enough for dinner, originally uploaded by jennifer mcilvaine.
It was raining all last week, and now it will rain again for the next 3 days, but yesterday was really nice (until 8:00 when it started raining..) so I went into the hills to try to find some wild asparagus. Last year people were finding asparagus in February, but this year the seasons are respecting themselves, and February was wintery, March came in like a lamb, and went out like a lion, and April is at least starting with the showers. Great for the environment, but bad for those of us who are impatient for warm weather and spring veggies...
Here in Umbria wild asparagus (and the wild fennel) are always the first true sign of spring, because they don't pop up until the ground starts to thaw. The best place to find them is in the unkempt olive groves covering the hills, the more natural and "weedy" they are, the better. In fact the spiny weed that drives you nuts when harvesting olives (because it catches and tears the nets) is the signal for exactly where to find the asparagus. Besides in the hollows of the olives trees, this weed, or herbaccia, likes to grow out of rock groupings, always on the steepest part of the hills. While this makes it easier to find the asparagus, its also a little more dangerous because the rocks are home to vipers and bats. If you ever see a viper, run like hell, because from what I hear, they bite without hesitation. Other warnings......don't leave your stuff around....I left my jacket hanging on a tree because it was hot, and luckily I came back to it just in time as an old woman was about to carry it away. She talked my ear off for 20 minutes about everything that had ever been stolen from every person she knows, and how she wouldn't want that to happen to happen to her because everything comes back to you....I guess with the story she earned the change she nabbed out of my pocket...poveraccia......
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