This is the day, Saturday, March 24, 2007, when we ate food from our own land for the first time since December, 2006. Our land is an urban lot in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. My man grows veggies in eight 4′ X 4′ beds, but those beds are not yet producing.

So I foraged. I dug out all the dandelion plants I could find — not bad for yard cleanup, either. Two weeks ago we were freezing during days in the 20s. Today I found a big colander full of young dandelion pants, tender tips of fresh French tarragon, a big handful of chives, and a few little tips from our great Wayne County mint, transplanted from my childhood home.

Can’t say I love dandelion greens, but, as my lunch companion said, “Bacon and vinegar? How bad can it be?” I cooked the greens with a nod to the way I imagined my great-grandmother, a self-supporting “herb doctor” and midwife, might have cooked these bitter leaves. Bacon fat, salt, bacon crumbles, the tender herbs, salt, a sprinkle of cider vinegar.

The first asparagus shoots poked up today, just beyond the eight vegetable beds. Our asparagus bed is the same age as our marriage: 22 years. Tomorrow I’ll switch from today’s tonic greens to pure asparagus sweetness. Right downtown - I still find it wondrous.