Today's market was not for the faint of heart: rainy, cold, and windy. The crowds were smaller than usual but it was well worth braving the weather. In the stalls you can see the best of winter produce (like the leafy greens, lettuces, and oranges), premonitions of summer (like the lovely thin-skinned cucumbers, just in their second week, and even a few precocious tomatoes), and harbingers of spring. We bought breakfast radishes, tiny white turnips, and more of the strawberries and oranges that have been so good this year. Even the farmers are amazed by our consumption of strawberries. One asked us, as we hoisted up yet another half-flat, "what do you do with them?" We eat them! We've been known to make jam and ice cream and tarts, and you can expect posts on those in the future. But for now, that taste of sun and sweet is enough in itself.
This week we're focusing on asparagus, still at its peak. In its brief but glorious season, we eat it non-stop. We often roast asparagus briefly in a very hot oven. We then eat the roasted asparagus as a side dish, or tossed with pasta, or in a salad. But recently we tried a different approach, pureeing the asparagus to provide a sauce for homemade garganelli. 
Cut your asparagus into pieces, reserving the tips. Blanche the stem pieces in boiling water briefly, then puree in a blender with about 1/4 cup cream and a bit of the cooking water if necessary. In a separate pan, cook chopped shallots, a little bit of chopped ham (optional), and the asparagus tips. Pour in asparagus puree and heat very lightly. 
Meanwhile cook the garganelli in boiling water for a few minutes; then toss the cooked pasta and the sauce with parmesan cheese. This is the result--a bright taste of spring.
