Monday, April 23, 2012

Spring Is Here: Time to Eat Your Asparagus

I ate asparagus this weekend for the first time in 10 months. Don't get me wrong; I love asparagus, but I also enjoy eating with the rhythms of the harvest calendar. Local asparagus will be available until (roughly) the end of June and I'll make sure to eat enough to last me until this time next year.

Wanting to taste their true flavor, I put the asparagus on a baking sheet and cooked them in the oven (350 degrees) until they just started to soften. I took them out of the oven and let carryover cooking finish the cooking process. I want my asparagus to be bright green—not school cafeteria green—when I eat them. I seasoned with a touch of unrefined sea salt and fresh lemon juice; nothing else was needed.

Click here to read instructions on how to make asparagus soup, which I wrote about last May.

Click here to view the harvest calendar for fruits and vegetables in my region. Obviously the exact timing and duration will be different in different areas, but the patterns of what's available when is basically the same no matter the region.

4 comments:

Stuff I Do said...

We are still eating over wintered Kale and Spinach here. That asparagus looks so good!

Paula Hong said...

Is it true that with using sea salt you will lack iodine?

Chef Rob said...

Yes, no iodine in sea salt. But there's plenty of iodine in the salt in processed/packaged foods and drinks, so most Americans aren't in danger of iodine deficiency.

If your diet is completely free of common table salt, incorporate seaweed into your diet; it's a great source of iodine.

Paula Hong said...

I love seaweed!