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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| These cold wraps are a great grab and go snack item |
