Rhubarb and Asparagus Time

Spring is really here: white-throated sparrows have been heard, the grass needs mowing, the rhubarb is growing nicely (I have a nice, deeply red variety, as you can see in the photo), and fresh local asparagus from Lorence's Berry Farm is now available at the co-op -- and, one assumes, at Lorence's! Had an exalted dinner tonight of salmon and asparagus. Heaven! The canine and feline members of the household thought so too when they received tidbits of the salmon skin.

For more musings on oh-so-welcome spring foods, you might possibly want to pop over to my recent post, and others, on the Eat Local Just Food blog, where the pleasures of rhubarb, asparagus, and strawberry shortcake are discussed at greater length. Not that we have local strawberries quite yet, but it won't be too long now.

Asparagus and Lorence's Berry Farm

I've had some superb asparagus from Lorence's Berry Farm in the past week or so. I stopped at the stand as I drove home down Cedar from an event in Lakeville the weekend before last, and bought more from Just Food co-op a few days ago. I saw it was also available at Econofoods, though at a higher price than at the co-op. I haven't happened to buy asparagus directly from the farm before, though I do try to pick strawberries there at least every couple of years. Doing so has added to the quality of life we've experienced as Northfielders for the past 18 years. I've had some wonderful strawberry shortcakes and done all the jam-making I've ever done from Lorence's berries. One of my daughters gave me a flat of Lorence's berries for my birthday last year, and I made a batch of my favorite low-sugar strawberry jam, which is deeply flavorful and tastes like a very distillation of summer.

I was distressed to learn the fate that may be in store for Lorence's if a proposed project for straightening out the Cedar T-intersection is carried out. The Northfield News recently reported on this story, quoting David Lorence as feeling sick to his stomach since receiving word in April that the relocated road could go right through his house. I'd feel sick to my stomach, too. It's hard to believe that an appealing and viable local produce farm that so adds to the quality of life for area residents must be sacrificed so that more people can drive between the southern suburbs and the northern edges of Northfield without having to stop at a stop sign.