How To Grow Your Own AsparagusWeekend Gardening Project

Dedicate one of your garden beds to asparagus.

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I've Always Wanted to Grow Asparagus
A few weeks ago my nephew Cody brought me five 2-year old asparagus crowns to plant. I was so excited, I bought another 20 crowns. Since I'm inpatient and not getting any younger, I bought more 2-year old crowns. Asparagus is a perennial and will stay in the same bed for up to 20 years but it may take a few years to be productive so although you can start your bed with seeds, if you start with one or two-year crowns, you will be able to enjoy eating asparagus a lot sooner. Male plants are more productive as they do not expend energy producing seeds.

2-year asparagus crowns from Gurney's.

How to Grow Starting with Crowns
Plant in the early spring. Pick a sunny area that has good drainage. A raised bed in perfect. 

Remove all weeds from the area and dig trenches about 6 inches wide and 12 to 18 inches deep. Fill with compost and rich topsoil and form mounds 15 to 18 inches apart. 

Trenches.

Place a crown on each mound, spreading the roots over the mound.

2-year crown on top of a mound.

Cover the crowns with two inches of soil and water thoroughly. Gradually fill the trench as the plants grow and the stems appear. When the trench is filled, add a thick layer of mulch and water regularly.

If you start with seeds or 1-year crowns, do not harvest the spears in the first year but let the asparagus go vegetative so that the crowns can get established. Cut down the dead foliage in the late fall. The second year, lightly harvest and only harvest spears that are thicker than a pencil. 

After the third year, a full crop can be harvested. If you plant 2-year crowns, it will still take 2 years to have a full harvest. Rodale's Organic Life warns that "a 2-year crown is not worth the added cost, tend to suffer more from transplant shock, and won't produce any faster." I still opted for 2-year crowns just in case they get a bit of an edge. We shall see!

Picture from Rodale's Organic Life.

 After harvesting, allow the ferns to grow which replenishes the nutrients in the soil for the following year's production.

Asparagus ferns -
Picture from Vegetable Gardener.

I'm super excited about adding this new vegetable to my garden and can't wait to see the first spear pop up!

Vegan And Gluten-Free Asparagus SoupInstant Pot And Stove Top Recipes

This creamy soup is dairy free and only 200 calories a bowl.

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It's Asparagus Time!
Asparagus is starting to show up in local markets and I couldn't be happier. Most of the time I just roast them in the oven and serve them over a green salad or as a side dish, but today I was in the mood for soup. 

Here's a simple recipe that you can make in your Instant Pot Pressure Cooker or in a Dutch Oven or medium-size soup pot on the stove. 

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Asparagus Soup
Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free
[makes 4 servings]

Requirements
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker (optional)
Hand Immersion blender

Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus (1 1/4 pounds)
1/2 pound leeks
1 tablespoon Earth Balance (vegan) or organic Ghee*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
4 cups veggie broth**
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

* Ghee is not vegan but is free of lactose and casein
** Or 1 Rapunzel vegetarian bouillon cube and 4 cups of water

Asparagus, leeks and Yukon gold potatoes are the
main ingredients in this easy-to-make soup.

Directions
1. Prepare the asparagus. Trim off the bottoms of the asparagus with a knife or bend the bottoms until they snap off. Discard. 
Cut off the tips and set aside. Slice the lower portion of the spears into 1/2 inch pieces. Set aside.

2. Prepare the leeks. Cut off the dark green tops of the leeks. Either discard or save for making veggie stock.
Slice the remaining part of the leeks vertically and run under cold water. Wash well to remove any dirt or sand. Shake off the water and thinly slice.

Only use the white and light green parts of the leeks.

3. Cook the leeks. Heat the Earth Balance or ghee and cook the leeks.

If you are using your Instant pot, do this with the sauté function.
If you are using a Dutch oven or soup pot, heat the Earth Balance or ghee on medium-low heat. 

Cook the leeks and garlic for a few minutes until the leeks soften. 
If you are using an Instant pot, hit the off button.

Cook leeks until they soften.

4. Cook the soup. Add the potatoes, the lower parts of the asparagus (NOT the tips), salt, pepper, and the broth to the pot.

.

If you are using an Instant Pot, close the lid securely, hit MANUAL and set for 4 minutes. When complete, hit off and let the pressure come down naturally. Carefully open the lid.

If you are cooking on the stovetop, bring broth to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes and asparagus are very tender, about 20 to 30 minutes.

5. Blend the soup. Add the nutritional yeast to the soup and, using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. You can also do this in your Vitamix or blender. 

Blend until smooth with an immersion blender.

6. Cook the asparagus tips. Add the asparagus tips to the soup and cook until they soften but remain a little crisp.

If you are using an Instant Pot, you can do this by using the sauté feature to heat the soup to cook the tips. 

If you are cooking on the stovetop, bring the soup to a simmer and cook the asparagus tips until they soften.

7. Season the soup. Adjust the salt and pepper to your liking. Stir in the lemon juice and serve.

Nutrition
Per serving (made with Earth Balance): 203 calories, 3 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 81 mg omega-3 and 133 mg omega-6 essential fatty acids*, 9 g protein, 36 g carbohydrates, 7 g dietary fiber, and 331 mg sodium.
* This does not include the essential fatty acids from the Earth Balance or Nutritional Yeast since the manufacturer does not provide that information.

Roasted Asparagus On Romaine Topped With Corn, Radishes, Avocado & Sunflower Seeds

Roasted asparagus topped with chopped veggies and seeds.

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Asparagus for Lunch?

Doug and I ate an entire bunch of asparagus yesterday for lunch. Once those tender roasted spears came out of the oven, we decided to make a meal out of them. Besides, you can't just let these jewels sit around since they are more perishable than most other vegetables.

Feed your Microbes Too!

I'm sure you all know how very important microbes are for our health. Well these little guys have to eat too. They depend on "prebiotics" which are supplied by the compound "inulin." This carbohydrate makes it all the way through to our large intestine where it becomes an important food source for our intestinal bacteria such as Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli. Asparagus is a very good source of inulin. 

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Roasted Asparagus Salad

Vegan, Dairy Free, Gluten Free

[makes 4 servings]

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus, washed

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 ear of corn, cleaned, kernels removed

4 small radishes, diced

1 green onion, cleaned and thinly sliced

1/2 avocado, diced

1/2 lemon

1 head Romaine lettuce, washed and chopped

2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds (or hemp seeds)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Trim off the bottoms of the asparagus with a knife or bend the bottoms until they snap off. Place in a large, shallow baking pan and arrange in a single layer. 

Drizzle the olive oil over the asparagus and sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. If you have a Silpat sheet, you can reduce the olive oil to 2 teaspoons. Shake the pan back and forth until the spears are well coated.

Place the pan in the oven and roast for 12 to 15 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through, until the asparagus spears are lightly browned and fork-tender but still crisp. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Place the corn kernels, radishes, green onion, and avocado in a small bowl. Toss with the juice of 1/2 a lemon and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside. 

To build the salad, place the chopped Romaine lettuce on a platter or divide among four individual plates. (Doug and I divided it onto two big plates and made an entire meal out of it.)

Place the warm asparagus on top of the lettuce and then top the asparagus with the corn mixture. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving: 168 calories, 10 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 249 mg omega-3 and 2,006 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 6 g protein, 18 g carbohydrates, 8 g dietary fiber, 20 mg sodium (plus salt to taste).

For a better omega-3 to omega-6 balance, use hemp seeds instead of sunflower seeds.