Asparagus, the Forerunner

If you listen very carefully, you can hear it.  The asparagus is finally popping out of the ground.  Well maybe you can’t exactly hear it, but you can certainly see it.  You don’t even have to live near an asparagus field.  It’s popping up all over town.  Boiled or steamed, quiches or frittatas, pickled, grilled, or tied in a bundle and roasted with parmesan—asparagus is making its annual comeback.  In these here parts, it is one of the first harvests of the year.  No wonder it’s shaped like a spear, it is the forerunner, piercing through the season to make a path for all the crops that are to come.

Aileen and I are all in.  The ASPARAGUS! pennants are up on the wall and we’re waving our flags and painting our faces green.  It’s opening day at the fruit stands out on the long and lovely Lateral A Rd and we’re going.  It’s a soft opening.  There’s asparagus all right, and that’s it.  The giant roof at Imperial looks almost comical over the one tiny bin of asparagus being sold.  To our spoiled supermarket sensibilities, it’s a scant offering, but our dirt loving side is doing backflips because this stuff is straight out of the ground.  Still acquiring nutrients from its roots and collecting sunlight to photosynthesize not long ago on this very day.  Fresh asparagus is not only plump and firm, but it actually tastes amazing raw.  Because it hasn’t had a chance to dry out much, all that extra water gives it a tooth crisp mild flavor, like an asparagus flavored pea pod.  Mix a little soy sauce and mayo together for dipping, and you have yourself a little slice of heaven.  We’re not fooled by the empty space here.  We know that at this time, the behind the scenes is what’s bumping right now.  The fields are alive, and the packing areas are hopping, getting ready to send Yakima Valley asparagus to dinner plates all over the country.

We head across the street to Dagdagan next.  They are actually placing all their picked asparagus there in the stand, so that behind the scenes bumping is going on out in the open, like an ag-disco of sorts (less music, more Carhartts).  Stacks of newly picked bins fill the space, a row of workers sort and prepare the spears for shipping.  Roland Dagdagan is walking around and you can tell he’s excited.  Due to our cool and mild spring, growth is moving a bit slower this year, and to finally be at the picking point is a terrific moment.  He tells us to choose from whatever bin we want, and we do.  All told between both locations, Aileen and I feel like bank robbers, giddily throwing our bags of loot into the car and pulling away.

Feeling gluttonous, we still wanted more.  Something warm and homemade to sate our need for instant gratification on the asparagus front.  What’s something unique about the Yakima Valley that only happens during asparagus season?  Tamales.  Los Hernandez tamales.  We stop at the unassuming square building in Union Gap and yes, asparagus tamales are in the house.  The gal behind the counter says they get their goods from a farm in Sunnyside.  We order and sit at one of the tables.  This place is laid back like your grandma’s patio.  Remarkably clean, plastic furniture, paper plates, cold soda, and plenty of food.  They only offer tamales here, but it is always enough.  We chat up a gentleman sitting near us and he says he’s a first timer who had heard about the asparagus tamales so decided to give them a try while he’s in town.  He says he ordered two, and as soon as he was finished promptly ordered two more.  Add one more convert to the Los Hernandez ranks.  Their guest book is full of them and show visitors from as far away as Belgium.  We fork through our own tender tamales.  Incredibly flavorful, just the right amount of asparagus and cheese, soft, yet holding together—the way tamales are in your dreams.  As our new friend gets up to leave, we hear him say at the register that he’ll be back tomorrow.  Aileen and I smile.  We completely understand.