Five years ago I planted asparagus seeds in our garden, not realizing most people skip this step and just buy shoots. It took a bit of patience and quite of bit of weeding to keep my baby asparagus from being swallowed by grass, but it’s paying off this year! For a plant that takes so long to get going, it goes a bit crazy once it’s established. I’ve been harvesting a handful every morning and I’m seeing tons of it in the local grocery stores for wonderful prices.
Some asparagus facts:
- It’s a great source of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and vitamin K (1 cup has more than 100% of our daily needs of K).
- Fresh is best. If you can find a store that has it stored in a cup of water that’s best…it keeps it from drying out.
- As it gets older the bottom of the stalks will become tough. Trim the ends a bit so it’s crisp, but not hard and chewy.
- If you’re not going to eat it right away, wrap the ends in a wet paper towel and store in an open bag in your crisper.
It’s a pretty versatile veggie: you can eat it raw, sauteed, roasted, steamed, boiled or grilled! Here are a few ideas:
- Shave it! Use a potato peeler to shave it into small pieces to add to a salad. Need to save a little time? Just chop it into 1-2 inches pieces. It adds a great crunch!
- Sauteed! https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/92845/sauteed-garlic-asparagus/
- Grilled! https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/17445/grilled-asparagus/
- Roasted! The cheese is delicious on this and got a few of my pickier eaters to try a few spears. 🙂 https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/214931/oven-roasted-asparagus/
