Asparagus

Spring is asparagus time. With the calendar quickly turning to June I thought I should get this out there. On this corner of the planet we go asparagus picking. Yes gypsy followers we find wild asparagus. Actually this is a tradition my husband enjoys. He loves to hunt and gather wild food no matter where we live. This asparagus thing is something he grew up doing and continues to enjoy whenever we find ourselves in this neck of the woods as they say around here. Here in Wisconsin you can find onions or ramps, mushrooms, berries, fiddle heads and who knows what else. I actually went mushroom picking myself when I was a child. That is one tricky adventure and you had better know what you pick when it comes to mushrooms. I digress. Asparagus one of the lily family's cultivated forms. The beautiful tender stalks are apple green with purple-tinged tips. There we go with the colorful food thing again. Its funny how nature knows exactly the colors that go together - something I learned early on as an interior designer. Asparagus contains a good amount of Vitamin A and is a fair source of iron and Vitamins B and C. When we get them wild we blanch them. Blanch means to plunge into boiling water briefly, then into cold water to stop the cooking process. When I have more than I can handle just plain I will make asparagus soup. I just cook the asparagus in chicken stock with a little leek and celery. Then I puree it in the blender. So good. I ordered a food dehydrator this week. It should arrive today so I will put some asparagus to the test. So enjoy the great asparagus even if you buy it at the store.