So, locals, did you go to the farmers market? We did, and we bought chèvre, handmade bread, a couple of parsley plants, asparagus, and eggs. This is less than our usual haul, but we were pretty good on food for this week already.
Also, you’ll note lots of asparagus at the market until June or so. This is asparagus season, so get it while it’s fresh, in-season, and tastiest. If you would like to know how to keep it for longer, I recommend freezing it if you have the freezer room. Here’s how:
– Wash the asparagus in water and use a veggie brush if it hasn’t been scrubbed of dirt.
– Cut the tough ends off, about two inches from the bottom, place the bottoms in your compost bin if you have one, and chop the rest into bite-sized pieces or leave the stalks whole.
– Boil a large pot of water on the stove.
– Blanch the asparagus by putting it in boiling water for about 3 minutes and then drain. You can blanch smaller diameter stalks for 2 minutes, medium for 3, and large for 4.
– Transfer it to ice cold water for at least 4 minutes to stop the blanching process, and dry thoroughly after to reduce ice crystals.
– Store in the freezer in air-tight, freezer-proof containers such as freezer bags with the excess air squeezed out, and to squeeze more into available space you can alternate stalks up or down.
These won’t taste quite as good as they did when fresh, but it will taste better than and cost you less than what you get in the grocery store in the winter. You can also boil down the asparagus water to half its volume to use in veggie stock, if you keep any. You can also consider donating excess fresh asparagus to your local food pantry – as I’ve mentioned recently, Ample Harvest will help you do that.
If you went, what did you buy? Any favorite ways to prepare asparagus? Happy Eating!
