I attended college in western Massachusetts. In the fields around the college and along the railroad tracks wild asparagus grew. We would take buckets out hunting the wild asparagus, bring our bounty back to the dorm where we would cook it all and drizzle it with melted butter...heavenly! Thanks for your writing which ,so often ,evokes great memories!
Ohhh! What part of western MA? I lived west of Boston for 24 years. . The growing fields in MA are amazing. Were you in/near Amherst? Hampshire? Any yummy asparagus memories, btw.
I do love asparagus! Lately I’ve been cutting it into one- to two-inch bits, blanching it for 2 minutes, then tossing it in with chicken and hot peppers and scallions to make a Kung Pao chicken.
Having seen your mixed media art over the past couple of years, I feel no qualms in saying that you should feel extremely confident in your art skills Rebecca! 🤗
Oh goodness! Yum, I am so hungry for some asparagus now! I learned at some point that the proper way to eat asparagus was with my fingers, not long after I learned that fresh, barely-cooked asparagus was a separate vegetable entirely than the overcooked mush often had when I was young. Learning both those things was transformative, and like you I eagerly await this time of year for the chance to eat too much. I loved all your literary references and of course your exquisite drawings of the beloved spear. Thanks for the treat on this otherwise cold and dreary Saturday! (WHERE has our warm Spring gone????)
'Overcooked mush' - it's such a shame that that's what represents the first experience of so many of us of what is - cooked properly - an absolutely delicious vegetable!
I hear you about the weather! We had a lovely sunny afternoon yesterday - it was so warm in the sun that I went from four layers to only two - but of course it's chilly again this morning...
What a wonderful piece. Asparagus to eat and use in art! Love the history and that it’s proper to eat with your hands. I only recently learned how to break off the ends before steaming rather than cutting them off. My nephew is a chef. I will forward this essay to him. 🥰
I hope my nephew reads it. He started a flavored butter company and he’s so busy I rarely hear back from him. Although I did see him for Passover. He made a wicked delish brisket. 🥰
Mmmm. An Ode on Asparagus - crisp and crunchy, barely heated through. When I think of how we, as children, had that slimy, soggy white stuff put on our plates right out of a can. Disgusting. But fresh, lightly cooked espárragos, asparago, asperges, Spargel - delicious in any country. As I can scarcely keep a geranium alive, I would definitely not have the patience to grow asparagus, but YES - forgo the fork, eat it with your fingers as you would an apple. Your art book is so charming, Rebecca. I would love to hold it in my hand.
Oh Sharron, thank you. And gosh, slimy canned asparagus is not worthy of the label 'asparagus' - ugh!
My art book is getting pretty full these days - I think I've got just a few blank spreads left. I'm kicking myself that I hadn't snapped up all three volumes in the series when I found it in the second-hand bookshop. Oh well - you live and learn! I'm on the lookout for the next volume - not too big, not too many pages, opens flat..... it's a work in progress! 🤣
"Instructions for growing asparagus" made me smile, especially as I thought about schoolmates who grew up working their families' asparagus farms (that wasn't funny, but my empathizing with their childhood/teen/adult labor was a compassionate, affectionate smiling). The bus I rode to high school passed the asparagus fields and barns, both sides of the road, and each time I passed them, I thought "That looks like a LOT of work . . . " Check out https://michiganasparagus.org/. P.S. Always love your artwork.
Awww, I had such fun imagining how I would feel about that long, relentless process of trying to establish an asparagus bed - I'm glad it make you smile! 😃 And that link is gold dust, Mary - thank you sooooo much - I am droooooooooling!!!!
And thank you for your lovely arting compliment - that means such a lot, coming from you! xxx
Now I want to eat asparagus!! My moms home is on a former asparagus farm. We thought we’d try growing it, but now I’m having second thoughts. Thanks for such a beautiful post! 💚
I'm glad I've whetted your appetite for the glorious spears, Jillian! And wow about your mom's home - what a lovely history. My brother and SIL moved house a couple of years ago and couldn't believe their luck when during their first April at the new place asparagus started to appear in the vegetable garden - they were absolutely thrilled! I'm not sure they would have bothered starting an asparagus bed themselves, but having inherited one they're making the most of it!
LOVE asparagus. I buy it every week in season. Love steamed asparagus, love it in sandwiches with homemade mayonnaise, love an asparagus mornay. Would love to try the pure white asparagus too.
But tried to grow it with all the experiences of your parents being so familiar. Gave up in the end and turned the bed over for leeks. Much better value for money and effort.
Your mixed medias are always so interesting and your art journal a thing of quite emotive beauty. As you know, this is always one of my favourite segments. Thank you, Rebecca. XXXX
Ooooooh, so many serving suggestions here - thanks, Prue! And leeks are an excellent alternative for the veggie garden - homegrown ones have so much more flavour.
Thank you so much for your very kind compliments about my art journal - thank you so much. The book is nearly full now - I am kicking myself for not having bought volumes 2 and 3 in the same series when I'd first picked it up in the secondhand bookshop. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a similar book to move into when this one's full!
Do you have fiddleheads over there? Similar season, similar risks of overcooking. I find it can taste like asparagus, but as an unfurled fern (say that 5x fast), it grows all over the place. And also like asparagus, if it’s soggy, it better be in a puréed soup!
Oh wow, Bryn - I'd never heard of fiddleheads, but I've just looked them up and they sound AMAZING!
"Fiddleheads are sweet like asparagus, grassy, and snappy like a great green bean, with a touch of broccoli stem."
I wonder if they'd grow over here? Google tells me that they're the shoots of the ostrich fern - I don't think I've heard of that either - Bryn, thank you so much for mentioning fiddleheads - I've got some work to do!!!!!!!!!!
Reading about it—and taking in your glorious artwork—is the only way I’ll ever enjoy asparagus! Sad to say I’ve never liked its taste or texture. I’ll keep trying, though. Maybe, like Brussels spouts, I’ll develop a taste for it late in life…
Awwww, thanks Amie - and LOL - I remember we'd once had a chat in the comments of one of your posts about its texture! And I LOVE Brussels sprouts - I go crazy for them between about October and February - I get through pounds of the things! 😁
Awwww Jen, thank you! As for the 'how?' - well, I've no idea! Suffice it to say that any piece of art I start ends up looking nothing like how I'd ever imagined it when I'd first thought about it! 🤣
SMOKED asparagus? Oh wow, just wow! I HAVE to try that!!!!
I attended college in western Massachusetts. In the fields around the college and along the railroad tracks wild asparagus grew. We would take buckets out hunting the wild asparagus, bring our bounty back to the dorm where we would cook it all and drizzle it with melted butter...heavenly! Thanks for your writing which ,so often ,evokes great memories!
Oh, how lovely, Susan! Wild asparagus sounds absolutely wonderful - no wonder you describe it as 'bounty'! Thank you so much for reading!
Yum!! We used to have a cottage in Great Barrington. Were you at Williamstown?
Amherst...Hampshire College. I knew some folks at Simon's Rock and used to hike in the Berkshire. Lovely memories, lovely place
Same. I miss the area.
Ohhh! What part of western MA? I lived west of Boston for 24 years. . The growing fields in MA are amazing. Were you in/near Amherst? Hampshire? Any yummy asparagus memories, btw.
I do love asparagus! Lately I’ve been cutting it into one- to two-inch bits, blanching it for 2 minutes, then tossing it in with chicken and hot peppers and scallions to make a Kung Pao chicken.
Um... what time did you say I should be there for dinner?
Sunday, 6:30. Bring a nice bottle of white wine
I'm in!
Me too! Can I gatecrash? Heading for the airport now......! ✈️
DARN IT! It's Monday. How did that happen? 😕 Hope you guys enjoyed dinner! 🤣
Oh wow, Tom - that sounds absolutely delicious! 🤤
Having seen your mixed media art over the past couple of years, I feel no qualms in saying that you should feel extremely confident in your art skills Rebecca! 🤗
Awww shucks, Punit, that's ever so kind of you to say! 😊 Thank you.
This was a fun read, and I want to commend your illustrations. I just started painting again and this work of yours is inspiring me!
Oh, that's so kind of you, Julie - thank you! Hurrah that you're painting again - I'm so happy to hear this! 🙌
As always, love your artwork! You've succeeded in getting me ready for some fresh asparagus!!! 💚
You're so kind, Sue - thank you! I'm glad I've whetted your appetite for asparagus! 😁
Oh goodness! Yum, I am so hungry for some asparagus now! I learned at some point that the proper way to eat asparagus was with my fingers, not long after I learned that fresh, barely-cooked asparagus was a separate vegetable entirely than the overcooked mush often had when I was young. Learning both those things was transformative, and like you I eagerly await this time of year for the chance to eat too much. I loved all your literary references and of course your exquisite drawings of the beloved spear. Thanks for the treat on this otherwise cold and dreary Saturday! (WHERE has our warm Spring gone????)
'Overcooked mush' - it's such a shame that that's what represents the first experience of so many of us of what is - cooked properly - an absolutely delicious vegetable!
I hear you about the weather! We had a lovely sunny afternoon yesterday - it was so warm in the sun that I went from four layers to only two - but of course it's chilly again this morning...
I succumbed to fresh local (down the road grown) asparagus yesterday: what a delight! And the perfect way to celebrate the reemergence of that sun!
YES!!!!!!!!!!!
What a wonderful piece. Asparagus to eat and use in art! Love the history and that it’s proper to eat with your hands. I only recently learned how to break off the ends before steaming rather than cutting them off. My nephew is a chef. I will forward this essay to him. 🥰
Thanks, Carissa! Breaking the ends off is such fun - and shhhhhh, I always nibble those bits raw - a cook's perk!
Thank you so much for sharing this post with your nephew - I hope he enjoys it!
I hope my nephew reads it. He started a flavored butter company and he’s so busy I rarely hear back from him. Although I did see him for Passover. He made a wicked delish brisket. 🥰
Wow, he sounds awesome! I love both flavoured butter AND brisket. 🙌
Oh asparagus! Waiting, waiting, waiting-- I like mine cut into bite sized chunks, very briefly sauteed and served in lemon-caper butter over rice.
Will you marry me, Kerry..?
🤣
Kerry, that sounds absolutely WONDERFUL! 😋
Mmmm. An Ode on Asparagus - crisp and crunchy, barely heated through. When I think of how we, as children, had that slimy, soggy white stuff put on our plates right out of a can. Disgusting. But fresh, lightly cooked espárragos, asparago, asperges, Spargel - delicious in any country. As I can scarcely keep a geranium alive, I would definitely not have the patience to grow asparagus, but YES - forgo the fork, eat it with your fingers as you would an apple. Your art book is so charming, Rebecca. I would love to hold it in my hand.
Oh Sharron, thank you. And gosh, slimy canned asparagus is not worthy of the label 'asparagus' - ugh!
My art book is getting pretty full these days - I think I've got just a few blank spreads left. I'm kicking myself that I hadn't snapped up all three volumes in the series when I found it in the second-hand bookshop. Oh well - you live and learn! I'm on the lookout for the next volume - not too big, not too many pages, opens flat..... it's a work in progress! 🤣
"Instructions for growing asparagus" made me smile, especially as I thought about schoolmates who grew up working their families' asparagus farms (that wasn't funny, but my empathizing with their childhood/teen/adult labor was a compassionate, affectionate smiling). The bus I rode to high school passed the asparagus fields and barns, both sides of the road, and each time I passed them, I thought "That looks like a LOT of work . . . " Check out https://michiganasparagus.org/. P.S. Always love your artwork.
Awww, I had such fun imagining how I would feel about that long, relentless process of trying to establish an asparagus bed - I'm glad it make you smile! 😃 And that link is gold dust, Mary - thank you sooooo much - I am droooooooooling!!!!
And thank you for your lovely arting compliment - that means such a lot, coming from you! xxx
You're the bomb, RH. 😊
Now I want to eat asparagus!! My moms home is on a former asparagus farm. We thought we’d try growing it, but now I’m having second thoughts. Thanks for such a beautiful post! 💚
I'm glad I've whetted your appetite for the glorious spears, Jillian! And wow about your mom's home - what a lovely history. My brother and SIL moved house a couple of years ago and couldn't believe their luck when during their first April at the new place asparagus started to appear in the vegetable garden - they were absolutely thrilled! I'm not sure they would have bothered starting an asparagus bed themselves, but having inherited one they're making the most of it!
LOVE asparagus. I buy it every week in season. Love steamed asparagus, love it in sandwiches with homemade mayonnaise, love an asparagus mornay. Would love to try the pure white asparagus too.
But tried to grow it with all the experiences of your parents being so familiar. Gave up in the end and turned the bed over for leeks. Much better value for money and effort.
Your mixed medias are always so interesting and your art journal a thing of quite emotive beauty. As you know, this is always one of my favourite segments. Thank you, Rebecca. XXXX
Ooooooh, so many serving suggestions here - thanks, Prue! And leeks are an excellent alternative for the veggie garden - homegrown ones have so much more flavour.
Thank you so much for your very kind compliments about my art journal - thank you so much. The book is nearly full now - I am kicking myself for not having bought volumes 2 and 3 in the same series when I'd first picked it up in the secondhand bookshop. I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a similar book to move into when this one's full!
Perfect. And I hope we can be onlookers.
Do you have fiddleheads over there? Similar season, similar risks of overcooking. I find it can taste like asparagus, but as an unfurled fern (say that 5x fast), it grows all over the place. And also like asparagus, if it’s soggy, it better be in a puréed soup!
Oh wow, Bryn - I'd never heard of fiddleheads, but I've just looked them up and they sound AMAZING!
"Fiddleheads are sweet like asparagus, grassy, and snappy like a great green bean, with a touch of broccoli stem."
I wonder if they'd grow over here? Google tells me that they're the shoots of the ostrich fern - I don't think I've heard of that either - Bryn, thank you so much for mentioning fiddleheads - I've got some work to do!!!!!!!!!!
Yummy and beautiful. You’re a terrific artist.
Oh Beth, thank you, thank you - this means so very much to me! Sending hugs Down Under. Hope all's well! 😘
Reading about it—and taking in your glorious artwork—is the only way I’ll ever enjoy asparagus! Sad to say I’ve never liked its taste or texture. I’ll keep trying, though. Maybe, like Brussels spouts, I’ll develop a taste for it late in life…
Awwww, thanks Amie - and LOL - I remember we'd once had a chat in the comments of one of your posts about its texture! And I LOVE Brussels sprouts - I go crazy for them between about October and February - I get through pounds of the things! 😁
I just love your mixed media art pieces! The asparagus spears are whimsical and realistic at the same time. How?!
Lovely story as always. We ate asparagus last night that bryan smoked on our Traeger.
Awwww Jen, thank you! As for the 'how?' - well, I've no idea! Suffice it to say that any piece of art I start ends up looking nothing like how I'd ever imagined it when I'd first thought about it! 🤣
SMOKED asparagus? Oh wow, just wow! I HAVE to try that!!!!