And, you thought Vegas only grew long-legged, well-endowed Show Girls.
Mark Ruben, director of the Gilcrease Orchard, packing up my asparagus purchase.
Not so. This year, for the first time, Gilcrease Orchard, located in North Las Vegas, is harvesting Spring’s harbinger, asparagus. Let me just say, these well-endowed spears have legs!
The FFWD recipe of choice this week is Asparagus and Bits of Bacon, an especially great idea for the Easter and Passover week’s menus. While “sourcing” fresh asparagus, I found that the orchard, only open now on Saturdays, is selling asparagus and garlic scapes, those curly tops of the garlic plants which are as edible and flavorful as the garlic bulbs themselves.
Gilcrease Orchard is located in north Las Vegas.
The fruit trees at Gilcrease Orchard.
In an e-mail to Mark Ruben, Gilcrease’s director, I explained that I needed the asparagus before Saturday, relayed my FFWD participation and dropped Dorie Greenspan’s name, well, two or three times. Shortly thereafter, Mark responded, “Mary, Come on out. I’m here,” giving me his cell phone number.
When I arrived, Mark had a dozen bunches of asparagus, standing tall and proudly, in a sink of cold water. “I’ll take them all,” I said. Although, surprised, he happily boxed them up. We toured and talked. I questioned, he answered. The orchard produces a myriad of fruits and vegetables, some, pick-your-own, and, in May, will be wide open for business.
Iowa girl meets Nevada boy. Buddies. Mark is as serious about growing good produce as I am about finding, buying and cooking with it.
Asparagus & Bits of Bacon, this week’s French Friday with Dorie’s recipe choice.
On to this week’s asparagus and bacon bits. I cannot explain it better than Dorie. “Toss boiled asparagus with nut oil and lemon juice,” she says, “then top the spears with onion and bacon, and you get sophisticated flavor, texture, and looks, all in about ten minutes.”
Bring home the bacon and throw it the pan!
Bacon bits and fresh diced onions. Warm in a dash of bacon fat, being careful not to color or cook the onion.
I used walnut oil. Perhaps you’d prefer hazelnut oil. While the recipe is simple, the key points here are peel the asparagus, no matter how young or thin the stalks, drain the bacon well, pat the asparagus dry after boiling in water, and, season (salt and pepper) generously.
As a dry run before Easter and Passover, (our family celebrates both), I made this for my dinner last night. I halved the recipe and managed to consume it all in one sitting. Delicious.
For my Easter gift sacks: California Olive Oil, California Shelled Walnuts & Locally-Grown Asparagus.
As for the other eleven bunches of asparagus. Luckily, my neighbors here are all about food. This year, in their Easter gift sack, I am including a bottle of Olea Farm Olive Oil, a California product grown and produced in Templeton. http://www.oleafarm.com/ Owned and operated by Yves and Clotilde Julien (Oui, ils sont français.), this Winter I toured, tasted and loved their products. My grandchildren are selling beautiful bags of shelled California walnuts as a fundraising project. I was all over that – a bag for everyone. The pièce de résistance? Fresh locally-grown asparagus for everyone’s holiday dinner. http://www.thegilcreaseorchard.org/
To see how others dealt with this week’s recipe, go to http://www.frenchfridayswithdorie.com/
Easter Gift Sacks, ready for delivery.
Whether honoring Easter, Passover or just the holiday week-end, may it include a celebration of family, friendship and, in my case, wonderful neighbors.
What a fun post – and what lucky neighbors 🙂 Your asparagus looks amazing and both Nana and I enjoyed our attempts at it here. We too are planning it for the Easter meal ….well Nana will be cooking it and I will be consuming it. I especially loved your photos and info about the orchard. Wow- how fun was that. Great info and I felt a bit like I got to share in the adventure. I am really looking forward to farmer’s market seasons opening up here soon in PA. Happy Easter !!
Thank you so much for my wonderful gifts of asparagus, walnuts and olive oil! Your dish looks lovely! Happy Easter my friend. My family will certainly enjoy all that you brought me.
Harold loved the Easter sack and liked reading about the goodies. However he says you will have to show him how to peel the asparagus (something he didn’t learn about in cooking school)))):
Ardyth, I can teach Harold to peel asparagus when I’m taking a coffee break while helping you de-clutter, toss, and donate!
Wow, those lucky people receiving the lovely gifts!!! Thanks for sharing your asparagus source.
How lovely…what a great gift! Loved this post.
Your dish looks tasty too. We all loved this recipe at our house. Yours must have been extra special with fresh produce.
Happy Easter!
great post and I am eyeing your Easter gift sack :p You too, have a wonderful Easter Hols with your loved ones. Love the fact that you choped the bacon into bits size…mine were a wee bit bigger bits LOL!
Wow, that is fab looking asparagus. Good for you for celebrating fine produce by buying it all.
Mary – can I be your neighbor 🙂
I love that you went out & retrieved your asparagus from the source. And I so wish I could get my hand on garlic scapes. Sigh.
Lovely dish
Your gifts are so thoughtful! It doesnt get better than when you can bring the veggies straight from the farm and put them on the table! 🙂
What a wonderful story. It is amazing what we can find in the unlikeliest corners of the world. Your asparagus looks delicious and your little Easter bags are very cute. Enjoy your weekend!
I didn’t know what Dorie meant when she said to peel it. This was my first asparagus cooking adventure. I called down to the store because one of our chefs was there for a class and she just told me to forget it and just trim it. Was I lead astray? I thought it tasted pretty good, but maybe I just don’t know any better? Yours looks great and it’s very nice of you to give out such lovely Easter gifts!
Maggie, Personally, I usually don’t peel my asparagus. I like to buy thin and young asparagus. If the asparagus is “older”, you might want to peel it (like a carrot) about an inch under the top, and continue to where you break it, at the bottom. Sometimes it gets a bit stringy, I understand. Everytime I do Dorie’s recipe, for the first time, I follow her instructions to the “t” – or, at least I try to. Mary
I didn’t bother to peel the asparagus (I never do). Do you find that it makes a big difference? Maybe I’ll have to try it next time. What a great story. It’s too early for local asparagus here, but it’s always so great when it’s fresh. And your neighbors are so lucky – fresh asparagus are a great gift!
Jora – I never peel my asparagus either. Dorie suggested it in this recipe. For “French Friday with Dorie”, Ms. Greenspan rules! Mary
What great Easter basket goodies! have a wonderful holiday.
Your leggy asparagus turned such a vibrant green! Great post!
It looks like you and Mark are going to make a perfect team. His orchard is a great find, Mary. Your asparagus looks delicious and I love those Easter gifts. I hope you have a wonderful Easter and Passover!
Wow! How incredibly fresh and gorgeous is that asparagus. I loved reading your post!
Have a wonderful Easter!
I was wondering what plans you had with all those gorgeous asparagus! The reveal of your Easter gift bags to your neighbours is absolutely delightful. Very thoughtful gifts! Now that you found a great source for farm vegetable, I’ll not be surprised to see their produce show up more often on your dinner table. Great find!
How lucky that local asparagus is already in season where you are. I have at least another 6 weeks of waiting. What lovely Easter sacks. Can I be your neighbor too? They are lucky. Have a happy Easter and Passover weekend.
It’s great that you have a personal story to your food ingredients this week. It does make it extra special!
How fun! What lucky neighbors – any chance you want to relocate to Indian Wells????
What a Great Spring Gift! I gave some asparagus to friends too, but the olive oil and walnuts put yours over the top. Lovely!
Marilyn, Don’t you love giving food as gifts. I’m always open to suggestions as to how to package attractive gifts. I am getting some ideas from Pinterest now, surprisingly. Mary