Spring Harvest- Garden to Table Meals

Garden season is here!  Although it' still too early to plant much more than seeds, we are still starting to harvest fresh food.  Our hens have been laying well, so there is no shortage to fresh eggs.  My asparagus is starting to come up, and besides the asparagus is also full of chickweed.

Although chickeweed is considered a weed by many, it's a tasty edible that can be used in place of spinach both fresh or cooked.

Our shiitakes have been producing all winter, but are really popping now. i have about lbs in the fridge at all times and we've been cooking with them almost daily. They are a thick hearty mushroom and really make a fabulous meal.  We are also starting to get oyster mushrooms again, and morels should be popping soon. Our freezer is still stocked with chanterelles from last year's mushroom season.

New asparagus just coming up. Although i have an established asparagus bed, we put in about 50 new crowns last year.  So we are expecting a fabulous harvest this year.

My first Harvest meal, from garden to table was an amazing omelette stuffed with fresh picked mushrooms, asparagus and chickweed. Everything was homegrown except the cheese and seasoning. Everything was picked fresh / collected that day.

Then for dinner i made a creaky mushroom fettucine using shiitake, chanterelle (frozen from last year) and Oyster mushrooms, chickweed, garlic and asparagus.  The butter and cream came from our cow share. The only thing store bought was the pasta noodles, Parmesan cheese and seasonings.

Garden to Table Mushroom Fettucine.

1 lbs fettucine noodles

1 lbs fresh mushrooms sliced ( i used shiitake, oyster and  thawed Chanterelle)

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cup heavy cream 

1/4- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese 

2 cloves garlic

1 bunch chickweed or spinach (washed and chopped)

1/2 lbs asparagus

salt and pepper

Cook pasta according to directions and set aside.

While Pasta cooks. Melt the butter in a deep sauté pan over medium heat. 

Add garlic and cook until fragrant about 2 minutes. 

Add the mushrooms and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until they have released their liquid and become tender. 

Add chickweed/spinach and Asparagus and saute a few more minutes until asparagusis tender crisp.

Add the cream and most of the parmesan cheese and cook until mixture thickens.  Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss well until pasta is well coated. transfer to your serving dish and top with addition Parmesan cheese.

Salt and pepper to taste.