My purple asparagus hasn’t broken through the ground yet, but I’m keeping a close eye on it. A friend gave me the seed for the purple asparagus many years ago. I had a small bed of green asparagus too, but it never tasted as good as the purple.
In the last two years the green asparagus died out on me. Either it disappeared due to my neglect or it wasn’t as hardy as the purple.
Spring asparagus seems especially tasty to me. It’s usually the first thing we harvest and eat from the garden I’m sure that fact alone adds to its appeal.
I was probably in my 30s before I ever tasted asparagus. In my opinion the only way to cook  it is to roast it in the oven.
Lay asparagus out on a pan and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes. It is so good!
In some parts of the country asparagus grows wild. I’ve never seen wild asparagus in my neck of the woods, but I’d be tickled pink to find it here.
Tipper
Better be careful eating that fried polk. I have a relative in Cookeville, TN who fries it, but he boils it, draining off the water twice to get rid of the poison before frying it.
I’m wondering how long it takes to establish a bed of asparagus. Is it hard to get started?
Ray-it takes about three years for the plants to really get started. You’ll have a few spears each year though and once the plants are established the really take off if they’re in a spot they like 🙂
You could probably revive wilted asparagus in a jar of water but I just wouldn’t buy it wilted. I’ve been told that the best stems are the fat ones and that you peel them. ?? But I don’t usually see fat asparagus in our part of the world..
Its hit or miss in the grocery store.
Looks so yummy. I now love it grilled, inside or outside with butter and salt. I’ve never had or seen purple.!
The Austrians and Germans eat the white Spargel or Spargelzeit, piled high on the plate for a whole meal.
The ground there must be perfect for growing it.? I only have red clay.
My daffodils are about 5 ins. high. What tough, brave little things.
Hi Tipper,Its nearly 7 pm but must comment on green asparagus, never had purple.My parents would walk along the rail road tracks carrying the round bath tub between them,
picking asparagus. also the fence lines along farm was a good place to pick. One winter we had many suppers of asparagus milk gravy over potatoes.I’m going to try baking some. God Bless.Jean
So many interesting ways to cook sparrow grass! I love asparagus but I have only eaten it raw or steamed. Looking forward to trying some of these new ways 🙂
I do love asparagus! I will roast some in the oven, thanks for the recipe! I did my version of Olive Gardens new shrimp and angel hair pasta with fresh asparagus and tomatoes. It was soooo good. I used land o Lakes light butter and lots of fresh garlic. De-lish!
Pam
scrap-n-sewgranny.blogspot.com
We love roasted asparagus but my personal favorite is to dampen four paper towels with about 1/4 cup water. Sprinkle the asparagus with kosher salt and wrap it up in the paper towels; put in microwave seam side down. Microwave on high three or four minutes. (Use tongs to take it out because it’s hot.) It’s crisp tender and wonderful. And ready in a jiffy. I think I got the idea from Alton Brown.
My Daddy grew asparagus half a century ago but I wouldn’t eat it. I think I was born a fool and got progressively worse. Any I find in a store is either woody or wilted like a wet noodle. Is there any way to revive it?
Tipper,
I was thinking about asparagus and looking at some in the grocery store recently. Never noticed any purple tho. I don’t know the best way to cook that stuff anyway, perhaps I’ll try baking it this time.
It snowed up at my house. My porch was slick as a frog’s belly, I had to walk flat-footed to get to the Jeep. I had about 3/4″, but it was half sleet and wouldn’t make good Snowcream. Maybe next time…Ken
Asparagus is great on the grill too. Sprinkle olive oil over the asparagus, and flavor with salt and pepper. When my entrée, steak, chicken, burgers, whatever is about 8-10 minutes from being done I throw on the asparagus.
It has been said, I believe, that poke tastes like asparagus. I’ve never grown it and am not fond of it myself but my daughter fixes it as you describe. We had a plant when we moved here but it has disappeared as your’s did. I think it is a beautiful plant and worth growing just for its appearance.
Growing up I never knew, or knew of, anyone who grew it. My grandmother’s neighbor had a plant at the fence corner out by the road. I didn’t know what it was but I always noted its filmy green-blue with bright red seeds then turning golden later. The mosr-similar looking plant I grow is fennel.
Another great way to eat asparagus is to put it in a non-stick pan with a little salt and drizzle of lemon juice. Quick flash fry it and eat! A tip for dispensing with the woodier part of the stem is to bend each spear until it snaps. Discard the ends (or use to chop up for stock). One of my favorite vegetables. (I use it in stir-fries, too!)
Tipper,
We love asparagus here too. Our long bed is beginning to peter-out. We think the deer and/or rabbits/ground hogs made waste of it on the end of the rows…Then when we picked and it eventually goes to flower, the deer munch down the row enjoying the tall fresh stems. We are planning on starting another patch in our raised bed.
We like asparagus as a main meal…for lunch or supper. If you have a bite of ham you can serve it with the asparagus on the side…
Here is how I do it..
Steam the asparagus …(I have a steamer for the microwave, but steam it however you steam your veggies)…or put in a shallow fry pan with just a bit of water and cook until tender.
I toast 4 or 5 pieces of bread and cut into points…or some call triangles! ha
Put I/4 cup butter or margarine in a sauce pan let it melt…add 1/4 cup flour and stir to
make a roux, add milk slowly whisk constantly until it comes just to a boil and thickens…keep adding milk until the sauce thickens the way you like it. Season with salt and pepper or after you plate it up…We like ours like a thick gravy!
I take the hot asparagus and either cut it up in the sauce…or lay it whole over the toast
points on the plate and pour the sauce over the whole thing.
We love it for supper. If we have some leftover slices of ham, bacon etc…We put that on the side…Most of the times we just eat the asparagus in sauce over the toast.
Thanks Tipper,
PS…I’ll swap you some crappie for asparagus, now have some in the freezer!…As the men said when they called me from the lake Friday, “Mom you wouldn’t believe it, we caught some real slabs!” (in other words “big crappie)…”Get the slaw made, we are having crappie for supper for the whole bunch!”
I love asparagus any way you fix it! The very tender, thin shoots are very good used raw in a salad–you don’t even need to blanch them. Roasting is great, too. Wrap a bacon strip around small bundles of asparagus and roast at 400 degrees for about 20-25 minutes–yummy!!
We used to find wild asparagus here in eastern Kansas. It had a good taste to it but you had to pick it smaller than you would the garden varieties. If the stems got over about a quarter of an inch across they would have gotten too woody to chew.
I love asparagus too, Tip. I just lightly steam it and eat it, with nothing added, or I eat it raw. I sure hope your bed of purple asparagus takes off!
Love asparagus
Love asparagus
Love asparagus
Love asparagus
Yum! Roasted asparagus is one of my favorite dishes. I like to add garlic and lemon juice to the above ingredients for a slightly zingy flavor. I feel it mixes perfectly with the flavor of the asparagus.