- Celebrate asparagus season with fresh art BUDGET. BEATERS ANYONE know a sure-fire deterrent for raccoons? J. don’t want to hurt the little bandits, but I’m at wit’s end. You see, we have a cat door (excuse me ’coon deor), and even though we close it at night they like the taste of Cat Chow so well that they'll even drop by at noon. They are completely unafraid of me and will shuffle right on past my desk near the door. I yell, make menacing gestures and pound the floor and though - they may give up for a few minutes it’s not unusual to look down and see a couple of beady eyes ina black mask not two feet away. I bought a machine-gun water pistol. It makes quite a racket and shoots very well. The ’coons love it, standing on their hind legs to catch the stream. Someone told me that if I loaded. "it with something like mouthwash ‘ they’d hate the smell and go visit someplace else. Well! I’m here to tell you that Crystal Lavoris is a great favorite. What they can't catch on the fly they roll in on the grass, I couldn’t use anything like a pellet gun, so often suggested by friends, Is there anything cuter than a Mommy ‘coon and three kittens? That %3#$% Mommy boosts her kids through the cat door and sits on the deck until they get back! She used to come in herself until she got loo fat for the door, presum- ably from eating cat food. These aren’t domestic animals; they're wild critters and would turn on anyone or anything if cornered. A few years ago, this band tore our neighbors’ cat to bits while ihey watched helplessly. They cornered our poor old blind cat Timmy one night and without a thought | bounded into the midst of the ‘coons and grabbed him. They could have torn my legs to shreds but I wasn’t thinking about that at the time. There hasn’t been a rabies scare on the North Shore, but [ figure that’s pure luck. Help! I'm desperate. “In season” is a wonderful phrase. A lot of us can remember when the season was the only time you could get luxuries like fresh fruits and vegetables. Local products are what really count! For me, May means aspara- gus, probably the finest vegetable _ known. Asparagus is by far the best if purchased at a farm stand. To trans- port, treat the stalks like cut flow- ers: bag them in plastic with a wet paper towel to set the stalk ends into. Don’t get the buds wet. If you’re lucky, the farmer will have trimmed the woody part from the bottom. Here are a few more FULL-SIZE fresh asparagus recipes. ASPARAGUS-HAM ROLL-UPS 16 asparagus spears, lightly steamed crisp-tender 16 ham slices 16 Swiss cheese sandwich slices prepared mustard 2 eggs breadcrumbs — ine, dry type 1" oil in beavy frying pan Buy the rectangular ham slices — you need the length to enclose the asparagus, Spread each ham slice lightly with mustard and top with cheese slice. Lay the aspara- gus in the centre and roll up like a jelly roll. Dip the bundle in beaten egg and then breadcrumbs. Fry quickly, a few ata time, until golden. If you leave them too long the cheese leaks oul! [don’t skewer them with a pick but begin frying with the seam side down. CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP i Ib. fresh asparagus, cut up 1c. chopped celery 3c. chicken broth 3 Tbsp. butter 3 Tbsp. flour %¢. whipping cream 4%e. milk Steam the asparagus and the cel- ery briefly in the chicken broth. Remove six asparagus tips for gar- nish. Run them quickly under cold water to hold the color. Meanwhile, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Drain the hot chicken broth into the pan and add cream and milk. Whisk over medium heat until smooth. In blender, buzz remaining asparagus and celery with about a cup of the sauce until very smooth. Stir into remaining sauce and stir over low heat until serving tem- perature. Taste and add salt if nec- MAYTAG essary, Serve with a tip an each bow] and freshly grated nutmeg. Pass the cracked pepper. This is wonderful with hot cheese biscuits FRESH ASPARAGUS AND SHRIMP CASSEROLE 1 Ih. asparagus, trimmed and steamed crisp-tender 2 hard-boiled eggs, sticed 1 Ib, cooked shrimp meat i tin water chestnuts, sliced % tb, button mushrooms, cooked briefly in 1 Tbsp. butter 4c. sliced ripe olives 4 e. finely diced red pepper 3 Tbsp. butter 3 Thsp. Nour 1% c. milk (or use light cream if you don’t care about calories) INTENSI\ recipes ”c. sherry ic. grated cheddar cheese ‘”¢. erumbled buttery crackers such as Ritz Butler a two-quart casserole dish, Cut the asparagus stalks in half for easier serving. Layer asparagus, eggs, shrimp, water chestnuts, mushrooms, olives and red pepper in dish. Melt butier, stir in flour and then whisk in milk, Whisk over tow heat until thickened then add sherry. Pour over shrimp mixture. Top with cheese and then sprinkle with crackers, Bake until bubbly at 350°F for about 20 minutes. Don’t overbake! Serve immediately, Both asparagus . and shrimp toughen if overcooked. HANDS-ON TRAINING FOR FILM & TELEVISION Music Video Production, Special Effects, 3D Computer Animation, Scriptiriting, Make-up, Cinematography & Lighting, Directing, The Assistant Director, Art Direction, Acting, Stunt Training, Special Effects, Classical Aniniation, Editing, Script Supervision, Introduction to Film, Documentary Production, Training and. Handling Wild & Exotic Animals, One Shot at a Time, Low Budget Filumaking, Traffic Control, Make-up Special Effects and more. © PARTTIME CLASSES START THE WEEK OF MAY 23 © HiGH PERFORMANCE! HGH teat HicH PAY! . 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