Gardening

(The author's) nephew Tom DeSimone has been writing a blog about thinking deeply and living simply in Gardiner, NY. His most recent posting referred to a dinner of wild garlic mustard pesto and a side of hosta shoots. Hostas? I went straight to the garden where I thought I had dozens of hostas just coming up. A week of rain has encouraged most of my hostas to unfurl. Still, I found three or four plants at the early stage of sprouting, two of which I had planned to move anyway. Using a sharp paring knife, I cut one short, tightly wound shoot close to the soil, rinsed it well under cold water, and ate.

Cool and crisp, with the dense snap and fresh green flavor of asparagus, hosta leaves a slightly bitter after-taste that quickly dissipates. It was wonderful!