Three years ago, I had a dream. A dream to eat asparagus from my garden. I obsessively watched Youtube videos, ordered some plants and put them in two of my raised beds.
And for that year and the next, I just watched it grow. Each year, more stalks, and last year looking quite edible. But I held off to let all the nutrients go into the roots and enhance the plant.
Two days ago, I returned to Youtube and typed in “asparagus harvest.” There was only one video, suggesting that basically you just pick it and eat it! The video I did find showed a woman twisting off the stalks by hand and recommended harvesting when the stalks are 6-9 inches high. It also recommended harvesting in the morning, putting the stalks in cold water, then in a bag in the fridge.
I went out yesterday morning and plucked a nice long stalk. And then, I ate it. Raw. It was very tender and very flavorful. It did not need cooking at all.
I got nine more stalks, rinsed and soaked them in water and put them in the fridge. For dinner, I cut them into pieces and steamed them a very short while with some baby kale (also from the garden). Then I added some more baby greens to the hot veggies. I made some Israeli cous cous medley from Trader Joe’s and grilled chicken thighs. Everything got doused in lemon juice, a little white balsamic and olive oil. Topped with toasted walnuts (pine nuts would have been better) and gorgonzola, it was a perfect salad to eat outside on the screen porch on a perfect late-spring day.
Yum!