While Will has been very busy spreading manure in our Wolf Garden, where he’s close to finishing, I’ve been canning up our first batch of asparagus. From that picking, I ended up with 11 pints, so I was very happy! Of course, I had picked a small batch two days ago to make a quiche for dinner or we would have ended up with even more. But boy was that quiche wonderful! I cut up two small sweet peppers, about two cups of asparagus and an onion, tossed in ¾ cup of grated cheddar cheese and mixed it up, dumping it into a pie crust. Then I whipped up eight fresh eggs, poured them in on top of the vegetable mix and sprinkled ¼ cup of cheese on top. Baked at 350 F until done. It was a wonderful supper, and we even had leftovers for the next day. Yum! I love this time of the year when our chickens are so generous, and the garden is starting to produce nice, fresh food for us.
The rhubarb is coming along so fast, I’ll be making my first rhubarb pie real soon. Mine has a thick meringue on top, thanks to those hard-working hens. I’ll admit, I use four egg whites for it, so we get a real big meringue. (If you want the recipe, check out my Pantry Cookbook for it, plus tons of other good old homestead recipes. — Jackie
Which asparagus are you finding preferable? for canning? Eating and general?
And are they good freeze-dried?
great to hear you re canning and back to normal so quickly after your surgery!! my asparagus bed is now 1 year old, with a new bed started this year. so hopefully ill be enjoying my own asparagus next year. i ve you beat on rhubarb! 2 pies and 4 quarts in freezer, still coming on for more.
mary
Great! I love to be beaten. I’ll be canning and making my pies tomorrow. I’ve got to do some apples I was gifted today.
Boy your quiche sounds wonderful !! It makes me hungry just reading about it .
I thought it was great the first time, but leftovers were the best!!
Your quiche recipe sounds amazing!
I’ve got to try that!! Do you add any cream or milk to the eggs?
Good points. Thanks Jackie. We are eating it pretty quickly so I may not have enough to can. But this is good to know for the future.
Always enjoy your newsletter
I’ve got four pints in the canner right now. We love it so much!
My asparagus patch is finally beginning to produce enough to eat from. it is so good! My rhubarb is ready and there will be a rhubarb crisp in the near future. It is such a wonderful feeling to eat things that you have grown and harvested. And the taste is superior to anything in the supermarkets. Prayers for a blessed week!
Thanks! When we get our first garden harvest, it seems like spring is really here. Yum!
My husband knows every asparagus patch in every backroad country ditch for at least a 5 mile radius. Add to that our small garden patch of asparagus & I too, have just kicked off the canning season. So tender!
And so good too! Unfortunately, we don’t have any “alternative” asparagus patches here. In Montana, I was right with your husband, scouting out wild asparagus patches in ditches, along creeks and in abandoned homesteads (with permission, of course).
How big is your asparagus patch (approximately). Rhubarb and asparagus are long term winners when it comes to providing for years (if not decades). Until we sold our last house, we kept harvesting asparagus. And transplanted some small ones at the current house. Those years plenty to eat, share, and freeze.
And yes, the volunteer taters are being mounded – even if just one tater from the plant, I consider it a bonus. Especially after getting two separate harvests from one tater plant last year.
Must be the angle as that jar of asparagus looks bigger than a pint.
Nothing better than eating food as fresh as it gets.
We actually have three asparagus patches. Our first one, which now needs renewing, is about 8′ x 20′. The second, in our Main Garden, is 8′ x 30′. The third is in the Berry Patch, and is 10′ x 40′. We’ll be digging the roots from the first soon, removing any grass roots and replanting it in one of the other patches, then tilling up and manuring the old patch so we can, in the future, replant.
No, that’s just a pint. : )
Jackie, Other than not wanting to use freezer space, can you give a brief comparison between freezing vs canning asparagus? Thanks
Frozen asparagus is firmer in texture but can also be tough at times. The canned asparagus is soft and hardly ever tough. And the canned asparagus will remain good to eat for decades where the frozen will only make a year before getting freezer burned.
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