Market Report: Clear a spot for these spring staples
Welcome back to Based in Lafayette’s newest feature, with a look at what’s in season this week at Greater Lafayette’s farmers markets. Plus, marking four years of BiL.
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Welcome back to Based in Lafayette’s newest feature, with a look at what’s in season this week at Greater Lafayette’s farmers markets.
By Carol Bangert / For Based in Lafayette
CLEAR A SPOT FOR THESE SPRING STAPLES
When I think of spring recipes, asparagus and rhubarb immediately come to mind. Growing up, I remember asparagus trotted out at Easter, maybe with some crumbled hard-cooked eggs on top, followed by a deep red rhubarb pie nestled among the other holiday desserts. After Easter, the two vegetables (yes, rhubarb is a vegetable – more on that below) were pretty much forgotten. And that’s a shame.
Asparagus
Let’s start with asparagus. Years ago, asparagus wasn’t readily available after about June, and the cost made it a special treat for many households. As a kid I thought it looked and tasted funky, but thankfully my grown-up tastebuds took over. I love asparagus now, and it’s available year-round. But it’s best fresh, in season, from local growers. It’s got a grassy, earthy flavor that just says spring.
Asparagus is a labor- and time-intensive vegetable. Once planted, it can take three years before the first stalks are harvested, and those fragile stalks are hand-picked, making it relatively expensive compared to other vegetables. But it’s worth trying, especially right now.
The only downside to asparagus is that you can’t use the entire stalk. The fibrous, tough, lower portion needs to be removed, which means you end up tossing a chunk of what you just purchased. Carrie Austin, owner of The Austin Acre, says if you shave off some of the tough outer stalk with a vegetable peeler, you can use more of the bunch you just bought.
Try asparagus on the grill with olive oil, salt and pepper. Or sauté the spears with mushrooms and onions, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic. Cut it into bite-sized pieces and add it to a spring minestrone or a quiche. Blanched and chilled asparagus spears are great on a crudité platter. The bottom line: Asparagus is great hot, cold or room temperature.
To store asparagus, trim the ends and put the bunch in a jar with some water; cover loosely with a plastic bag in the fridge. This spring veg is in season now until about the first week of June.
On to rhubarb
Technically, rhubarb is a vegetable, but it plays a starring role as a fruit in baked goods and sweets. To make things more confusing, back in 1947 the USDA classified rhubarb as a fruit because tariffs on fruit imports were lower than vegetable tariffs. Yep.
You may shy away from rhubarb because it does, indeed, look like a vegetable, but there are plenty of sweet ways to use it while it’s in season. One thing to know: rhubarb is quite tart and requires a lot of sugar. But it makes a great pie filling all by itself or paired with strawberries; it adds moistness to muffins and pound cakes; and it makes a tart/sweet jam. Try it in a crumble or cookies bars.
Wash, dry and wrap rhubarb loosely in a plastic bag and store it in the fridge. If you get a hankering for rhubarb in cold months (and who doesn’t?), the good news is it freezes well. Cut it into bite size pieces, blanch in boiling water for a minute or two, then immerse in ice water to stop the cooking process. Cool, dry and freeze. A rhubarb muffin with a cup of coffee might just hit the sweet spot on a cold December day. Rhubarb can be picked into August, but farmers I spoke with say they usually stop harvesting at the end of June.
Asparagus and rhubarb are at their peak right now, and they deserve a spot at your table. Don’t miss out on a pair of quintessential spring flavors.
Other mid-May vegetables at the market include:
Red and green onions
Parsnips
Radishes
Greens (kale, mustard, arugula)
Select herbs (I spotted mint, oregano and thyme)
Baby turnips
Carrots
MARKET DAYS/HOURS
West Lafayette Farmers Market: 3:30-7:30 p.m., Wednesdays, May through October This year marks the 20th anniversary of the West Lafayette market. The market is held at Cumberland Park in West Lafayette with more than 50 vendors.
Lafayette Farmers Market: 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays, May through October.
Purdue Farmers Market: 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Thursdays, May through October. The Purdue farmers market is held on the Memorial Mall on Purdue’s campus. This market is a concession-heavy market that allows students, faculty and staff to have lunch options in a unique outdoor setting.
Carol Bangert has been a regular at Greater Lafayette farmers markets for more than 20 years. From May through October she’ll scout out in-season produce at the markets and report back on fresh finds and how to use them.
PROGRAMMING NOTE: THANKS FOR MAKING THIS BiL ANNIVERSARY POSSIBLE
Four years ago, between periods of a St. Louis Blues game, I settled on the name Based in Lafayette and hit send on the first edition of this local reporting project on Substack. That story centered on the intersection of 10th and Main streets, where a hand-painted community street art project first laid down in 2015 was being refreshed, this time with heavy-duty traffic markings and tributes to the artists who first conceived the idea. According to the numbers kicked out by Substack, a couple of hundred people read it. In a matter of weeks, the Based in Lafayette side hustle turned into a full-time job. Who knew this thing might work?
Tuesday evening, I walked past 10th and Main streets in a light drizzle. The fleur-de-lis made from traffic markers have held up well four years later. I like to think Based in Lafayette has, too. Thanks to everyone who read, subscribed and asked: “What's a Substack?” I’ll keep working to make it worthwhile.
Reminder, two days left: Through Thursday, May 15, I’m offering 20% off the first 12 months of a full-ride subscription to mark the fourth anniversary. Here’s how to get it.
THIS AND THAT/OTHER READS …
Indiana Capital Chronicle reporter Whitney Downard had some LEAP district-related real estate news that’s raising some eyebrows near Lebanon: “After buying thousands of acres in Boone County to home a contentious technology park, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. quietly listed two purchases for sale one month ago. Prices for both are less than what state taxpayers paid two years ago for the properties.” The parcels snatched up at premium prices in the IEDC’s drive for the 9,000-acre space for massive developments are being shed in the public-private state agency’s “process of analyzing all land assets within the LEAP District,” according to Downard’s reporting. Lebanon Mayor Matt Gentry said he didn’t see it as a sign of turning back on LEAP, the story said. The story looks at the implications as the IEDC and the LEAP idea get fresh looks from a new state administration, three years after the land rush started and ensuing attempts to pipe tens of millions of gallons of water from western Tippecanoe County to feed development there were turned aside: “For sale: IEDC land purchased for LEAP, never used.”
Here’s a tidbit from the upcoming Purdue commencement this weekend: This will be the first for the university with more than 10,000 graduates. Purdue reports that the Class of 2025 has 7,997 undergraduates, 2,167 graduate students, 220 students from professional programs and 85 students from Purdue Polytechnic Institute’s statewide programs eligible to walk the Elliott Hall of Music stage in ceremonies stretching from Thursday to Sunday. Getting them all across the stage and have their names announced will take 10 sessions, including three each Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It won’t be last for that 10K mark, for sure. Purdue’s recent run of record freshman classes – the four largest in university history have come in the past four years – is just starting to reach bachelor degree vintage. Congratulations, grads. Hope you have your dinner reservations already.
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Tips, story ideas? I’m at davebangert1@gmail.com.
Happy anniversary, Dave! The town is better off having your journalism here
Thank you for raising awareness about fresh asparagus. For me asparagus has one of the largest fresh / store differentials.