Last Saturday, a dear friend dropped by unexpectedly and delivered a fabulous, edible present that was local– very local. It wasn’t honey, or fish caught in the Sound, it wasn’t even a vegetable that he had cared for and grown on his patio. It was something that he had foraged. I’m not even sure why, but this made it all the more exciting– I was thrilled! Inside an old shopping bag, was a jumble of dirty ramps, the roots still clinging to the rocky soil in which they were buried.
For those of you who are not familiar with ramps, they are also called wild leeks, but I think that they have a taste all their own. It is a bit like green garlic– delicate and highly fragrant. However, they are far too pungent to be eaten raw. But when cooked they are mellow and sweet, [...]

I have officially packed my winter clothes away. Brian and I had a bread salad with dinner on Sunday night. I am nursing blisters on my feet from wearing shoes without socks for the first time in months. Spring is in the air– and that means rhubarb!
I picked up my first few stalks of the season last week, and they were lovely– so astringent, beautifully pink, with just the right amount of pucker. I made a bit of compote with them. No, not the compote that is dowdy, and full of dried fruit. This compote was bright and cheery, scented with vanilla with just a kiss of sugar. I ate it as a topping for Greek yogurt during the week, and then had it as a scrumptious embellishment for buttermilk pancakes on the weekend.
The recipe is over on iVillage. Happy Spring!
from [...]

I think that rhubarb is really one of those vegetables that is best served as a fruit– like a tomato in reverse. That is not to say that I have never been swayed to try out rhubarb as a savory component to my meals. If I remember correctly, several years ago, I tried out a pork tenderloin dish with roasted rhubarb and sage. It was bad. Needless to say, as I was ingesting the relaxed, roasted rhubarb, all I was thinking was that I wished I had stewed the rhubarb in sugar, and forgotten about the pork entirely. But you have to give things a shot to determine their worth.
Rhubarb is an odd vegetable/fruit. It can range in color from a gentle celadon to a shocking pink, all in the same stalk, making it look like celery’s racier cousin. I am always [...]