'Tis the Season: Asparagus

In search of: Locally grown asparagus

Found: Red Barn Berries, 519-537-3756, 744716 County Rd 17, Woodstock, Ontario

The Trip: Saturday, June 12, 2009 Normally I like to have both girls with us when hunting down great food. Mina in particular. I find if she can see where her food is coming from, the increased chance I have of convincing her to try new things. Today, however, Mina had a birthday party at Millside Stables to attend. Luckily, Red Barn is conveniently located on the way back from Millside. We dropped her off and headed to grab some asparagus. Lucy, obviously... very excited. She was hungry. Snacked on a Mum Mum. The nice thing about Red Barn Berries is how easy it is to find. Well signed, and blatantly obvious. If you miss the giant red barn, call your optometrist - it may be time to up that prescription. Of course, strawberry season isn't quite here yet, so Red Barn is fairly quiet. After wandering around for a few minutes, I found the asparagus, snagged some and went inside the store.

That's where I found really lovely little yellow tomatoes. Of course, impulse buyer I am, I snagged a basket. The girl who helped us was sure to let us know that, at Red Barn, they are hoping to start "pick your own" next weekend, depending on weather. She made sure we had a card with their number and encouraged us to call next Saturday before heading out to see how the week went. We didn't go strawberry picking last year. I think a return trip to Red Barn is in order. I have a wicked strawberry shortcake cookie recipe I've been dying to try. Speaking of little strawberries, check out this one.... If there's one thing Lucy loves it's exploring new places. I'm excited to see how well she can pick strawberries. Of course, I'm pretty much betting on her eating most of what she picks. Now I have my asparagus and my little yellow tomatoes. I think the tomatoes will be breakfast. Of course, the asparagus will be featured in Sunday dinner. As we left with my wares, it occurred to me how happy this new project has made me. I'm teaching my girls all the great things about supporting local producers whenever possible. And how delicious seasonal eating can be. It looks like this is going to be one exciting summer!

Dinner tonight: We kept it simple. Grilled sausages (honey garlic for me, Italian spiced for Jim and Mina) with coleslaw. I cut up a few of the yellow tomatoes for Lucy - who loved them.