Asparagus Is Up

The asparagus patch is up and growing once again. Supposedly, eating the first asparagus of spring brings good luck and I always pop the first spear into my mouth.  I have decided I only like it fresh, not canned or frozen.  It is easy to grow and comes back faithfully year after year. 

FYI: Medicinally, second century physician, Galen, describes asparagus as "cleansing and healing".  High in vitamins and necessary chemical compounds, it is used in Ayurvedic medicines.  Asparagus was eaten 20,000 years ago in Egypt.  Greek and Romans ate it fresh and dried it for winter use.  France's Louis XIV had special greenhouses built for growing it.  The points d'amour, or love tips, were served as a delicacy to Madame Pompadour.  It became available in the United States in 1850. 

Asparagus Time

Though it is near freezing, (yesterday it was 80 degrees), with rivers of rain, hail and tornadoes, it is asparagus time again. The first vegetable to arrive in the spring,  I am plucking handfuls and faced with what to do with it all.  I have quite a lot of it left from last spring.  It's in the freezer.  But, I don't really like frozen asparagus; it is the texture I presume. Pickling it would turn it to mush like freezing.  My husband won't eat it.  So, I guess I will have to start marinating it, roasting it and eating lots of it.  That, and  giving it away to my cooking daughter.  

First Asparagus Of Spring

This is the first asparagus I have picked of the new year. Supposedly, eating the first asparagus of spring brings good luck. So I ate that sucker raw on the spot. I'll be getting more soon. I love them any way they are fixed; braised, pickled, roasted, with lemon or aoli or a velvety cheese sauce. I freeze them with one of those machines that sucks the air out of the package and they keep like the day I froze them.