Farm To Folk
keep in touch
  • Home
    • Join F2F
    • Weekly Newsletter
  • A La Carte
    • What is A La Carte?
  • CSA Options
  • Producer Profiles
    • Dairy Producers
    • Fruit Producers
    • Egg & Meat Producers
    • Vegetable Producers
    • Other local F2F Producers
  • Blog: Seasoned Locally
  • Contact
    • The Team

Asparagus!

5/19/2016

1 Comment

 
Tis the season to find asparagus! This veggie is one who most people either love or strongly dislike. To most of us though it's a spring vegetable to look forward to and savor when it's plentiful, because there is no comparison to local, freshly picked asparagus. 
My favorite way to make asparagus is on the grill. I wash and trim a couple handfuls of asparagus, place it in a foil packet with a drizzle of olive oil, a couple pats of butter and either Cy Salt or regular ol' salt and pepper and put it on the grill for 10-15 minutes. You want to cook asparagus till it's crisp tender to get the most enjoyable eating experience. 
If you want to try something more creative with your asparagus I've included a couple delicious recipes below!

How do you like to cook and/or eat your asparagus? Let us know in the comments! 

Gingered beef stir-fry (Taste of Home April/May 2009)
3 T. reduced-sodium soy sauce, divided
1 T. sherry
1/4 t. minced fresh ginger root or dash or ground ginger
1/2 lb. beef flank steak, cut into thin strips
1 t. cornstarch
1/2 c. beef broth
1 1/2 t. hoisin sauce
1/8 t. sugar
2 T. canola oil, divided
2 lbs. fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
3 c. hot cooked rice
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine 2 T. soy sauce, sherry and ginger; add the beef. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, broth, hoisin sauce, sugar and remaining soy sauce until smooth; set aside. 
In a large skillet or wok, stir-fry asparagus in remaining oil until crisp-tender. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Stir cornstarch mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Return beef to the pan; heat through. Serve with rice. 

Creamy Fresh Asparags Soup (Taste of Home April/May 2014)
2 T. butter
2 lbs. fresh asparagus, trimmed, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 large sweet onion, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 carton (32oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. minced fresh tarragon or 1/4 t. dried tarragon
3/4 t. salt
1/8 t. freshly ground pepper
1/4 c. plain Greek yogurt
1/2 t. grated lemon peel
In a dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add asparagus and onion; cook and stir 10-12 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender.
Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, 6-8 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Remove from heat; cook slightly. Stir in lemon juice, tarragon, salt and pepper.
Process in batches in a blender until smooth. Serve with yogurt and lemon peel. 

1 Comment

Rhubarb...oh rhubarb

5/5/2016

4 Comments

 
Picture
If you have a rhubarb patch in a sunny area it's probably going crazy by now...I know mine is (pictured above). I love rhubarb: rhubarb pie, rhubarb crisp, rhubarb jam, strawberry-rhubarb, rhubarb sauce...you name it, I eat it. 

Today a friend mentioned she'd heard about finely chopped rhubarb being used in CHILI! I had never thought of this, but it does make sense. So that started me thinking, what else would rhubarb go well in? Salsa, maybe? Tomato sauce, maybe? Pizza, crazy!?! I think the possibilities are endless. 
Do you have a favorite way to use rhubarb? Let us know in the comments below. I know I'd love to learn more ways to use this awesome fruit (or is it vegetable?). 

I found this recipe for Roasted Rhubarb in my Simply in Season cookbook and I think it will be a new recipe I try this spring! 

Roasted Rhubarb
4 c. rhubarb, chopped
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. orange or lemon juice
2 T. candied ginger or fresh ginger root (minced)
1 t. orange or lemon peel (grated)
Combine in a baking pan. Spread evenly and bake in preheated oven at 450 degrees until rhubarb is soft but retains its shape, about 25 minutes. Stir, cool slightly, and serve with ice cream or yogurt. 


4 Comments

    Author

    Alaina Christian

    Archives

    July 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly