer I get them from and know that they use growing methods I approve of and that they wash them before taking them to market. So for me its a time saver- one less step!  I do wash berries I pick at u-pick farms.

Tops are cut off strawberries and then placed on a baking sheet to be individually frozen.

Place the sheet in a freezer for at least 2-3 hours.  Thicker berries (like strawberries) take longer to freeze. Once frozen, place berries in a freezer baggie or other freezer container. Be sure to label and date the container.  Most preservation guides will tell you berries keep for 1 year. Its true that in a year you will be able to replenish your stock, but I can say that they are just as good when kept longer. One year we significantly over picked blueberries at a u-pick farm (just like grocery shopping can be dangerous when you are hungry, so can picking berries when you ran out of last year's stores early and haven't had any for months!) and it took two years to use up the stock.  The quality of the berries did not diminish in the second year in my opinion. I date the container for another reason. To me this serves as an important reminder of when I need to pick or purchase the following year in order to replenish my supply. Although seasonality fluctuates each year, I've found that the date on the container gives me a good idea plus or minus two weeks of when I should keep my eye out at the market or start checking with u-pick locations. Its a good idea to keep a preservation log just for this purpose. Two or three years into this seasonal style of eating you will be able to tell how early or late the season is based on precedent with the very first crop. In my region, I use asparagus to judge this! Even though there are earlier home crops, asparagus is the first reliable market crop. It can't be forced earlier in a green house, hot house or cold frame so I consider it an to be honest vegetable.

Its crucial to label and date anything you preserve.  Keep a preservation log or write directly on the container.

The great thing about this technique is that once the berries are frozen individually, they stay separated even when thrown into a container together.  That way you can remove and use only what you need without having to thaw out your entire stock. Get ready to enjoy berry smoothies and cobblers all year long!