Bundles of joy

We finally found local asparagus ... and I was so excited that I went a little overboard.

The bundles aren't that big around, but when you factor in the idea that each spear is more than a foot long, you begin to realize that things are going to be more than a little bit fragrant around here this week.

Also from the farm market - The world's largest local lettuce:

That thing is so big we're going to split it with the neighbors so it doesn't go all slimy before it gets used up.

The other big news is that we got the list of what we're getting in our first CSA basket!  Here's what I have to find a use for by the time I pick up my "small" bag on Friday:

-          Spinach on the stem, 1 bunch (approx 8 oz)

-          Radishes, 1 bunch

-          Cilantro, 1 bunch

-          Leaf Lettuce (various varieties),  1 head

-          Pea Shoots, 4 oz.

-          Grass Grazed Milk (skim, 2%, or whole), ½ gallon

-          Free Range Brown eggs, 1 dozen

-          Grassfed Blue Gouda, 8 oz

-          Trevor’s recipe mild Italian sausage from Berkshire pork, 1 lb (4 weiners) uncooked

-          Large hearty sausage buns

-          ¼ peck Jonagold apples (approx 4-5 apples)

I'm really excited about what we're getting.  The only way it could be better is if I hadn't just spent this afternoon buying cilantro, and lettuce, and local milk, and free range eggs.  Guess I'd better try to use up the stuff I bought today before Friday, huh?

First run to Fitch's

I had seen a sign for lettuce and asparagus at Fitch's farm market as I drove past this weekend, so when the opportunity presented itself to drive up there yesterday, I jumped at the chance.  If you're going to eat seasonally, you have to grab life (and asparagus) by the horns.

Unfortunately, the weather has been so cool and wet recently that the farmers haven't had a chance to harvest any asparagus since last weekend, so all they had on offer were some hoop-house tomatoes and a whole lot of bedding plants.  You can tell my little gardener was heartbroken ...

note the windbreaker and rain boots - it was u-g-l-y out yesterday

While we were there we picked up a few more plants for our garden.  Liza is now the proud parent of two sunflower plants, each of which should grow to be about 24" tall, which means "they'll be easy for me to water."  I didn't bother to point out that the water goes on the ground, even for the 10' tall ones, because frankly I don't have any 10' tall stakes.

I bought some tomato plants - pink heirloom Brandywines, some deeply lobed (which I mis-typed as "loved" three times before I got it right - paging Dr. Freud!) Conestogas, and something called a Tomatoberry.  That last one is probably some sort of weird GMO cross between a halibut and a Better Boy, but the pics of the fruits were just too cute to pass up.  After all, I've got to have something to put on top of all those greens, right?