Watercress, Asparagus and Herbs
Seasonal Foods and Food Festivals in May

As soon as May arrives, nature round here really wakes up. And so do the greengrocers. April can be a very pleasant month with sunshine and warmth, but once it is May, more than just the sun is suddenly around.

May is the first month where we really revel in fresh produce.

Watercress arrives in big, green, peppery bunches.

Jersey Royals will set you back a king's ransom, but are oh so good with just butter, salt and a little chopped parsley.

Elderflowers with heir delicious, delicate scent are still free to pick, and married with the first gooseberries and some fresh cream make a most delicate pudding.

And then there's asparagus.

It's one of my most favourite vegetables of all. Its short six-to eight-week season must be used to its fullest extent - even if my hair should turn green at the end of it.

It goes wonderfully with Hollandaise sauce or garlic mayonnaise, dipped into a soft boiled egg or mixed into a panful of softly scrambled ones.

It grills beautifully in barely a minute or two wrapped in bacon and fits alongside a pork chop as easily as a slice of poached salmon.

Griddled, dribbled with top notch olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar and covered in Parmesan shavings it makes a tasty quick lunch.

And I've barely got started ...

Imported asparagus is not a patch on the home-grown as far as flavour is concerned, so if you're in England during the season, try to eat as much as you can find.

Like most vegetables, asparagus is best directly from the grower and for that you should make your way to the Vale of Evesham, East Anglia or Kent. But if you're at the other end of the country, then your local supermarket will stock it, too.

May is also the month when the food festivals season gets properly underway. We celebrate - of course - asparagus, but also herbs and watercress. And for some reason that eludes me, the third week of May has been designated Doughnut Week! So is that one of England's food festivals or merely a celebration?

Alresford Watercress Festival

During Victorian times - when watercress was considered a delicacy - and before it became a health food, Alresford used to send watercress to London's Covent Garden Market every day during the growing season. I'm not sure it still does this, but watercress is still extensively grown around this Hampshire town and it's celebrated with parades, games, competitions and - of course - lots and lots of watercress-based foods in one enormous food festival.

For more information of what will happen on that Sunday, read this page. Or keep an eye on the food festival organiser's website for timings and details.

British Asparagus Festival

This top notch of Englis food festivals is centred around the village of Bretforton in the Vale of Evesham, the British Asparagus Festival is not a single-day event. Instead, you'll get almost eight weeks (the whole harvesting season!) of fun, games, promotions and celebrations. Between St George's Day and Midsummer Day, the Vale of Evesham lives, breathes and celebrates asparagus. One giant food festival, in fact.

Keep an eye on the organiser's website for this year's activities, events and promotions.

And if you're nowhere near the Vale of Evesham, despair not! Asparagus growers all over the country are coming out in force to celebrate their harvest.

• Essex Asparagus & Music Festival
  Where: Abbey Farm, Coggeshall, Essex
  When: 6th - 7th June 2009 from 10am
  What: lots of tasty asparagus and lots of tasty music, too


• The Dorset Asparagus Festival
  Where: Coventry Arms, Corfe Mullen, Wimborne Minster, Dorset
  When: May 2009, during pub opening hours
  What: week-long celebration in this award-winning pub featuring a menu of freshly picked local asparagus


• The Lobster and Asparagus Festival
  Where: The General Tarleton, Ferrensby, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire
  When: two weeks in May
  What: Fresh local asparagus and freshly caught lobster ... need I say more?

National Herb Week

I've a long-lasting love affair with herbs - growing, cooking with and using round the house and bathroom. They're beautiful and useful and - in many cases - ever so tasty! So celebrating National Herb Week during the first week of May seems like a very normal thing to do. And if you've never really had time for herbs yet, here are a few ideas to get you acquainted.

• If you live near a herb farm or a stately home with a herb garden, drop in and wander round looking at all the herbs they grow.
• Select a different herb each day to add to your dinner
• Try making your own cosmetics
• Ditch the kitchen chemicals and make your own herbal floor cleaners and disinfectants. Not only will your home be clean and germ-free, it will smell beautiful too!

Unsure how any of that will work?
Check out 101 Herbs Tips for hundred and one ideas of cooking and using herbs.

For absolute beginners and budding herb enthusiasts alike, this little book has examples about which herbs to grow on a windowsill and which are the best recipes for using what you grow.

It tells you how to treat a cough or cold, how to improve your hair, your skin and the dark circles under your eyes, how to make your laundry and your kitchen feel deeply clean and smell wonderful without spending a fortune on chemicals.

It will even give you ideas on how to turn the produce from your garden and windowsill into games for your kids or some very unusual gifts.