Asparagus, Fiddleheads, Morels

Asparagus, Fiddleheads, Morel Mushrooms, Hot house tomatoes and hot house cucumbers. Those are the hot local items that we started our first days of the 2010 season with. What a great switch from last year where the first of the asparagus didn't show up until June! I personally feel that this current weather (slightly too reminiscent of last year's horrid spring) is just uncalled for. After such a nice April, it really is a disappointment to have our opening day with rain, 4 degrees and wind whipping my poor brave customers around. I was so glad to see that so many people braved the weather to greet us on our first day. Thank you so much! Every year I wonder if anyone will show up, and it always makes me so happy when you do.

Now on to the produce talk!!
Local asparagus is one of my favourite local veggies. Not because I'm particularly fond of asparagus, but because of its timing, it ushers in spring by being the first of the local veggies. Asparagus also grows with the weather. In ideal sunny and warm conditions, it can grow up to 12 inches in one 24 hour period! The weather that we are currently having however, is anything but ideal. These rainy days with daytime highs of 6 degrees mean that the green stalks have slowed down. Unless the weather changes for the better, I won't be expecting my next asparagus delivery until Monday! BOO!

Everything that you always wanted to know about...ASPARAGUS

If the weather gets hot hot hot again, the asparagus will grow very quickly, which will wear the plant out and shorten the season. If we get some cool weather with our warm spring (fingers crossed on the warm spring), the season will stretch out. Over all, we can expect to have locally grown asparagus for about 4 weeks.

Choosing local asparagus

Choose asparagus that has tight, dry tips that come to a point. Currently the tips are all bent over because of the hurricane force winds that we have been getting lately. Contrary to popular belief, thin asparagus does not a more tender stalk make. With local asparagus, especially the variety that I get from the wonderful grower that I have, the thicker stems are more tender than the thinner ones....trust me, it's true! Fine dining restaurants have been insisting on their suppliers providing them with thicker stalks of asparagus for so long that it is now a separate category. Mass produced asparagus is sorted with the thicker stems going to restaurants for a premium price (cause the chefs know what the good stuff is) and the thinner stems going to retail where customers mistakenly believe the thinner stems to be more tender.
Normally you should snap the 'woody ends' off of your asparagus, but don't bother with the asparagus from Crampton's unless the bunch has a pink tag on it. I buy from 2 different local growers, one whose asparagus comes with a pink tag and one whose asparagus only has an elastic band, no tag. My tagless local grower cuts those ends off of the asparagus delivering only the most succulent of stems to the store! When they have asparagus available, they are my grower of choice. Their crop has currently stalled due to the cold weather so I will be carrying both pink tagged, and non pink tagged asparagus this spring.

Storing

Store local asparagus, upright in your fridge, in a container of water ( the water should cover one to two inches of the base of the asparagus). This keeps your asparagus hydrated and makes sure that it keeps plump and firm. Asparagus has even been proven to keep on growing when stored with this method, so you may gain half of a centimeter of asparagus after you bring it home! Asparagus will keep in your fridge for up to 5 days.

Cooking

I personally prefer asparagus stir fried with garlic until it turns bright green, then tossed with parmesan cheese!! YUM! Mom likes to munch on Asparagus raw as she thinks that it tastes somewhat like raw peas. Though I don't like to eat asparagus raw by the spear, I do like it chopped and added to coleslaw, or vegetable salads. Brushed with olive oil and chucked on the grill makes for tender spears that keep the stove off during those summer bar b que days.

Boiling

Rinse your asparagus off to get any mud off. Bring enough water to cover asparagus to a boil. When boiling, place asparagus in water, and keep in water until it turns bright green. For slightly crunchy asparagus, boil for 2-3 minutes, for fully cooked soft asparagus, boil for 5-6 minutes. Asparagus tips cook faster than the stalks, so you may want to prepare them separately, or steam them standing up.

Steaming

Because asparagus tips cook faster than the stems, steaming asparagus upright is a great solution Find yourself an old coffee perk, or a tall stock pot. Bring enough water to come about an inch up the asparagus stems to a boil. Once the water is boiling add the asparagus spears upright, and cover immediately, cook for 4-8 minutes depending on thickness of stems,

Freezing

Asparagus freezes very well, just blanch (plunge in boiling water), for one minute, then let dry, place in freezer bags and freeze for up to one year.

I don't want to overwhelm everyone with information so I will leave the fiddleheads until the next posting!

Take Care
See you soon
Erin