fun facts about asparagus at the fulton farmers market

one of the first vegetables to pop up for the spring and summer michigan farmers markets is asparagus. asparagus signals the start to summer and grows abundantly during the last few weeks of spring. We have been eating asparagus almost every night with dinner because right now it’s around $3/lb.

some of my favorite ways to eat asparagus is drizzled with olive oil, salt and pepper roasted at 375 for about 15 minutes. it gets so nice and crispy and the roasting really brings out the sweetness in the vegetable. the best not healthy way to eat it is tempura battered, deep fried and dunked in ranch. if you are up near pentwater, the antler bar is the best place to get it.

there are some fun facts about this vegetable that i thought i would share because… i find them interesting!

oceana michigan is the (self-named) asparagus capital of the world. speaking of pentwater..if you drive around pentwater you will see fields and fields of asparagus. it’s fun to watch it be harvested and then drive by a few hours later and already seeing it poke through the ground as regrowth. once the asparagus is done being harvested it goes to seed throughout the rest of the summer and come july looks like little green rows of wild trees.

the reason i don’t grow asparagus in my garden is it takes three years to harvest a crop. I don’t have the patience to wait and I can buy it for $3/lb when it’s in season so I save my garden space for things I don’t have to wait as long for.

if you are not going to eat your asparagus right away store it in a jar filled with an inch or two of water in the fridge. cover loosely with a plastic bag and this should keep the asparagus fresh for about one week.

by the time the second week in june rolls around i’m asparagus’d out but i push through knowing that it isn’t going to be around (fresh) until the next year.

some other fun things that i’m seeing at the farmers markets are now are

• rhubarb
• swiss chard
• spinach and other leafy greens
• radishes
• green onions
• root veggies
• toddlers

these photos were taking of our weekend trip to the fulton street famers market in downtown grand rapids.

to read more about how to support your local farmers please click here.