STALKING THE WILD ASPARAGUS

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These leaves have from two to eight pairs of small lateral lobes along the stem and a much larger terminal lobe. The lobes have entire margins and smooth, shiny surfaces without the hairiness of the mustards. In April, the plant puts up a seed stalk which eventually reaches from one to two feet high and bears many bright yellow flowers, about a quarter inch across and evenly spaced along the stem. These flowers, like all members of the Mustard Family, have four petals and six stamens.

To be edible, the leaves of winter cress must be gathered early, while the weather is still cold. Those who complain of the bitterness of this plant are usually those who gathered it too late in the season. When gathered early enough, winter cress is no more bitter than the best leaf lettuce, and far less so than endive or escarole. As soon as the frosty nights are past, this plant becomes too bitter to eat. Fortunately, by this time, one can select from a number of other wild salads and potherbs.

I have made an excellent wild salad in early March by combining equal parts of the blanched center leaves of winter cress, new tips of water cress and the crisp, underground shoots of day lily, with a very few wild garlic tops. These were all chopped fine and served with a bleu cheese dressing.

If you have plenty of winter cress growing near your home, as I have, you can give nature a hand to produce some real luxury-type salad material. Tie each large cluster into a tight bundle right where it's growing, then invert a flowerpot over each bunch. Stop the hole in the bottom with a bit of sod to exclude all light, and in-ten days or two weeks the cress will be beautifully blanched. Excluding the light keeps the bitter principle from developing, lightens the color, gives a crisp texture and a delicious flavor. This blanched winter cress can be mixed with other salad materials or eaten alone.

There is no need to blanch the leaves if they are to be used as boiling greens. In winter or very early spring, these leaves can be cooked and seasoned just as you would prepare spinach. A little later, when the bitter principle starts to develop, winter cress will still make good greens if it is boiled in two waters, throwing the first water away. When the bloom stalk appears, the leaves become too bitter to eat, but winter cress compensates by immediately producing edible heads of bloom buds. This is another of the wild broccolis and one of the best.

The buds first appear in a compact cluster, then the bloom stalk pushes upward, still bearing a cluster of buds at the top, and leaving opened blossoms along the growing stem. The bud clusters can be gathered for food from the time they first appear until the last buds open, so the season extends over several weeks.

This wild broccoli is neither tedious to pick nor difficult to prepare just pull the whole bud clusters and never mind if you get a few opened blossoms; they're good too. Place the dry clusters in a kettle and pour boiling water over them. Let stand about 1/2 minute, then drain. Cover the buds with fresh boiling water, place" on heat and boil for about 3 minutes. Drain again, season with salt and butter, then serve. The whole cooking operation takes only about 5 minutes.

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