Veggie Monday: Farmers Market Asparagus

We lived along Nicollet Avenue when S was a toddler.  I'd pick her up at day care and together we inspected the nearly mile long farmers market every Thursday afternoon.  For just a few bucks we had vegetables and fruits to last the week. 

As with any decent market we found unfamiliar items to experiment with, like pumpkin and other root vegetables that didn't come out of a can.  A friend and I "invented" baked sweet potato fries that we ate hot out of the oven dipped in ketchup spiced with cayenne pepper and chili powder.  Fresh herbs made their first appearances on my table. 

This weekend's rain didn't deter me from heading over to the first market of the season.  There were few vendors but I found asparagus, rhubarb, herbs, and a warm raspberry croissant (which did not survive the ride home).

The best and most surprising bread pudding I ever tasted came from a friend's kitchen immediately following our spree at a farmers market one summer.  She mixed eggs, cream, cheese, bread, zucchini, peppers, and onions.  We couldn't wait for the dish to cool before we cut into it and layered generous portions on our plates.  Last night's asparagus and garlic chive bread pudding, although it was a tad eggy (more like quiche with croutons), was based on that dish.