The Joy of Asparagus

Three words...I love asparagus. 

I love it roasted, grilled, blanched, raw or gasp! even out of a jar or can, which is how my dear grandmother used to serve it.

So, when I saw these beauts at the Farmer's Market on Wednesday, I had to purchase. 

Please disregard the mess in the background...

Last Saturday, Casey and I bought some asparagus but those were of a much more "slender" variety; the ones available on Wednesday were simply monstrous.  As I picked out my asparagus, (while Maggie, in a moment of amazing behavior, simply sat and waited patiently) a woman approached me and asked if these particular asparagus would be tough because they are so big.  I said I wasn't actually sure...and then I remembered a conversation I had with my family about Barbara Kingsolver's novel, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and her discussion of asparagus. She says that size, in fact, doesn't affect the tenderness of the asparagus, but one must only be mindful of size, as it will have an impact on cooking time.  Another common misconception is that the smaller spears come from early harvests.  The truth is some plants (often depending on health and available nutrients) simply produce larger spears.  Interesting stuff, right?

Anyways, I purchased about a pound of this lovely veggie along with some spring garlic and a bag of arugula and headed on my way.  This afternoon, as the sun started to peak through the clouds and the temperature creeped up, I was craving a light and refreshing salad and decided to create a simple dish out of the ingredients I had purchased.

I first washed and spun out the arugula and placed it in a bowl.  I then washed the asparagus and trimmed the tough ends, cutting just about a 1/4-1/2 an inch off the bottom.  I took three of the stalks and using a veggie peeler, created ribbons of asparagus, which I placed on top of the bed of arugula.  To this, I added shredded Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. 

This salad was so yummy! The peppery arugula, tender and slightly sweet asparagus, salty parm and tangy lemon. Just perfect! I plated myself a dish, but then just decided to eat this salad out of the bowl.  I will also admit, I slipped Maggie a piece of cheese...what can I say, I'm a sucker.

What are your favorite spring time veggies?

Adventures in Farmer's Marketing...and Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote

So, I feel an apology is in order because this blog was created with the intention of journaling our adventures in cookin' up all the veggies in our weekly CSA share (Community Supported Agriculture--for those not in the know) from Denison Farm, and I have yet to actually talk about food from our CSA.  Well, that's because we are currently counting down, with baited breath, for the first week of June, when the first delivery is supposed to arrive--weather permitting, obviously.  If it's anything like last year, it should look something like this:

In the meantime, we will have to satisfy our cravings for local, organic produce by stopping into the Saratoga Farmer's Market, which just reopened in its outdoor space on High Rock Avenue.  Yippe! Our Farmer's Market is really quite impressive, with everything from baked goods, to eggs, to jellies and jam, to cheese, to beautiful plants and flowers, and of course the requisite seasonal produce.  If the weather is nice (or even if it's not), the Farmer's Market is the place to be on Saturday mornings. And it certainly was this past Saturday.  Casey and I walked down to the Market mid-morning, and ran into many familiar faces along with hundreds of dogs and babies.  In a strategic move on our part, Casey and I both left our pups at home in order to avoid a disastrous public scene...we tend to not play to well with others.

Fresh fish in Upstate New York. I heard the scallops were amazing...these are next on my agenda.

We spent about 45 minutes wandering amongst the various vendors. Pickin's were a bit slim at some..much of the produce was still of cold weather variety (ie potatoes, carrots, greens), but we managed to pick up a few goodies. I left with a bunch of rhubarb and a scone and Casey purchased a bunch of broccoli rabe and a scone.  Now, scones normally aren't my favorite baked good, but the folks at Rock Hill Bakehouse really do it right.  I tend to think scones are so dry they suck all the moisture out of my mouth and are often as hard as a rock, but these were just perfect.  A little dry but not too much, a touch sweet and a touch of tart from the currants...I think I could have eaten 5. We also sampled a bit of their savory foccacia...one word...AMAZING...I have been dreaming about eating a whole loaf of it for the last couple of nights. 

Casey-enjoying her scone ;-)

Well, last night,  I was craving my favorite late spring/early summer, super, simple treat.  I guess it could be described as strawberry-rhubarb compote, for lack of a better term. If you like tart, sweet, sloppy goodness this dish is for you.  So, with Maggie supervising at my feet, I got to work chopping the rhubarb into 1/2" pieces. I used about a pound of rhubarb for this "recipe." 

I combined the rhubarb with (yes, I cheated) a bag of frozen strawberries.  I must admit for this recipe, I like using frozen berries, I think they just break down a bit better.  To the berry/barb mix, I added a 1/4 cup of water and a couple of tablespoons of granulated sugar, turned the heat on and just let it rip. 

Super easy...let the mixture boil and break down for about 25 minutes and let cool. 

It's delish over vanilla ice cream or biscuits. I ate mine this morning over some Fage yogurt.  Perfect breakfast on a beautiful spring morning.

What are your favorite Farmer's Market goodies or early summer recipes? I'm always looking for new ideas!