Photo: Great grandparents at their farm in Blandinsville, IL, with five of their six children .. my grandpa was yet a twinkle in grandma's eye. Stable boy and governess also pictured. Hodges farm, circa 1903-4

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

From Garden to Table

While our garden is still weeks away from producing much of anything, we had our first harvest of asparagus last night for dinner.  This was planted three years ago and is now producing enough to pick.  Another bed was planted last year and I'm tempted to plant one more strip this spring.  There is NO comparison to freshly picked and store bought.  It's that delicious.  Last night I made salmon noodle casserole served with asparagus, carrots, stewed rhubarb and milk for dinner.  You can buy Alaskan salmon in small tins .. it's drained, flaked and added to homemade mac and cheese making for an easy to prepare meal.

What's getting picked or preserved from your garden?

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

That meal looks yummy! How great to have fresh asparagus from your garden! I'm inspired! As you know, I do not have an extensive garden, but the onions I planted are getting big!

Sandy Livesay said...

Mrs. Mac,

I've never made salmon noodle casserole before, it sounds good. Your asparagus look fabulous, it took 3 years to grow before producing something you could eat. Wow, I had no idea it took that long. We've been eatting all kinds of lettuce here. This weekend, were going to pull what is left of the Bibb lettuce and start a new vegetable. Our onions are ready for harvest. Carrots, spinach, broccoli rabe, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers (various kinds) are still not ready to harvest.

Corner Gardener Sue said...

What pretty asparagus! That whole meal looked good. I seem to not be trying much new these days. I want to fix something with canned salmon. I may even have some in my pantry. They say I have osteoporosis, and I'm thinking that's one of the things that has calcium in it.

Becky said...

oh yummy! can't wait to get started on some more pop pop pop sounds from my kitchen!!!

Laurie said...

Love asparagus! Alas, ours is almost finished for the year. This week I put up jams of elderberry/blackberry, elderberry/blueberry and a passionfruit/lemon curd. These were all fruits I froze last year, and am just getting around to canning. I also dried a big batch of nettles, and started a batch of nettle tincture. Isn't spring grand?!

Felisol said...

Do you think asparagus would survive the arctic climate of Norway?? I don't know anybody who grow their own asparagus.
Maybe I should give it a go?
I have harvested ransoms since Easter and I also use some gout-weed, nettles and dandelion for green soup with hard boiled eggs to go, or served raw in salads, (just tiny amounts).
The Rhubarb is here, but I haven't harvested some yet.
The summer season definitely has begun.

Mrs. Mac said...

Laurie and Felisol. I would LOVE to taste anything with elderberry and would like to have a bush. I have yet to try nettles though I think they grow around the lake area .. dandelions are plentiful now .. yes, time to make a spring tonic. Gout weed. Hum, I've never heard of that one .. will have to research it. Arctic asparagus? After a brief 'google' search, I didn't find out any information. Check with your local nursery to be sure. It takes about three year before the first harvest ... some places it grows wild along the creeks.