Asparabus farm tour

ASPARABUS TOUR

I have been trying to find the time to write this blog post for a while and regret that I couldn't find the time to post it while Asparagus season was in it's peak but I wanted to make sure I let you know how great this incredibly short season is.  Asparagus like strawberries has a very short 6 week peak season in the spring/summer.  I love this time of year because the weather is fantastic and my favourite foods are at their best.

I had the pleasure of getting invited to join the #AsparabusTour in June, hosted by the https://foodiesonfoot.ca/.  They are a great team of people that have been hosting this invite only Asparagus Tour.  It's a full day of all things asparagus that begins with hopping on a tour bus in downtown Toronto and on this tour we headed to Welsh Brothers Farms and Bonnieheath Estate Winery and Lavendar Farm.  

The Foodies Group have been doing these tours for the past 5 years and my blogger friends that have gone have told me how much fun they are so I was really excited to get invited this year.

I have been on other farm tours before and they are a lot of fun.  I have also been to Bonnieheath Estate before but it was nice to return and explore a little more.

We began our tour at Welsh Brothers Farms where we got to see the farm workers picking the Asparagus right out of the ground with this large tractor vehicles.  It still looks like back breaking work even though there are now large scale machinery to assist.  I was surprised to see how sparse the asparagus fields were and to find out that it is a large investment in time to produce asparagus.  It's not a yearly harvest but takes many years to get a good harvest of great asparagus.

My blogger buddies and I really enjoyed picking the asparagus right out of the ground and eating it.  You really don't have to cook it to eat them.  It's amazing how sweet they are when they are that fresh.  Some of my friends seemed surprised at how the asparagus grows from the ground.  I guess you never think about it when you pick up a perfect bunch of asparagus from the grocery store but there is a whole lot of work that goes into that perfect little green bunch of spears.

We had a chance to check out their processing plant.  There aren't that many steps but probably more than you would thing to get the bundles of asparagus ready.  The ends need to be chopped, they are sorted and packed into bundles and then wrapped with elastics and of course washed and packed in large boxes for shipping to the food terminal or grocery stores.

After our visit to Welsh Brothers Farms we headed to Bonnieheath Estate Winery where chef Tracey Winkworth who I have seen many times making Chef Chuck Hughes look good at trade show food demos.  Chef Tracey along with Liason College students whipped up an unbelievable spread of Asparagus focused dishes.  It was so amazing and we got to eat it outside at the back of the Bonnieheath Estate with a view of the lavendar fields.

I think my favourite dish was these Asparagus fries.  Crunchy goodness.

The dessert didn't have any asparagus but it had some lavendar wine in it as a nod to the Lavendar estate.  It was a berry bread pudding with the lavendar wine ice cream.

After lunch we did some food trivia and my team won a great prize and we checked out their little market store for some wine and cider sampling and to purchase some goodies.

We had the best day.  I got to hang out with my favourite blogger buddies and enjoy the farm tour and incredible local food and a beautiful day.

You should visit Bonnieheath estate during their lavendar season.  It's so beautiful there.

It may be late in the season and I am sorry I couldn't post this sooner to remind you to pick up local asparagus but I hope that you can still get some at your local farmers markets and also looking at these food pics and take a different look at your asparagus and prepare them in new ways instead of just steaming them because there are so many things you can do with them from the asparagus fries to a creamy soup.

For more info check out these links:

#Asparabus

Asparagus Farmers of Ontario

T @onasparagus

I: @ontarioasparagus

onasparagus.on.ca

Welsh Brothers Farm

T: @WelshBros

welshbros.ca

Bonnieheath Estate lavendar  & Winery

T: @bonnieheathfarm

I: @bonnieheathestate

bonnieheathestate.ca

Liason College Southcoast

T: @SouthCoastLC

I: liasoncollege

liasonsouthcoast.com

The Foodies Group

T: @thefoodiesgroup

I: @thefoodiesgroup

foodiesonfoot.ca

Eat more Veggies in the New Year

One  of my Resolutions for the New Year is to eat more Veggies but also to try and find new ways of making them and maximize the flavour profiles while maintaining the integrity of the vegetable.

On a grocery shop trip to St. Lawrence Market last weekend I picked up some Asparagus, although they are not in season they were cheap and they are always quick to make.  It was only $1.50 for a small bunch but for me I knew I wouldn't waste a big bunch of it.
One of my favourite ways to make them is to just saute them in a grill pan or in this case I just used a flat cast iron pan and then I add Salt, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil and sometimes I will add Balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar.  I have also added grated parmesan on top and chili flakes.   I was tempted to make asparagus tempura but it didn't seem worth it for a small bunch of Asparagus.  I need to find a few new ways of making Asparagus and not having them be boring or over cooked.  My mother used to boil them until they were limp and had lost all of the green color.  I never boil them anymore.  Blanching maybe...but I prefer to cook them in a way that retains all the vitamins.   A lot of people don't like Asparagus because of either the smell, the texture or the after effects.  It will be my mission to try and find new ways of looking at this skinny green veggie.

The other Veggie that nobody seems to know what it is or what to do with is Celeriac.  My mom used to grate it and make a cold salad with lemon and mayonnaise.

This week I decided to make a puree out of it to go with the Salmon I made instead of rice or mashed potatoes.   This is one of the other white vegetables instead of potatoes.  They can be eaten raw or roasted like any other root vegetable or boiled and mashed into a puree the way I made them.  It's a pretty versatile vegetable but I think most people are scared away because they look really ugly and dirty until you cut off the outer layer of it and chop it up.   It can be a bit bland but you can add things to it like you would with potatoes.

When you get the Celeriac cut off the nobby top end and the root end and then start cutting down the sides to cut off the outer layer.   Rinse it and then cut it however you need to prepare whatever you are making.  I cut mine in chunks and boiled them.

I added nutmeg, parsley and dill butter and heavy cream and salt and pepper to season it.    If you are vegan you can skip the butter and cream and add some vegetable stock to puree it.
Things like chives, cheese, dill and even Tarragon or some other spices to bump up the flavour.

These are the simple ways to make these two under eaten veggies.

I will try and attempt to cook more vegetables this year and increase my recipe repetoire  in making them a lot more drool worthy.

Looks like Spring Asparagus Tart

My friend and financial advisor helps me do my taxes every year and to thank her I try and cook her a nice meal when she comes over to work on my tax return. This year I made something different and something I have never made before but I decided to make it because I wanted to make something vegetable based and I felt like making a savoury tart.

I made a leek, asparagus and goat cheese tart. It looked, and tasted like spring. It was kind of like a cross between a quiche and a tart.

How I did it.

1 large or 2 small leeks
1 bunch of asparagus with hard stalks cut off
4 eggs
1 layer of frozen puff pastry dough defrosted
1 small shallot chopped
2 to 3 tablespoons of soft goat cheese
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter


I first (blind baked) meaning I baked the tart crust in the oven using beans to keep it flattened instead of puffing up. I cooked it until lightly browned.

Cut the leeks into half moon slices and clean well. Saute the leeks with the diced shallots slowly in a medium to low heat pan in the olive oil and butter mix and seasoning with salt and pepper. You can add parsley or other seasonings to this mix if you like. Cook until translucent and softened.

Blanch the asparagus in boiling water until bright green and then shock them in ice water to stop the cooking process.

Let the leeks, asparagus and the puff pastry cool before assembling.

Make sure you have a border crust on your puff pastry so that the egg mixture doesn't leak out.

Mix the leeks and shallot mixture into the 4 beaten eggs and pour onto the puff pastry crust. Arrange the asparagus tips around the tart and put small spoonfuls of the goat cheese on top of the asparagus around the tart. Grate parmesan cheese over the whole tart.

Bake in a 400degree oven for about 20-25 min or until the eggs are cooked and it is slightly browned.

I used a removable bottom flan pan but it would be nicer in a rectangular pan.

My friend loved it so much that she took a piece home for her boyfriend. So I guess I will make this recipe again. It would be a nice brunch recipe but i could see it being great for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

It was fairly easy to prepare using already rolled out puff pastry and it looks impressive if you assemble it well. I think food stylists would like this one.