[Note to moderators: I originally considered putting this in Off Topic, but it's something that's rather specific to Appalachia/Region 6. Apologies if I chose poorly.]
How many of you, at one point or another, have seen signs for "fresh ramps" or "Ramp Festival Today!" while riding in WV in the spring? I know we certainly did a few years ago when we had a spring meet at Hawks Nest SP. I remember Googling them when we got back to the lodge to figure out what the hell a ramp was! (It's a wild leek.)
Well, apparently there's a patch of them around these parts because a neighbor-friend and her husband went ramp collecting on Wednesday and offered them up to a few of us. I picked up my allotment this morning. They smell really good - a mix between green onions and garlic. I am planning to make ramp butter with them, which is good on bread, on steaks and seafood, tucked under chicken skin before roasting a hen, and mixed into pasta. I am so excited!
For more information about ramps, check out this NPR article:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/05/08/182354602/in-the-land-of-wild-ramps-its-festival-timeHas anyone else in the region dabbled in ramps? Do you have other recipes/ways to prepare them you'd recommend?