It's wild asparagus season in my neck of the woods

[Blackdog Lin]

And boy! are we enjoying it. Went foraging twice last week to the tune of about 4 lbs., (steamed w/butter sauce twice, pasta salad loaded with asparagus once, and yesterday morning an asparagus-loaded quichey-thing); and yesterday gathered another 3 lbs. Hoping for one more trip this week. Love getting free and fresh food.

Cream of asparagus soup tonight!

Anyone else?

[iris lily]

Wow! I've never gone hunting for asperagus. We've got a small patch or two in the community garden that no one harvests, and I just break it off nd eat it there, no cooking necessary. I love strawberry and asperagus season.

Don't eat too much or your pee will be green!

[Charity]

I have a big asparagus patch in my back yard and I love it. Last week I did some cleaning up in the yard and notice a few poking their heads out. Now it slowed down again because we went from the 80s a weekend ago to snow this weekend. Sigh.

[Gregg]

I've never hunted for wild asparagus, but it sounds heavenly. Blackdog Lin, what kind of area do you hunt it in? I'm in NE, just one state north of you so hoping it may be around here as well. Any tips?

[Madsen]

I had some wild asparagus for the first time last year, and OMG it was delicious! Didn't catch it 'til the tail end of the season so it wasn't super abundant, but I'll definitely be on the lookout this year! :)

[Blackdog Lin]

Gregg - It grows along the dirt roads, fences and ditches here. Sunnier areas, rather than shady, and really you just have to know (remember from year-to-year) where it grows. We have a circuit we make, no more than 1 mile from town in any direction, that we collect our several pounds of wild asparagus. (Sunday morning I wanted fresh asparagus for our Sunday-morning quichy-thing, and at 0800 put my boots on headed out and gathered 1 1/2 lbs. and it was at the edge of the city limits only 2 blocks from my house.) Sorry, I can't really provide any tips - only that if you can drive around and find the stuff, remember where you found it so you can find it again next year.

Serendipity: DH remembered that he thought he saw a patch on our trip to "the city" last weekend, on a paved county road with a 55 mph speed limit (4 miles from the house) so who's looking for asparagus? Well, he's awesome, he found the patch for us yesterday, and I'm pretty sure it's all ours since (1) it was unpicked; and (2) nobody else is gonna be noticing it at 55 mph. A BIG patch on the roadside, I'm hoping to get back out there in a day or three. I'm just lucky in having DH who has the ability to notice asparagus.

Tonight's gourmet cream of asparagus soup: darn good, but not quite superb. Yes to the bacon and half-&-half and splash of lemon juice, but no to the sour cream. I will be working some more on the ultimate spring asparagus soup recipe.....

[Tweety]

No asparagus here, but I love the fiddlehead ferns that will soon be coming up in the back of my yard.

[Tiam]

We forage for asparagus here in the orchards. If they raze the orchards the asparagus eventually dies back, so I though it didn't like too much sun.

[Blackdog Lin]

We went out yesterday and foraged another 3 lbs. Probably our last foraging trip, as the pickings are getting slimmer at all our known patches. But I have more than enough for today's Easter dinner. Gonna try it with a cheese sauce, something I've never done. Happy Easter, and Happy Easter dinner, y'all!

(The asparagus in the store this week is $3.89/lb.)

[Brian]

Tweety, yes Fiddleheads, early enough to poke above snow before black fly season, so few last trips to the cottage to load up, put the snowmobiles away, then let the black fly have the place until May. In the swamps the Ostrich Ferns would grow on little islands they built up over the seasons and in March/April warm sun would bring the fiddlehead shoots up while snow still surrounded the "islands". I think the tangle of last years fronds insulated the root base as well?

We would freeze pounds of them when we got back to the city. Would turn our finger tips black from snapping them off, and still be that way when we would go to school Monday. Tossed in black butter.... OK thanks for the memory.

No complaints as home and full day of sailing cats loaded with Parisian day trippers on beach in front of the house...they will never understand island rules about appropriate beach apparel, bless their hearts. Maybe some Soursop ice cream and think about different places different food joys. :)

[rodeosweetheart]

No, bu tmy son found 20 morel mushrooms yesterday in Indiana.

[Kat]

You lucky duck! :-) I love asparagus. I keep meaning to get a patch going in my yard, but I never seem to get around to it.