LI F E S T Y L E

IN F O R M A T I O N
smoking and drinking and start analyzing cooking times
for vegetables. And if you’re smart, you make friends
FUN FACTS ABOUT THE VEGETABLE OF KINGS
with the chef.
Asparagus has been used as a natural blood cleanser
The Asparagus Village at the New York Hyatt fl ops
and diuretic for over 2000 years. Warning, ladies: In the
back into my mind. Suddenly, it all makes sense. Here
16th century asparagus developed a reputation as an
I am at the piano, playing “Spring Can Really Hang You
aphrodisiac for men.
Up the Most” for my hollandaise-guzzling guests, and
I remember Mr. Prang, a guy I haven’t thought of for
Weighing in at only 12-20 calories per 100 gram serving,
decades. I can hear the cleats on his shiny black shoes,
asparagus is rich in fi ber, and contains ample amounts of
accompanying the staccato rhythm of his accented
vitamins A, B-complex, and C, along with iron, calcium,
English as he barked orders at all of us.
and iodine. It also contains a large quantity of Aspargin,
an amino acid that plays an important role in bladder
‘TH I S I S W H A T H A P P E N S W H E N Y O U
function.
L E A V E NE W YO R K CI T Y A N D M O V E
Asparagus helps dissolve uric acid crystals that can
T O T H E GE R M A N C O U N T R Y S I D E .’
develop in the kidneys and surrounding muscles.
Doctors of natural medicine suggest asparagus as an
He must have been the one who supervised the
effective treatment for gall bladder and liver problems,
painting of the Asparagus People faces, coercing the
diabetes, rheumatism, and gout.
baffl ed New York staff to draw miniscule eyebrow hairs
onto asparagus stalks the size of a pinky fi nger. Maybe
The traditional asparagus season in Germany runs from
Mr. Prang helped with the task, muttering obscenities
mid-April and ends abruptly on June 24 (Midsummer
while painstakingly dressing each asparagus person.
Day, the birth date of Saint John the Baptist).
Maybe he was frustrated by a perceived American lack
of respect for his prized vegetable, and dreaming of the
Green asparagus remains popular in the United States,
day when he could escape to Europe in time for the start
but Germans prefer white. White asparagus comes
of asparagus season. Maybe he wasn’t such a bad guy
from light deprivation. Dirt is kept mounded around
after all. Maybe he was lonely.
the emerging stalk. Because the plant cannot produce
I can see him now, beckoning his army of hopeful
chlorophyll without sun, the stalks remain white, instead
asparagus people, persuading them to break out of their
of green.
glass cage and march, run, and fi nally waltz through the
hotel lobby, dodging the sharp ankles and clodhopper
feet of dazed tourists, rushing for the exit, lunging
toward the fresh air, determined not to get caught and
squashed in the revolving doors of a diff erent culture.
______________________
American Robin Meloy Goldsby is the author of Piano Girl:
A Memoir and Rhythm: A Novel. A professional musician
for over thirty years, she has performed around the world.
She has three solo piano recordings to her name. Robin
Goldsby is a Steinway Artist. She loves asparagus..
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EX P A T R I A T E 15
Goldsby.indd 15 08/06/2009 13:51:04
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