While you're frying up some eggs and bacon, we're cooking up something else: a way to celebrate today's food holiday.

May the spargel be with you - it's National Asparagus Month!

For many, it isn’t spring until asparagus arrives. Ancient Romans and Greeks prized asparagus spears not only for their deliciousness but for their alleged medicinal properties. They weren’t far off: Asparagus contains no fat or cholesterol, and is low in sodium.
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Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

Spring is in full flower - I know this, because I am sneezing continually - and in addition to the burgeoning boughs and all come asparagus, snap peas, watercress, spinach, artichokes, you name it. Basically, everything’s gone green.

With that, if you’re a wine lover, there’s also the question: What wines go best with green vegetables?
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Ray Isle (@islewine on Twitter) is Food & Wine's executive wine editor. We trust his every cork pop and decant – and the man can sniff out a bargain to boot. Take it away, Ray.

When it comes to vegetables, asparagus is a strange one. First off, it can grow up to seven inches per day in good weather, which means we should be glad farmers harvest it, or else asparagus would soon take over the world. Second, well, as Pierre Larousse put it in his Grand Dictionnaire Universel, “Tout le monde connaı̂t l'odeur fétide qu'elle communique àl'urine.” You don’t have to speak French to know what he’s talking about. And third, asparagus messes with wine.
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5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

The official start of the sweet, sweet summertime is nigh - and when it comes to those culinarily-inclined, the June 21 kick-off is full of all sorts of awesome.

Bring on those peaches, cherries and watermelon! And if you want to add a cold glass of sangria to the spread, we certainly would not object.

Oh summer, how do we love thee? Let Jacob Sessoms from Table Restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina, help us count the ways.

Five Thoughts on Spring/Early Summer in the South as a Cook: Jacob Sessoms
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