Junebug B: Asparagus and other good things

Today was just a great day! I left work an hour early and decided that it was high time I had a bike rack for my car. That's right, I want to be able to take my bike out and ride places that aren't Cambridge or Boston. In fact, I wanted to do that immediately. I had planned to drive out the farm where I have my farm share to see how asparagus grows and there is a bike path running through their property, so I thought it would be fun to take my bike and see what the path was about. So I bought the bike rack, strapped on my bike and headed out to the farm.

It was such a beautiful afternoon, it was great just to be out in the open air. The drive to the farm is past Walden Pond and makes for a scenic drive. Once I got there, I found Moira (half of the couple that owns the farm) and she pointed out the asparagus patch. I had walked right past it and didn't even notice! I was blown away by the sight of asparagus growing out of the ground. I don't know why this was shocking to me. I grew up with a backyard garden, I have seen things grow from seeds, but asparagus is different. It looks like it's from another planet. It was awesome. I picked a nice handful, took some photos and walked back toward where I was parked. I ran into Moira again and thanked her for letting me take some asparagus and that I was really looking forward to a bountiful summer. As I was getting into my car, she ran into the house and came out with 4 farm fresh eggs and said "Here, so you can have an omelette with your asparagus." I was hesitant to take them because I didn't have anything to put them in, but I know how good farm fresh eggs can be and couldn't pass it up. I nestled them into my jacket which was on the front seat and hoped for the best.

I then drove down the road a little bit and parked at the head of the bike trail, undid my bike and started on the dirt path through the farm. It led to a nice wide path through the woods and by a pond and was just so quiet and peaceful. At one point a huge bird swooped past me overhead and I stopped my bike and looked into a nearby tree only to find a huge owl staring back at me. It was amazing. I don't think I've seen an owl in broad daylight not at a zoo. It was just so cool. I didn't want to spend too much time on my little bike ride because I knew the asparagus and eggs were sitting in my car, so I headed back after just a short little trip. But I'm planning on going back.

On the drive home I got stuck in rush hour traffic and ate two raw asparagus stalks. There were amazingly good. I'm sure it's not as good with grocery store asparagus, but it was sweet and crunchy and delicious. I highly recommend it if you get the chance to pick your own asparagus. Once I got home I looked online for an asparagus recipe and found Linguine with Fried Eggs and Asparagus on Mark Bittman's Bitten blog from the NY Times. I thought that would be a great way to use both the asparagus and the eggs. And I was right! It was so delicious. The asparagus was just lightly sauteed in the garlicy oil and it was out of this world. This makes me so excited for the produce that I'll be getting all summer. It was amazing and I'm happy to say that I have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

But wait there's more! Lee, Ann's husband, delivered some leftover cupcakes from Ann's graduation party this past weekend on their adorable Vespa (I am so jealous of their Vespa, someday I'll have one of my very own). But he used the fabulous cupcake carrier that I got Ann for a graduation gift. See how nicely it fits onto the back of the scooter: