It’s finally happening! Asparagus shoots are literally sprouting up before our eyes! Did you know that once an asparagus bed is planted, you must wait three years to harvest the vegetable? That’s a long time, folks! Well we planted and we waited and now we are simply delighted with the fruits, well veggies, actually, of our labor.
Right now we are only picking about 4 spears each day. So they wait in a glass of water in the fridge until we have enough to cook for the family.
Once you’ve planted and waited for your asparagus bed to mature for harvesting, what is so fun about this vegetable is that it will produce shoots daily. I’ve heard that during the peak of summer it’s possible to need to cut shoots twice a day just to keep up with the growth!
Sometimes we roast our asparagus in the oven, but when it’s fresh from the garden, all I want to do is enhance it’s naturally bright taste by just barely steaming it. Amazing, and delicious.
Fresh Asparagus
asparagus stalks with woody stalks trimmed off
olive oil spray
kosher salt
What to do: Place washed and trimmed stalks in a pan and spray lightly with olive oil. Lightly sprinkle salt over stalks and then add about 1/2 inch of water to the pan. Bring water to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and allow asparagus to simmer about 5 minutes until bright green and easily pierced with a fork. The trick is to cook it until the stalks are tender, but still firm and to stay far away from overcooking or letting the stalks become “bendy” or “mushy.”
Would you believe me if I told you that this little lady cleared the plate by herself!?
post and pictures by Sunshine
