A+ is for Asparagus

Packed with vitamins and a great source of fiber, fresh, local asparagus is yet another reason to rejoice when spring rolls around each year!

Asparagus for breakfast, lunch, or dinner - I’m happy no matter how it turns up on my plate!

I love asparagus. Fresh asparagus tips eaten raw are scrumptious (chopped up, they add a little crunch and flavour to spring salads) but my tastebuds really get happy when I sauté fresh spears in butter, watching them carefully and turning frequently to make sure they don’t overcook. A dash of salt (my current favourite being the salt I brought back from the Camargue in France), pepper and a squirt of fresh lemon juice and oh, I’m doing my spring happy dance. 

Locally Grown Asparagus from Star Hill Farm

The thing with asparagus is the harvest season is short (but oh so sweet!). In Victoria, locally grown asparagus is available in May and June and is definitely worth hunting down. Star Hill Farm overlooks Elk Lake and specializes in growing top-quality asparagus from seed-raised plants. Their stock originates from French, Dutch, Italian, and Canadian seeds.

Take advantage of warm spring and early summer days to fire up the barbecue!

Though Teresa Turgeon at Star Hill Farm has stopped gate sales, for now, asparagus lovers can find delectable spears for sale at Dan’s Farm and Country Market on Oldfield Road and at The Local General Store on Haultain.  

Another favourite way to prepare asparagus spears is to roast them in a 425-degree oven for about 12-ish minutes. Before you pop them in, drizzle the spears with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. The spears are also delicious as a pizza topping or added to quiche. 

Though the season for fresh is short, pickled asparagus spears are a perfect dead of winter addition to a charcuterie platter. 

FOODIE FACT

Asparagus is high in nutrients, low in calories and is an excellent source of fiber. 

Thinking of Growing Your Own?

If you’re thinking you’d like to try your hand at cultivating a crop of your own, you need to be patient. Starting asparagus from seed is an exercise in optimism as it will take at least three years before you can start to harvest the delicate spears. The plants don’t like to be moved, so plan ahead and select your site carefully - and plan on staying where you are for a while so you don’t do all the hard work of establishing your asparagus patch only to move before you are ready to harvest. 

Fortunately, asparagus farmers like Teresa at Star Hill Farm are happy to help satisfy our cravings for this yummy, if somewhat delicate crop!

What’s your favourite way to prepare asparagus? Let us know in the comments!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

The obstacle is the way… When local distilleries found themselves unable to showcase their products to visitors, they found other ways to put their skills, expertise and equipment to good use.

My son-in-law is a huge fan of Empress 1908 Gin. Victoria Distillers’ contribution to the world of gin is the only option good enough to use in his fancy G&Ts.

Various local distilleries, unable to offer tours and tastings during the COVID-19 lockdown have put their skills and equipment to good use to support local frontline healthcare workers. 

Bring on the Hand Sanitizer

Victoria Distillers, for example, partnered with Nezza Naturals, a Vancouver Island-based company that makes organic, eco-friendly, all-natural skincare products to produce and distribute hand sanitizer for those working in essential services in Greater Victoria. The businesses are providing sanitizer free of charge for frontline workers - if you know someone who could make use of this offer, ask them to email sanitizer@empressgin.com. Shelter Point Distillery in Oyster River is also making large batches of hand sanitizer for first responders and has shipped thousands of litres of the product to clinics, fire departments and the VGH.

Why Stop at Hand Sanitizer?

Phillips Brewing has also been making hand sanitizer, but they’ve also started making face shields using their laser cutter and 3-D printer.  As the company’s website says, their path along the beer flavour arc “…is guided by unbridled creativity and unwavering attention to quality.” If creativity is what allows us to see any given situation in a new light, thank goodness this company had the creative capacity to see how they could use their resources and ingenuity to make a difference during the current COVID-19 pandemic. 

When all is said and done, let’s do our bit and remember the businesses that stepped up and chipped in to find innovative ways to support our frontline workers.

We are all in this together!

Five Ways to Support Our Restaurants Even When You Can’t Eat Out

Spring is on its way and along with it, a new season of flavours to celebrate together. [Image by Jason Goh]

Lots of us love dining out, not just because we don’t have to do the dishes after we eat but because dining out is a wonderful way to socialize, stay tuned into our communities, and, yes, to be able to sample all those marvelous seasonal flavors chefs spend their lives putting together for our dining pleasure. 

So, what can we do to help support the restaurants and coffee shops we all love so much when so many are closing their doors, cutting back hours, or reducing capacity in the wake of COVID-19? Here are a few suggestions. Please leave a comment and share your ideas - we’d love to add to this list! 

1. Purchase Gift Certificates

   Always eat out on a Friday night? Consider purchasing gift certificates for about the same amount you’d usually spend each week. You’ll help smooth out the cash flow dip the current situation is creating throughout the industry. When things get back to normal, invite along an extra friend the next time you go out for dinner. Or, get a head start on gift shopping. Who wouldn’t love to receive a gift certificate as a birthday present? Or, for that matter, as a ‘just because’ surprise? 

2. Share on Social

   Repost messages from the establishments you follow. The situation out there is changing rapidly and it can be hard to keep up with all the latest adjustments to who is serving what, who is only doing takeout, or offering contactless delivery. See a post? Share it. That helps our restaurateurs stay in touch with their customers because the more a post is shared, the more it gets shown in everyone’s social media feeds. 

3. Look for Locally-made Frozen Meals
   Delis are my go-to destination when I’m lusting after landjaeger. Visit local delis and stock up on frozen or to-go meals but also on some lovely cheese to go with that bottle of red you’ve been saving.

4. Order takeout!
   Order takeout or take advantage of the many restaurants offering delivery services and when that tasty package of yumminess shows up at your place, take a minute to snap a photo or shoot a quick video. Post online and tag the restaurant to remind others they are open for business. And, tag us (@tastemag) so we can repost to our Stories. We’re doing our best to support local eateries by sharing whenever we can. 

5. Be Kind to Yourself
   Don’t forget to support yourself, too. Celebrate seasonal flavours twice - once in your kitchen and again, virtually. Even though this can feel like an overwhelming time, spring is coming. I’d love to see your posts of the first greens you pluck from your garden, the earliest garlic scapes, or the first tender asparagus spears (sauteed ever so gently in butter) as they grace your plates. We may need to get creative, but we will - we must - find ways to stay positive and celebrate those marvellous flavours together.

Hang in there… spring is coming and so are the fresh strawberries!! [Image by croisy]