Every spring I am reminded of how an act of service from a not-very-close neighbor blessed our young family and changed a life in a small way. This reminder comes whenever I eat fresh asparagus, which we find in the grocery stores at an affordable price sometime after winter has left. Thirty years ago I ordered several boxes of fresh asparagus from a wholesale supplier, intending to preserve the tasty vegetable by breaking off the tough ends, washing the tender stalks, blanching them in boiling water, dipping them in ice water, cutting them into pieces, packing them in Ziploc bags, and putting them in the freezer to be enjoyed all through the year. My husband Chris was not so excited about my purchase. The only kind of asparagus he knew was the store-bought canned variety--mushy, ghastly in color, sometimes hard to chew, and fairly tasteless. However, I assured him that fresh-frozen asparagus is nothing like that which sloshes out of cans, and I bought the asparagus, not knowing for certain when it would arrive.
I was expecting our third baby at the time, and had been hoping that the asparagus would come before the birth. As it turned out, I was in the hospital after a Caesarean-section delivery when I learned that our asparagus had been unloaded at the designated pick-up location. Betty Griffeth, a neighbor that I didn’t know very well, called to tell me about it. She also said that she had picked up my order, and that she would take care of it for us. So she is the one that broke off the tough ends, washed the tender stalks, blanched them in boiling water, dipped them in ice water, cut them into pieces, and packed them in Ziploc bags. Then she brought them to our home, all ready to go into our freezer. I still remember what I felt like when I saw her standing before me with that labor of love in her arms.
Chris was reluctant to taste it when I first cooked some of that asparagus for a meal, even though it didn’t look a bit like the asparagus of his youth. But I wasn’t worried about whether or not he would like it. Brilliantly green, crisp-tender and steaming with melted butter—it tasted absolutely delicious to both of us, and chewed up nicely, too. Chris has liked asparagus ever since.
Yesterday I bought a bundle of asparagus from the produce section in the grocery store. I will prepare it as a side dish in the next couple of days and, as happens every spring, either Chris or myself will comment about Betty Griffeth freezing asparagus for us so many years ago. Betty moved away and we haven’t stayed in touch with each other, but Chris and I think of her often with gratitude and almost wonder. Betty gave us a life-long gift, and she probably doesn’t even know it.
-Aunt Debbie
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