Why…yes, as a matter of fact! When we were camping last week, we went into Yokum’s store to look around. They had a little diner in the back and we decided to sit and have a salad. I wish she would have told me how big the salads were because we each bought one. My word…we could have easily fed four people and had some left over!
As we left the store, I happened to notice there were one pound bags of fresh ramps for $10 in the cooler. I overheard the clerk telling someone ramp season was nearing it’s end so if we wanted any, we’d better snap them up now. Not one to miss out on something, I rummaged around and picked the freshest looking batch they had.
Now…I have never had ramps. My first father-in-law was from Richwood, WV…the self-proclaimed “Ramp Capital of the World!” He would tell me stories of the ramp feeds when he was growing up and it was a flat out right of spring to eat at least one mess of ramps. It was considered a spring tonic to cleanse your blood after being inside all winter. Ramps are a good source of Vitamin A, Selenium, and Chromium so I suppose they have some nutritional value.
We talked about ramps the other day, and yesterday had to be the day to use them or they were going to go bad. I took them outside and swished them around in a bucket of cold water, emptied it out and refilled it, them washed them again. Ramps have a bulb on them like green onions, but the tops look like Lilies of the Valley. So, when you find them in the woods, take a good whiff of one of the bulbs because the Lily of the Valley is poisonous.
These were most definitely ramps. They smell like a cross between an onion and garlic. The guy in the old country store said this was a fine year for ramps because they weren’t too strong. I guess some years they can be downright rank. But this mess was very mild. I cleaned and cleaned till I had all the sand and any leaves that were turning wilted and slimy removed. I cut off the root end, cut the bulb from the stem, and sliced everything up…tops and all. I saved a few of the ramps that were beginning to send up a flower shoot and I’m going to find a place in the woods down by the creek where I can plant them and see if I can establish a bed. We’ll see.
You do not want to cook ramps in your house…no matter how mild they are. You won’t get rid of the smell for weeks! I asked Mr. FixIt to light the grill for me then I brought out the utensils I was going to need. I found a recipe for a ramp and potato frittata that sounded great, but some of the ingredients were NOT on my Noom plan…namely a cup of heavy cream and grated cheese. I decided to see what I could use from the pantry and I was SO happy with the results!
I ended up with about two cups of chopped leaves and sliced ramps. I had two cans of sliced new potatoes that I drained well. I beat eight eggs n a bowl with salt, pepper, a heaping tablespoon of goat cheese, and half a can of evaporated milk. I put about a tablespoon of vegetable oil in the cast iron skillet and set it on the grill. When it was hot, I put in the potatoes and shut the lid on the grill to bring it up to frying temperature. I opened the grill and turned the potatoes from time to time to keep them from burning.
As soon as the potatoes started getting a little brown, I tossed in the ramps and tops and cooked them till they were softened and become translucent. Then I poured the egg mixture over everything and immediately shut the grill for no more than a minute. When I opened the grill, the edges of the eggs were getting browned and I started lifting and turning the eggs to then would set and stay fluffy.
The timing had to be perfect…too little and you have pockets of runny egg. Too long and the eggs get rubbery. You just have to watch them close. I plated up the eggs and were rushed in to sit in the dining room and enjoy our feast. I wish I could tell you I took a picture of the dish when it was completed, but we were in such a hurry to eat…well, you know. We have leftovers and can have more tomorrow if we want. We took some over to my bonus daughter because she hadn’t had them either.
My bonus daughter took a white peonie and put it in water with blue food coloring. The peony took up the blue and it shows in streaks on the petals. When I looked at it, I could see a very tiny drop on the tip of the stigma. It had also taken up the blue dye and it looked like a tiny gem dangling there. It wasn’t as big as the head of a pin, but it caught the light just right.
While we were eating, I remarked to Mr. FixIt how incredibly mild they were…you could hardly taste them. Then…about thirty minutes after eating, I guess they kicked in because I couldn’t get to my toothbrush fast enough! I brushed and rinsed and brushed and rinsed a couple of times and I wouldn’t be surprised if you can still smell them on my breath today. But, they really were surprisingly good. I don’t think I’d go out of my way to go buy ramps every year, but if they were available, I wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to cook them again.
How about you? Have you ever had ramps?
Our peonies finally bloomed yesterday!
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“Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.”
Genesis 1:29 NIV
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If you do decide to cook some ramps, you’d better have a nice candle to banish the “aroma”!
