Inspire us – Asparagus

After work I stopped at the allotment to feed the plants in the greenhouse, especially the tomatoes, they will need feeding on a daily basis now. After feeding the plants, I paused to check out the asparagus bed to see it there was any sign of asparagus tips emerging from the bed, of course not - silly me, the asparagus is only in its second year, ah the high expectations we have.

D is envious of fellow plot holders down South growing asparagus. Unlike his patch in the West of Scotland; their patch of land is rewarding them with stalk after stalk. He aspires to have an asparagus bed like theirs one day. Looking at fellow bloggers images of their glorious asparagus also made me a bit envious, and I am not one who relishes when the asparagus season is upon us, but I wouldn’t mind growing my own. I was especially stunned by the size of Celia’s asparagus showcased recently by Eat Like a Girl. Oh well, for now we will simply enjoy what is being grown by British farmers.

Talking about asparagus. This is an asparagus steamer. I bought this for D for one of his birthdays a long while ago.

Look the asparagus falls through the sides and it is not even steamed yet. It has one purpose to hold the asparagus and it cannot even do that, it is even worse when the asparagus is steamed as it falls through the sides even more so. My advice is if you are considering getting one of these, Don’t, you can steam asparagus well without having one of these gadgets. This asparagus pot just sits high on one of our shelves, like an ornament rather than a functional kitchen product. But if you feel you must purchase one ensure that the strainer inside will hold the asparagus stalks, otherwise you may be disappointed like us.

Now onto food: Ready made puff pastry (yes life is too short to make your own, unless of course it is your vocation), asparagus stalks and a generous grating of vegetarian parmesan cheese and bake.

What more can I say. Enjoy!