Today we had 8 people picking plus May, Barb and Domingo making asparagus relish in our commercial kitchen. Barb (on the left) is another eleventh year employee and makes the best asparagus relish you will ever taste.  May owns a farm just 4 miles west of us and works in our bundling shed most days when she is not in our kitchen making relish. Here is the recipe for our delicious relish or if you prefer, we have it ready made at the market.

Gourmet Asparagus Relish

10 cups             Edgar Farms asparagus – chopped very fine

4 cups              onions – chopped very fine

5 Tbsp.             coarse pickling slat

Combine in a large bowl and let sit overnight. Drain, rinse in cold water and drain through cheesecloth. Place in a large pot and add:

2                      small green peppers – chopped very fine

2                      small red peppers – chopped very fine

2 ½ cups           white vinegar

5 cups              white sugar

2 Tbsp.             celery seed

4 tsp.                corn starch

2 ½ tsp.           mustard powder

1 Tbsp.             turmeric

3 tsp.                nutmeg

½ tsp.               ground white pepper

1 Tbsp.             mustard seed

12 to14             250 mL.  jars & lids

 Heat on medium heat stirring often until relish boils. Boil uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring often. Ladle into 250 ml hot jars. Carefully clean rims of jars. Seal with lids that have been heated in boiling water for 5 minutes. Process jars in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes. Cool and label jars.

Yields 12 to14 - 250 mL. jars.

This is the third year we have brought up Mexican men to help on our farm. Pictured L to R are Valente, my husband Doug, Epifanio and Martin.

The Mexicans are wonderful help for us. They are truly unskilled labor simply because I do not have enough Spanish to explain everything to them. I am working on that but a second language is a lot harder than growing asparagus!!

We use a government program sanctioned program to bring them to our farm. We pay for their flights to and from Canada, we need to provide health inspected and approved housing which is on our farm. We also have to provide transportation to town for banking and food. They prepare their own meals. The guys tell me that a month's wages in Canada is equivalent to a year's wages in Mexico.

These men are all married with families back in Mexico.

They tell me that they are earning money to build another room on their houses, put their children through school and to provide a better standard of living for their families.

Valente’s son was in a bicycle accident last year and because Valente was working in Canada he was able to pay for the surgery to repair his son's arm, so that his son would not be crippled for life. That was one proud papa to be able to send money home for the surgery. Valente’s home will get the new room this next year!!