Merten’s Farmhouse Market and National Asparagus Festival!

For those that don’t know, I live in asparagus country, literally!  Oceana county is considered the asparagus capital of the nation, as we are one of the leaders in the country for asparagus production.  We take it quite seriously here. In fact, we have an entire festival, complete with parade, queen pageant, food competition, and 5k in honor of asparagus!  That’s happening this Saturday and Sunday, June 11th and 12th.  Come on out!

To be completely honest, I’ve *gasp* never liked asparagus.  Like, at all.  This bothered me, because I love to love food.  I don’t like it when I don’t care for a food that’s nutritious.  To be fair, when I would have it served to me when I was younger, it was always very mushy and gross, and left much to be desired.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realize I really enjoy it served many different ways, just not mushy and slimy.

I was asked if I would like to be a judge in the Taste of Asparagus food competition coming up this Saturday, and I nearly jumped out my chair with excitement.  HECK YES I WOULD.  In fact, anyone that wants me to judge any food, anywhere, you just go ahead and reach out to me anytime, and I will be all over that.  Just no peanuts.  Allergic.  Boo.

You can guess I’ve been gearing up for this taste testing.  I attended the Asparagus Queen Pageant over the weekend, where Merten’s Farmhouse Market provided snacks.  There were these absolutely amazing asparagus and artichoke danishes, as well as asparagus cookies.  That’s right, cookies with asparagus!  I have to admit I was a little nervous, but excited to try them.  Last year, Hansen Foods entered and asparagus cake in the competition, and it was flat out delicious, so I was more open minded to this asparagus-in-dessert idea than I had been before.  There were small chunks of asparagus, as well as raisins in these cookies, and they were oh-so-soft and delectable.  I could not get enough of them or the danishes.

When I left there, I knew I had to head out to Merten’s farmstand this week to see what other tasty asparagus creations they came up with.

Every time I head out there, I’m a little overwhelmed with choices.  I always want to buy everything!  There are lunch options, pies, pastries, cookies, and you can even purchase meat that was raised on their farm, as well as honey, syrup, coffee, ice cream treats, and more!  During the harvest seasons, fresh produce is available as well.  I told myself I had to act in moderation, and snagged some asparagus wraps, made with ham and cream cheese, as well as a honey mustard asparagus pasta salad, and a cherry cream cheese danish, which had nothing to do with asparagus, but a girl needs her sweets.

The wraps, while pretty basic, were perfect.  They weren’t tough or stringy, and had the right balance of all the ingredients.  The pasta salad was tangy and refreshing.  Of course the danish was amazing.  I would expect nothing less.

These folks know how to create some awesome asparagus dishes.  I shouldn’t be surprised, because Lindsey Merten never disappoints when it comes to creating wonderful food.  Last year, she baked all the cupcakes for my oldest daughter’s wedding, as well as all the buns to go with dinner at the reception.  I am usually very type A, and take on way more than I can handle.  It takes a lot for me to hand over cupcake responsibilities, as that’s a specialty of my own.  I knew I was handing it over to a pro, though. Not only are her cupcakes delicious, but she has countless combinations for cake flavor, fillings, and frosting options, and her prices are very fair.

I highly recommend everyone head out to Merten’s.  It’s located at 230 E Polk rd.  It’s a little bit out of the way of town, but completely worth it!  To find more information about Merten’s farmhouse, click on the following text:  Merten’s Farmhouse Market

For more information about the National Asparagus Festival, and to find out more about how to enter your food, click on National Asparagus Festival or visit them on Facebook.  Bring me your favorite asparagus dishes!

Cupcakes below were ordered from Merten’s for my daughter’s wedding.  They did a fantastic job.  The lemon with blueberry filling was my favorite!!