Readers Write

Asparagus many ways—and our very own “chamber of secrets”? Readers shared delicious responses to the fall issue, edited here for length and clarity.

Setting the family table with Hadley Grass

After the Great Depression robbed my Italian immigrant parents of their hard-won Pontiac dealership and auto repair shop in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, we moved to a rented farm in Westfield, Massachusetts. We grew and sold produce to survive. With five hungry children to feed, my parents went back to their agricultural roots, but the one thing they didn’t grow was asparagus. I remember the annual spring trip to Hadley in their Ford Woody Wagon. They would bargain for large quantities of “Hadley Grass,” otherwise known as asparagus, which my parents loved. Since our chickens produced many eggs, the asparagus was turned into asparagus frittata that we would eat hot or cold—taken as slices wrapped in wax paper for school lunch! What we didn’t eat, my father sold at our roadside stand or on his rounds selling produce from the back of his wagon. I would like to share this family recipe:

Asparagus frittata   

• 1 lb. fresh tender asparagus, chopped into 1-inch pieces   
• 1 medium onion, diced fine   
• 4 tablespoons olive oil   
• 1/2 cup Parmesan or pecorino cheese, grated    
• salt and pepper to taste   
• 8 large fresh eggs

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a well-seasoned cast iron 10-inch frying pan or oven-proof frying pan. Add onions and asparagus to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes until asparagus can easily be speared by a fork. Do not burn the onions, but cook until translucent. Beat eggs in a bowl until well mixed. Add grated cheese, plus salt and pepper to taste. Remove asparagus and onions with a slotted spoon and mix with the egg mixture. Put another 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the pan and bring to medium heat. Add egg mixture, making sure the asparagus is distributed evenly and under the egg mixture. Cook slowly for about 5 minutes until the center is almost firm. Place under a preheated broiler until the top is firm, but be careful not to burn. Slip the frittata onto a large plate and cut into pie slices. Eat hot or cold. Mangia!

—Thomas J. Zaccheo, MD ’58

Stockbridge grows local farmers

The pictures of asparagus on the front and back cover of the fall 2024 issue piqued my interest. Dan Smiarowski (my younger brother) raises approximately 20 acres of asparagus just north of the UMass campus in Sunderland and Montague. Dan is a Stockbridge alum (AS’86 and BS’88) and is one of the largest asparagus growers in Massachusetts. I help Dan out on the family farm, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. There are countless UMass and Stockbridge grads currently farming in western Massachusetts! Thank you for featuring asparagus in this issue.
   
—Tom Smiarowski ’77

‘Chamber of secrets’?

My friend and I read your article about the psychoacoustics testing chamber in Tobin and were intrigued that such a place existed on campus. However, we searched Tobin for the chamber to no avail. I write to you now in hopes that you will give us further guidance on how to find this chamber of secrets. Thank you for your help!

—Stacy Shang ’27  

UMass Magazine’s Alexis Ali responds: Yes, yes, this chamber of secrets is very hidden. I am not quite sure they allow people to go in since there is some sensitive testing equipment in there, but you should reach out to Benjamin Zobel in the Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences and see if he would be able to show it to you.

Good luck on your quest and thank you for reading!

Most improved?

The food is not the only thing better at the Mullins Center than at the old Curry Hicks Cage. The service is, at the very least, more efficient.    

In February of 1988, I went to a basketball game at the Cage, where Julius Erving was being honored. Being thirsty, I bought a Coke before the game and paid 75 cents. I went back at halftime for another drink, ordered another Coke, and the price had gone up to $1.

A high rate of inflation, and I asked why.

“We ran out of quarters,” was the response. Unassailable logic, so I forked over the $1.

—Bill Ballou '74