Asparagus overload

This time of the year one of the few locally grown fresh produce items you can get is asparagus. I've been buying some every week at the farmer's market and have been trying to come up with ways to use it other than grilling or roasting it.

One of my most favorite recipes I came up with- by combing two recipes that I had- was for asparagus and Boston bibb lettuce risotto. It tasted like spring. I added a little bit of lemon zest for some extra freshness and it was delicious. Next time I need to tweak the recipe a bit to use more olive oil and less butter- the dish was quite rich and didn't make my GB too happy, no matter how small the portion.

Last weekend, after having already picked up two pounds of asparagus at the farmer's market, my mother-in-law came by and brought us another two pounds of fresh picked asparagus from the family farm! I needed a recipe to use up massive quantities of it quickly, so I found a recipe for asparagus soup that used up most of it. The soup is chilled, though you can eat it hot. I found that I preferred it cold as it was quite refreshing that way. It was also quite filling with just some crackers to go with it.

When my mother-in-law was over I had already planned and making a dish with asparagus on the grill. It was a huge hit with her. Simple recipe of white fish- in this case we used sole, though I had done it earlier in the week with halibut- asparagus, mushrooms, a little EVOO, and white wine cooked en pappillote (in a package) on the grill. Everything steams together in the package and you have a super tasty and healthy dinner. Extremely satisfying a light meal. This picture is from the first time I made it with halibut and shittake mushrooms. The second time I used button mushrooms and sole.

Also in season right now is rhubarb, so for the past two weeks I have made a strawberry rhubarb crisp. Quite good. Strawberries are in season now too, so I will have to make a 100% fresh and local crisp soon. You couldn't ask for a better dessert!