What’s that wacky German food? Spargel

white asparagus = spargel

It’s here! Spargelzeit is here! What, you mean you don’t celebrate asparagus time where you live?

The Germans are crazy about white asparagus, a special breed that grows underground and is only harvested for a couple months each spring. Restaurants have special menus featuring white asparagus done every which way, and all the fruit and veggie stands display big piles of it, as if it’s the only thing worth eating this time of year. Preparing this Teutonic vegetable is relatively easy, but there are a few things you should know before doing it for the first time.

Read moreWhat’s that wacky German food? Spargel

Something I love about Germany:

The national obsession with asparagus. This week a newspaper in Munich was promoting a feature on “the first asparagus (where it comes from, how it grows, how much it costs).” Never mind that German asparagus season is still a month away – anticipation is part of the pleasure.

Getting there…

After months of turmoil, my new computer has arrived. It’s a shiny new MacBook. I’ve gone back to my roots – no more Windows for me! In the process of migration, I have managed once again to lose track of which emails belong in my “reply to” folder. If you have written to me recently … Read more

Spargelfest!

That’s right, boys and girls, it’s that time of year again: Spargelzeit. The celebration of asparagus is in full swing in Switzerland. Thanks to a tip from Jack at Laughing Lemon, some friends and I headed outside the city last Sunday to check out the Flaacher Spargelfest (an asparagus festival held on a family farm … Read more

Spargelzeit!

Ever since I first experienced it in Germany eight years ago, I have been endlessly amused by the enthusiasm with which Spargelzeit (asparagus season) is welcomed in this part of the world. Placards outside of restaurants and markets scream about its arrival. Grocery stores pile up half their produce section with bundles upon bundles of … Read more