First of the Springtime Foraging…..

We have been eating our homegrown shiitake mushrooms for about a week now but April 29th was the first day I picked a few spears of asparagus. They weren't very tall but who can wait to have that first taste?! We'll soon tire of the asparagus after 3-4 straight weeks of eating it every day but right now that green stuff tastes wonderful.

Speaking of green stuff I also harvested the first of the nettles. They seem to be quite prolific next to the compost pile. I've read a lot of good things about nettles and their spring tonic effect and even tasted them before but this is the first time I harvested and cooked them myself.

I snipped the tops (4-5 leaves) into a big bowl, washed them carefully without touching them and threw them into a pot of boiling water for about 7 minutes. The cooking does take the sting out! I then chopped it and sautéed it along with shallots, asparagus and shiitakes to add to the evening risotto. We drank the leftover liquid as a tea – at least some of us did..... it was like drinking spinach juice. Noel added honey to make it more palatable. Maybe next(?) time we'll incorporate into a fruit smoothie!!