... of Lincolnshire's finest food producers, this is what greets me at the George Hotel in Leadenham. From the butter-dipped asparagus spears served with succulent apple bread to the richly marinated casserole of Lincoln Red beef and tender baby vegetables ...

... Kenney-Herbert (for it is he) advises memsahibs how to cope with Indian cooks who boil the pate de fois gras and ice the asparagus. 'All native cooks take readily to the mincing machine .' History on a plate. Advice by Hilaire Belloc (Harvill Press, 1960): ...

... Horse trials and paragus frittata when asparagus is in season. g i Vil T point-to-points provide some of the most ~ Mix six fresh eggs with a bunch of & % . ¢ ‘ pleasant opportunities to picnic, with blanched asparagus; a generous couple of =ESEEEN gl NF ...

... Gibbs TONY VENISON tells of a 19 12 book that accuses asparagus of causing gout. In The Countrie Farm, published in English in 1600-a translation of a French treatise of 1582- the virtue of asparagus is extolled Let's set the record straight From: E.]. ...

... abundance, sometimes too prodigal for gardeners who cannot think of what to do with the excess, other than give it to friends. Asparagus is waiting in the wings. Stand by for the first broad beans. What a country we live in! The ever- swelling army of British ...

... to hear all the conversation. This slim book is full of his dinner recipes, invented or adapted, such as roast Aldeburgh asparagus with vanilla oil, and Fillet of Lamb Buxlow with preserved lemons and spices. This last is named after his Suffolk manor ...

... delicacies, such as a ragout of sweetbreads, asparagus, celery and 'Fondeaux'. For his parents the choice was narrower: roasted rabbits and beef, boiled turkey, cold pullets, veal with lemon sauce, asparagus and potted lobster, although the King also enjoyed ...

... lettuce, peas, mushrooms, gooseberries, plums, pears, peaches, nectarines, endive, spinach, onions, parsnips, radishes, asparagus, apples and ' prodigious' quantities of potatoes. H e was an adventurous plantsman. Dr Celia Fisher of the Royal Botanic ...

... sometimes swished with a fine-rosed watering-can to prevent the air beside the heating pipes from becoming oven-dry. Growers of asparagus know that to cut a worthwhile bunch of spears on any one day, a reasonable size of bed is necessary. My forced spears were ...

... non-native plants such as coriander, dill, anise, summer savoury, improved sea beet, fennel, lentils, leeks, Good King Henry and asparagus. Other records include pear seeds in Tiddington in Oxfordshire and Chew Valley Lake in Somerset; mulberry seeds in London ...

... May (although April is the main season). 'lt is of course well known that hop shoots have a flavour much akin to that of asparagus,' she comments, compounding my ignorance. Suitable young shoots are obtained by earthing up soil over the plants' crowns ...

... Although only 5% is for horticulture (against 50% arable) Kent is still the largest grower of English apples. It also grows asparagus round Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells, and strawberries are grown from this month to the end of October using glasshouses ...