Spring Green St. Patrick's Day Asparagus

I LOVE Spring! (I've mentioned that already, haven't I?)

One of the reasons I love it? Beautiful, "local" (OK, local = Walla Walla Valley, which is a couple hundred miles) asparagus is cheap, cheap, cheap right now so I'm taking advantage of the availability of one of my favorite vegetables... and since it's GREEN, I thought it'd be a nice St. Patrick's Day subject.

(Sorry, I can't get any more creative than that.)

First though, some fun with vegetables:

AN ASPARAGUS QUIZ

1.) Where was asparagus first grown?
2.) What do asparagus, onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives, and yucca have in common?
3.) What famous king had gardeners grow asparagus in greenhouses so he could eat asparagus year round?
4.) What state grows most of the asparagus in the United States?
5.) Ancient Greeks and Romans believed asparagus had what medicinal qualities?
6.) What kind of climate is best for asparagus?
7.) What are the two main varieties of asparagus?
8.) What civilization cultivated asparagus as an offering to the gods?
9.) In what section of this country was asparagus first grown?
10.) The word "asparagus" is derived from what language? What does it mean in that language?
11.) Does asparagus have aphrodisiac qualities?

(I'll give you the answers at the end of this post. No prizes, just pride in the knowledge that you know so much about asparagus!)

OK, on to the good stuff...

Our favorite method is ROASTING:

• Simply lay the spears on a cookie sheet.
• Drizzle some really good olive oil over.
• Add a sprinkle of sea salt (try a "fancy" salt here like Hawaiian red salt or smoked sea salt... :swoon:!!)
• Roast in oven about 7 min. or until done, tender-crisp. Heaven. And SO easy.

Next up, Asparagus with Pasta. They were MADE to go together. In fact, they should get married.

Here's a super-easy one I made the other night, all measurements are approximate:

Asparagus and Rigatoni

4 servings rigatoni, cooked and drained
3 Tbsp olive oil
About a pound of asparagus, nice thin stalks, washed and cut to the same length as the pasta
1 teaspoon lemon juice - FRESH squeezed
fresh grated lemon zest - just a pinch
pinch of red pepper flakes
About a handful of sun-dried tomatoes OR kalamata olives OR roasted red peppers (or a bit of all three), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
toasted nuts like pecans, hazelnuts or pinenuts

It works out well if you start the asparagus cooking at the same time as adding the pasta to the boiling water.
Heat the oil over med-high heat and add asparagus and red pepper flakes. Saute for 5 minutes, until asparagus just begins to brown a bit. Turn the heat down to low and add sun-dried tomatoes, the lemon juice and zest, and the garlic. Once the garlic begins to brown, remove from heat. Toss with pasta and divide between two bowls. Top with toasted nuts and enjoy.

And here's basically a simpler version of the same thing made with linguine instead. And we skipped the sundried tomatoes. Just asparagus, garlic, lemon, red pepper flakes and pasta... I think you can see a theme here.

Eat up.

Asparagus is very low in calories and sodium, but offers a a good deal of potassium, Vit. A, folic acid, B vitamins, copper and zinc. It's also one of the best vegetable sources for Vitamin E.

And I didn't forget the quiz answers:
1.) No one knows for sure. We do know it existed in the Mediterranean area in ancient times.
2.) They are all in the lily family.
3.) Louis XIV of France
4.) California (with WASHINGTON a close second, just thought I'd add that).
5.) Helped to prevent bee stings and relieve toothaches.
6.) One where the ground freezes in winter to a depth of two inches or more.
7.) Green and white.
8.) Egyptian.
9.) New England
10.) Greek word meaning "sprout" or "shoot."
11.) Hahaha... All through history asparagus has been trumpeted as an aphrodisiac. A 16th century Arabian love manual gave an asparagus recipe to create a stimulant for amorous desires. In 18th Century France Madame Pompadour had her asparagus concoction for sexual vigor. In his book Food, contemporary writer Waverley Root devotes a section to the sex life of the asparagus.
(Source: Wikipedia; Vegetarians in Paradise; Washington Asparagus Commission)

Spring Asparagus Soup

Saturday marked the beginning of the local (like, right here in in the park) Farmer's Market, and I was first in line to grab some beautiful asparagus and a ton of wonderful and mysterious greens. So excited to see the great variety right here in our little town!

Of course I love fresh asparagus just steamed or roasted, but with such an abundance available right now, it's the green-veggie of choice in our kitchen for at least a few more weeks and I tend to get a little more creative.

This soup has been a family favorite for years now; I remember my oldest 'Sprout' (now 18!!) when she was very small and could barely manage soup with a spoon. She would crumble a ton of crackers into her serving and then happily eat the green "mush". Not as appetizing to the adults that way, maybe, but she LOVED it and always asked for "Green Mushy Soup" when she saw asparagus in the store.

I promise it's delicate flavor doesn't really NEED crackers or croûtons but dress it up however you'd like.

Spring Asparagus Soup

• 1 pound fresh asparagus, break where the stalks naturally break to avoid "stringy" bits
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup soy (or other) milk, UNsweetened, of course
• 1/2 cup soy yogurt or soy sour 'cream'
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup vegan Parmesan (optional)

Rinse asparagus and break at their natural breaking point so you just get the most tender part (usually about 2/3 of the stalk). Chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Cook asparagus and onion in a saucepan with 1/2 cup vegetable broth.

Bring the broth to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until the vegetables are tender.
Reserve a few asparagus tips for garnish. Place remaining vegetable mixture in an electric blender and puree until smooth, or use a stick (immersion) blender.

Melt margarine in the pan that was used for simmering the asparagus and onions. Turn heat to low.

Stir with a wire whisk, (this is important) while sprinkling flour, salt, and pepper into the butter. Do not let the flour brown. Allow the mixture to cook only 2 minutes. Slowly (VERY slowly!) stir in remaining 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth and increase the heat. Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil.

Turn down heat. Stir the vegetable puree and milk into the saucepan and heat gently.
Whisk yogurt or sour cream into the mixture, followed by lemon juice. Stir until heated through, then ladle into bowls.
Garnish with reserved asparagus tips. Sprinkle with vegan cheese or garnish with some fresh herbs if desired.

Asparagus, Asparagus, How I Love Thee...

I LOVE Spring! (I mentioned that already, didn't I?)

One of the reasons I love it? Beautiful, local asparagus is cheap, cheap, cheap right now so I'm taking advantage of the availability of one of my favorite vegetables... and since it's GREEN, I thought it'd be a nice St. Patrick's Day subject. (Sorry, I can't get any more creative than that.)

First though, some fun with vegetables:
AN ASPARAGUS QUIZ

1.) Where was asparagus first grown?
2.) What do asparagus, onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives, and yucca have in common?
3.) What famous king had gardeners grow asparagus in greenhouses so he could eat asparagus year round?
4.) What state grows most of the asparagus in the United States? 5.) Ancient Greeks and Romans believed asparagus had what medicinal qualities?
6.) What kind of climate is best for asparagus?
7.) What are the two main varieties of asparagus?
8.) What civilization cultivated asparagus as an offering to the gods?
9.) In what section of this country was asparagus first grown?
10.) The word "asparagus" is derived from what language? What does it mean in that language?
11.) Does asparagus have aphrodisiac qualities?

I'll give you the answers at the end of this post. No prizes, just pride in the knowledge that you know so much about asparagus!

OK, on to the good stuff...
Our favorite method is simply lay the spears on a cookie sheet, drizzling some olive oil over, a sprinkle of sea salt (try a "fancy" salt here like Hawaiian red salt or smoked sea salt... :swoon:!!) and then oven roast until done. Heaven. And SO easy.

Next up, Asparagus with Pasta. They were MADE to go together.
Here's a super-easy one I made the other night, all measurements are approximate:

Asparagus and Rigatoni

4 servings rigatoni, cooked and drained
3 Tbsp olive oil
About a pound of asparagus, nice thin stalks, washed and cut to the same length as the pasta
1 teaspoon lemon juice - FRESH squeezed
fresh grated lemon zest - just a pinch
pinch of red pepper flakes
About a handful of sun-dried tomatoes OR kalamata olives OR roasted red peppers (or a bit of all three), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
toasted nuts like pecans, hazelnuts or pinenuts

It works out well if you start the asparagus cooking at the same time as adding the pasta to the boiling water.
Heat the oil over med-high heat and add asparagus and red pepper flakes. Saute for 5 minutes, until asparagus just begins to brown a bit. Turn the heat down to low and add sun-dried tomatoes, the lemon juice and zest, and the garlic. Once the garlic begins to brown, remove from heat. Toss with pasta and divide between two bowls. Top with toasted nuts and enjoy.

And here's basically a simpler version of the same thing made with linguine instead. And we skipped the sundried tomatoes. Just asparagus, garlic, lemon, red pepper flakes and pasta... I think you can see a theme here.

Eat up. Asparagus is very low in calories and sodium, but offers a a good deal of potassium, Vit. A, folic acid, B vitamins, copper and zinc. It's also one of the best vegetable sources for Vitamin E.

And I didn't forget the quiz answers:
1.) No one knows for sure. We do know it existed in the Mediterranean area in ancient times.
2.) They are all in the lily family.
3.) Louis XIV of France
4.) California (with WASHINGTON a close second, just thought I'd add that).
5.) Helped to prevent bee stings and relieve toothaches.
6.) One where the ground freezes in winter to a depth of two inches or more.
7.) Green and white.
8.) Egyptian.
9.) New England
10.) Greek word meaning "sprout" or "shoot."
11.) Hahaha... All through history asparagus has been trumpeted as an aphrodisiac. A 16th century Arabian love manual gave an asparagus recipe to create a stimulant for amorous desires. In 18th Century France Madame Pompadour had her asparagus concoction for sexual vigor. In his book Food, contemporary writer Waverley Root devotes a section to the sex life of the asparagus.
(Source: Wikipedia; Vegetarians in Paradise; Washington Asparagus Commission)

Tastier? Eh... How About Some Asparagus Soup?

My wonderful - and VEGAN friend "Froggy" (whom I met at VeggieBoards) was in town recently and we spent the afternoon at Pike Place Market in Seattle. In our wanderings throughout the market stalls, we ran across this sign. Couldn't resist a picture.

Seriously. Check out their slogan... "Whey Tastier Pork". Gives me the willies...

Needless to say we did NOT make any purchases, at this stop anyway.

A bit further down the market we did find a market vendor with rows and rows of beautiful Walla Walla asparagus. (I went to college in the Walla Walla valley, and became absolutely spoiled by the abundance of wonderful, tiny, tender, spring asparagus that grows in the rich soil there.)

Finally it's time for my favorite spring recipe... Asparagus Soup!

This stuff is so easy and so good, the ultimate veggie 'comfort food' since I LOVE soups AND asparagus!

I originally posted the recipe over at Veggieboards, but recently had a friend ask me to add it to the list in my blog, so, here ya go!

--------------------------------

1 pound fresh asparagus
3/4 cup chopped Walla Walla sweet onion (or a leek works great here too!)
1/2 cup vegetarian 'chicken-flavor' broth
1 Tbsp. Earth Balance or other margerine
2 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups vegetarian "chicken-flavor" broth
1 cup soy milk
1/2 cup soy yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup vegan Parmesan cheese (optional, but really adds to finished product)

Place asparagus and onion in a pan with the 1/2 cup broth. Bring broth and veggies to a boil, turn down the heat and let simmer until the vegetables are tender.
If you want to be fancy - save a few asparagus tips for garnish.
Place all the remaining cooked vegetables and broth in an electric blender or food processor and puree until smooth (I use an immersion or "boat-moter" type blender and blend CAREFULLY right in the pan thn save in a bowl or something.
Melt margerine in the pan that was used for simmering the asparagus and onions. Stir while sprinkling flour, salt, and pepper into the margerine. Don't let the flour brown!
Let the mixture cook 2 minutes.
Stir in remaining 1 1/4 cups of broth and increase the heat.
Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil. Stir the vegetable puree and soymilk into the saucepan. Whisk yogurt into the mixture, followed by lemon juice. Stir until heated through, then ladle into bowls.

Garnish with reserved asparagus tips.
Sprinkle with Parmesan "cheese" if desired.


This is the absolute perfect "spring" comfort food for me (I think I said that already?) ... sometimes I'll garnish with fresh Lemon Thyme from my herb garden - a match made in heaven!