The Seasonal Cook

The last asparagus of the season

The bipolar weather we've been having in New England this spring has wreaked havoc on the early crops. I saw a friend's garden last weekend - the spinach, though only about two inches wide, had already bolted. And the good man at the Central Square farmers' market tells me that we've reached the last asparagus of the season; the heat finished off the crop.

It was good while it lasted. The asparagus I've been getting is from Hadley, Massachusetts, which was once known as the Asparagus Capitol of the World. Asparagus is even called "Hadley grass," or at least it's supposed to be. I can't say as I've ever heard anyone say that, and it would sound very wierd if someone did. But that Hadley asparagus is damned fine, and I would be inconsolable over the shortness of the season if Monday's market had not also broght the first local strawberries of the season. They weren't quite as good as they could be - some seemed to have been picked short of ripe to push the season - but they were still very welcome.