All About Asparagus

All About Asparagus

Asparagus is one of our favorite Spring vegetables, it’s full of vitamins A, C, and E.  Plus it has tons of folate that keeps your heart healthy.  Asparagus also contains potassium!  Asparagus can make your pee smell, but did you know that only about one quarter of people can smell those compounds creating the smell?  

FUN FACT: Asparagus can be green, white, or purple!

Asparagus and Pancetta Pesto Pizza, by the roasted root (please pin from their site, thanks!)

WHEN IS ASPARAGUS SEASON? Asparagus is best from February through June with its peak in April.  This is when you’ll find it the cheapest too. 

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GROW ASPARAGUS  Your first harvest will be 3 Springs AFTER seed planting.

HOW TO STORE ASPARAGUS  We store ours in the refrigerator in a cup with water, no longer than 2-3 days.

 HOW TO CHOOSE ASPARAGUS You want to find asparagus that is bright green, no signs of shriveling, purple-tinged tips, and obviously not wilting.  They should be tender, tight and firm!  Not mushy, unless you’ve overcooked it 😉  We chop off the bottom as soon as we get home and put it in a cup of water in the refrigerator until it’s time to cook.  

Easy Asparagus Quiche, by Real Food By Dad (please pin from their site, thanks!)

CAN YOU FREEZE ASPARAGUS Of course, and they freeze beautifully for cooked dishes.  Here’s a how to on freezing fruit and veggies.  We like to cut ours into bite size pieces that we can toss into almost any recipe calling for Asparagus.

HOW TO USE ASPARAGUS– We love using Asparagus in almost everything you can use veggies in.  We use them in our eggs, sandwiches, soups, pasta dishes, and much more.

CHECK OUT THESE RECIPES USING ASPARAGUS:

shiitake panini with roasted asparagus pesto – probably my favorite recipe using asparagus!

asparagus spaghetti with fried egg – the fried egg is the “cherry on top!”

asparagus and mushroom stir-fry – I really love these two together 🙂

lemon pepper asparagus – simply delicious and easy to make

polenta bites with ricotta and shaved asparagus – these are almost too pretty to eat, almost!