ArcaMax

I planted an asparagus patch once. While doing my research I learned you should not harvest it the first year. I followed those directions and let it mature through the year. I looked forward to the day when I’d be able to pick and eat my own asparagus. Unfortunately, the next Spring I ran into a situation with weeds encroaching from the cornfield behind my house. I had to till under the part of the garden that had my asparagus. I lost my little asparagus dream.

As the years passed, each Spring I would be driving along the rural roads that surrounded my neighborhood and I’d see ladies of Asian descent stooping down in the roadside drainage areas. They were picking something. I figured out they were picking wild asparagus! They harvested each year and sold their take at the local farmers market. Kudos to them!

So I gave up my goal of my own asparagus patch but each Spring, as May approaches, I still get a hankering for asparagus. My newest recipe is a low carb quiche that features a combo of asparagus, mushrooms and gruyere cheese. BIG YUM!

I thought I’d lay out some fun asparagus trivia for you to chew on. Here are 14 asparagus tidbits.

Asparagus is one of the only perennial vegetables.

There are approximately 300 asparagus varieties but only 20 are edible.

The most common asparagus variety is green in color. Two other edible varieties are white and purple.

In Europe they call white asparagus “white gold” or “edible ivory” and refer to it as the “royal vegetable”.

White asparagus is less bitter and much more tender. It’s also more expensive.

White asparagus is grown under a layer of mulch. That’s why it stays white. I never sees the sun. Otherwise it would turn green.

Wild asparagus is a species with a long history of use in India and Asia as a botanical medicine. (No wonder those ladies were enthusiastically picking it!)

Thin asparagus can be eaten without peeling it, but if it’s the fatter asparagus you’ll want to peel it before you cook it.

Asparagus is 93 percent water.

In France, asparagus is most often served with Hollandaise sauce.

Depending on which report you read somewhere between 22 percent and 50 percent of the population report having pungent pee after they eat asparagus. Researchers have never been able to figure out if only some people have pungent pee or only some people can smell pungent pee. It’s still a mystery.

Asparagus is reported to show a lowering of disease risk for things like heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. So eat up!

Asparagus, like other vegetables doesn’t instantly “die” when it’s picked. It still has metabolic activity but it does spoil pretty quickly. It loses its moisture. So that’s why you see it at the grocery store standing in water. Asparagus should be eaten within 48 hours of purchase for best flavor.

Asparagus is such a big cash crop in California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that they have an asparagus festival every year. So does Hart, Michigan. In the Vale of Evesham in Worcestershire, England, they produce more asparagus than any other region in northern Europe so they have a week long asparagus festival and the locals dress up as asparagus and parade around.

So what will you be dressed as for Halloween this year? Something edible? There’s nothing wrong with planning ahead.

Quiche (Asparagus and Variations)

For the crust
2 cups of almond meal flour
½ cup of butter, melted
½ tsp of grated sea salt
1/8 tsp of pepper (white if you have it)
For the filling
1 Tbl of butter
1.5 cups of asparagus tips and bits
1 bunch of green onions, diced
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
Grated sea salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup of half and half
5 large eggs
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 pinch of cayenne (optional)
1 cup of shredded cheese (I used gruyere but you can also use swiss, fontina, white cheddar)

Preheat oven to 350

Mix almond flour, butter salt and pepper to form a ball. Gently press the dough into the bottom a bit up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan (or pie pan, or quiche dish).

Bake the crust for 10 minutes. The crust might get a bit puffy so if it does, gently take a spoon and tamp it back down. Put back in the oven for about 5 to 8 more minutes or until it’s lightly brown. Remove from oven.

In a sauté pan, melt the butter. Add the asparagus, onions and mushrooms. Saute on medium high until lightly crisp cooked. The onion will loosen and the mushrooms will give off their liquid. About 6 minutes. (They will finish cooking when you back the quiche).

In a blender or bowl, whisk the half and half, eggs, salt and pepper along with the nutmeg and cayenne.

Transfer the veggies to the pan and spread across the crust. Sprinkle in your cheese. Then pour the whipped egg mixture over the top.

Bake in your oven about 35 minutes. You know your quiche is done when you check it with a knife and the knife comes out clean. Let cool on the stove/counter for 15 minutes to finish setting up the quiche.

You can serve warm, cold or room temperature.

Variations: You can use the recipe as a baseline and change up the veggies or other ingredients. Other things I recommend: broccoli bits, cooked bacon bits, pepperoni, bell pepper pieces, fresh spinach shreds, artichoke heart bits, and diced onion of any type. Use your imagination.

Enjoy!
Cheers,
Zola

Get more recipes and articles at www.planzdiet.com. Send feedback to Zola at this address: zolacooks@gmail.com