Shawn Highfield wrote to Dave Drum <=-

Have you ever seen a wild/foragible asparagus bed? I certanly haven't.

I have! It grows like a weed along the fence at the garage I used to
take my taxi's too. Every spring I'd be picking away at the wild asparagus when getting an oil change!

I'd wager a good part of my wages that someone "back in the day" planted
that asparagus bed. And, since it's a perennial it remained. All of my asparagus beds have been eastblished along fence lines. With tomatoes
right next row over.

People looked at me strange so I told everyone it was poison and I was picking it so no dogs ate it. (cough)

Altruistic, you were. And hungry.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Creamy Asparagus Soup
Categories: Vegetables, Poultry, Herbs, Dairy
Yield: 3 Servings

2 lb Asparagus; trimmed of woody
- stem bottoms if present
1 lg Yellow onion; chopped
1 ts Minced garlic
+=OR=+
1 tb Minced green garlic
3 tb Butter
4 c Chicken broth
1 c Water
2 Sprigs fresh thyme
1 Bay leaf
1/4 c Chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c Heavy cream
+=OR=+
1/4 c Full-fat sour cream
1 tb Dry vermouth
+=OR=+
1 tb Version *
1 ts Lemon juice
1/2 ts Black pepper; or more
1 ts Salt; or more

* Version is a non-alcoholic vermouth substitute made
with a blend of spices such as cloves, cinnamon, ginger,
and citrus, to mention a few. The drink is naturally
sweet because of the combination of ingredients and
natural sugars that are generally digested during
fermentation.

Cut tips from the asparagus 1 1/2" from top and reserve.
Chop the rest of the asparagus stalks in 1/4" rounds.

SAUTE ONIONS, GARLIC: Melt the butter in a 4 to 5 quart
pot on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until
translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the garlic (or green garlic) and cook a minute more.

ADD ASPARAGUS: Add the chopped asparagus (not the spear
tips) to the onions. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to
taste. Cook another 5 minutes.

Add the broth, water, thyme sprigs and bay leaf to the
pot. Increase the heat to a boil, then reduce to a
simmer. Simmer, covered, until the asparagus are tender,
about 10 minutes.

At the end of cooking, stir in the chopped parsley.

BLANCH ASPARAGUS TIPS: While the soup is cooking, blanch
the asparagus tips in a small pot of boiling, salted
water, until the tips are just tender, about 2-4 minutes,
depending on the size of the asparagus.

Drain. Rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Set
aside.

PUREE THE SOUP: Remove bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Use
either an immersion blender or an upright blender
(working in batches) to puree the soup. If you use an
upright blender, work in small batches, fill no more than
a third the blender bowl at a time, and hold down the lid
while blending.

For a creamy texture, if you want, press the pureed soup
through a sieve or food mill.

Stir in cream, vermouth, lemon juice: Stir in the cream
(or full-fat sour cream). Stir in the vermouth and lemon
juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with asparagus tips.

RECIPE FROM: http://www.simplyrecipes.com

Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen

MMMMM

... Will a hand scanner do feet too?
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: SouthEast Star Mail HUB - SESTAR (1:3634/12)

I'd wager a good part of my wages that someone "back in the day"
planted
that asparagus bed. And, since it's a perennial it remained. All of my asparagus beds have been eastblished along fence lines. With tomatoes
right next row over.

You could be right. But it's darn good. Alreay been twice but it's not
quite ready yet.

Shawn

--- Talisman v0.37-dev (Windows/x86)
* Origin: Tiny's BBS II - tinysbbs.com:4323/ssh:4322 (1:229/452)

Shawn Highfield wrote to Dave Drum <=-

I'd wager a good part of my wages that someone "back in the day"
planted that asparagus bed. And, since it's a perennial it remained.
All of my asparagus beds have been eastblished along fence lines.
With tomatoes right next row over.

You could be right. But it's darn good. Alreay been twice but it's
not quite ready yet.

Individual asparagus plants have a 15 year life span. And if allowed
to go to fern stage will re-seed the bed so it, in effect, is eternal.

I used to eat the tender spears right in the garden - raw. My, those
were the days. If I get ambitious I may get some roots and put in a
bed between the patio and the privacy fence in my side yard.

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Linguine w/Asparagus & Parma Ham
Categories: Vegetables, Pork, Pasta, Chilies
Yield: 6 Servings

20 Green asparagus spears
8 sl Parma ham, prosciutto or
- Serrano ham *
2 cl Garlic; fine chopped
1/2 Red chile; sliced in rings;
- or the whole chile
5 tb Olive oil
11 oz Linguine or spaghetti
Salt & pepper

* Prosciutto (pro-SHOO-toe) is the Italian word for ham,
used in English to refer to dry-cured ham (prosciutto
crudo). A regular cured ham-what Americans refer to as
"ham", in Italian is prosciutto cotto, cooked ham.

Parma ham is prosciutto produced in the Parma Protected
Designation of Origin area.

Serrano ham, or jamon serrano (serrano means sierra or
mountain) is a dry-cured Spanish ham, similar to
prosciutto: both are covered with salt and then hung
to dry.

Since prosciutto is cured for 2 years and serrano for
just 6 to 18 months, prosciutto is generally a drier
product.

DIRECTIONS: Peel the asparagus if necessary, then boil
gently in a large pot of salted water until al dente.
Don't overcook: The asparagus will continue to cook a
bit when removed from the water and will be heated
further in the last step, below.

Remove and slice diagonally.

Boil the pasta in salted water, but remove 2 minutes
before the end of the standard cooking time.

Place the garlic, chile and olive oil in a frying pan,
and heat gently over a low flame until the garlic has
browned. Add the ham and the sliced asparagus, and
heat gently.

Add about 3 tablespoons of the pasta boiling water to
the oil in the pan, stir in the cooked pasta and season
to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

NOTE & TIP: Adding the pasta boiling water at step 4
provides a mellow saltiness, increasing the flavor and
improving the texture of the pasta. It is a good idea
to add some cooking liquid to pasta dishes that do not
have much sauce: It prevents the dish from being too
dry.

Recipe courtesy of Umami Information Center, UmamiInfo.com.

Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives

MMMMM

... Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead.
--- MultiMail/Win
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN (1:18/200)

Dave Drum wrote to Shawn Highfield <=-

Individual asparagus plants have a 15 year life span. And if allowed
to go to fern stage will re-seed the bed so it, in effect, is eternal.

Oh that's handy then!

I used to eat the tender spears right in the garden - raw. My, those
were the days. If I get ambitious I may get some roots and put in a
bed between the patio and the privacy fence in my side yard.

I don't cook them very long so could eat them raw as well.

Shawn

... Error: Keyboard not attached. Press F1 to continue.

--- Talisman v0.37-dev (Windows/x86)
* Origin: Tiny's BBS II - tinysbbs.com:4323/ssh:4322 (1:229/452)

Shawn Highfield wrote to Dave Drum <=-

Individual asparagus plants have a 15 year life span. And if allowed
to go to fern stage will re-seed the bed so it, in effect, is eternal.

Oh that's handy then!

I'm still going to use roots to start my new asparagus bed/patch. I'll
be 80 at the end of the month and I don't want to wait three years for
my 1st crop. But the patch should outlive me.

I used to eat the tender spears right in the garden - raw. My, those
were the days. If I get ambitious I may get some roots and put in a
bed between the patio and the privacy fence in my side yard.

I don't cook them very long so could eat them raw as well.

I don't do very many at a time. One or two. Otherwise I'll spoil my
supper. Bv)=

MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06

Title: Asparagus Hollandaise
Categories: Vegetables, Sauces
Yield: 4 servings

2 bn Asparagus (about 1 lb)

MMMMM------------------------HOLLANDAISE-----------------------------
3/4 c Butter; melted
3 lg Egg yolks
2 tb White wine
1 tb Dijon mustard
1/4 ts Salt
3 Drops hot sauce; to taste
Juice & zest of 1 lemon

Bring a small pot of water several inches deep to a slow
simmer over a low heat. Fashion a double boiler by
placing a glass or metal bowl over * not in * the pot of
simmering water. In the bowl, off the heat whisk the egg
yolks, wine, mustard, lemon juice, and hot sauce until
light and frothy.

Place the bowl over the barely simmering water and
continue whisking until the mixture thickens and more
than doubles in volume, about 4 or 5 minutes. Remove the
bowl from the heat and whisk for a few moments. Slowly
begin adding the melted butter in a steady stream,
whisking continuously.

Once all the butter has been incorporated, slowly whisk
in the lemon juice. If you feel the sauce is a bit too
thick feel free to slowly whisk in a few drops of warm
water.

Serve immediately or keep warm for a few minutes by
covering it and placing it over the warm water, leaving
the heat turned off beneath the water.

Build a steamer with two pots nested together over
medium high heat and steam the asparagus spears until
bright green and tender, 5 minutes or so. Plate, top
with generous spoonfuls of hollandaise and serve.

RECIPE FROM: http://www.foodnetwork.ca

Uncle Dirty Dave's Kitchen

MMMMM

... The "Any" key? See the one in the back marked "Power"?
--- MultiMail/Win v0.52
* Origin: SouthEast Star Mail HUB - SESTAR (1:3634/12)

Dave Drum wrote to Shawn Highfield <=-

I'm still going to use roots to start my new asparagus bed/patch. I'll
be 80 at the end of the month and I don't want to wait three years for
my 1st crop. But the patch should outlive me.

Smart idea. You want some next year for sure. Whoever buys your place
will enjoy the patch I'm sure.

I don't do very many at a time. One or two. Otherwise I'll spoil my supper. Bv)=

Understood!

Shawn

... "Captain, Permission to hook up blender attachments to Mr. Data?"

--- Talisman v0.37-dev (Windows/x86)
* Origin: Tiny's BBS II - tinysbbs.com:4323/ssh:4322 (1:229/452)