Spring Fling in the Blue Ridge Hill Country

Tom Raymond in a previous post said that he was ready. Well, let's get going into the thoughts and planning stage. I have a few routes that are not driven by the normal folk. Most are around the township of Lake Lure.

It was a wee bit chilly last year on the ridge. So, I would host this type of gathering after Merlot is deliver from Special Edition. Just let me know who would attend a spring freeze-out.

I'd love to, Aaron, but I kinda doubt that my spring schedule (and budget) will allow me to do anything prior to Carlisle. Had I known, I might have reconsidered commiting to Amelia Island this weekend.

Don't consider this a definite "no" just yet, though.

Let's send a special invite to SOCers that live nearby. Let's hear from the owners in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

Sorry Aaron but I am still on the boat, and will be until the week prior to Carlisle. I am still waiting to book, as I am not 100% sure of the boss' schedule. I am really hoping to get there this year and will try to meet up with Hoss' convoy if all goes according to plan.

Scott - Even if you can't drive your car, fly up and bum rides. I'm sure there will be open seats.

The new project car is eating me up financialy and time wise......Can't get ahead as one thing just leads to another.....Sorry.

It's not that I can't drive the car- it is that I am currently driving the boat with the boss onboard. Funny how when he pays me, he actually wants me to be here and do something. Shame. See you guys at Carlisle (fingers crossed!).

Gee Scott, I thought those beheamoths had autopilot

The Capt's boss just needed a vacation!

Hey, I know! Invite the boss. He'll have a blast. I'm so smart I scare myself.

Gents,

Merlot is "getting there"! (Photos courtesy of Tom Blankinship) She may arrive too late for the "Fling". The dogwood, red bud, wisteria and horse sugar are blooming already.
We'll have to take a wait and see position. Maybe The Great Race join-up?

Gents,

The event needs a new name at is appropriate to the season in the foothills and highlands. A wonderful, wild and tasty mountain vegetable is available is growing and available this time of year...RAMPS! Hence forth I recommend that the name be changed to the Ramp Spring Fling and Eating Contest! Any objections?

History:
Ramps appear first in their southern range in late March. The season finally ends in the far north in early-to-mid June.

Fresh Ramps and Wild Leeks have a bold, spicy flavor, like a combination of onions and garlic and make an exciting statement no matter how you use them.

The folk medicine reputation which holds both Ramps and Wild Leeks to be powerful healers turns out to be well deserved. They are high in Vitamins C and A, and full of healthful minerals and have the same cholesterol-reducing compounds found in garlic and other members of this family.

Lest the reputation for excessive stinking scare you away from trying them. You should know that Ramps and Wild Leeks (both) are sold to some of the finest restaurants in America. No complaints about too much stink yet!

They grow all thru the east well into New England and west to Wisconsin.

My dad R.I.P. hunted and gathered them every year since before the Depression

If you are as big a fan of these as I am , then you already know the best way to eat them is --bread and butter sammich--

Just butter the whitest , blandest bread you got and cram a few ramps (bulbs, NOT leaves) inside. Would never waste them in a salad or EVER subject them to heat.

These tasty morsels are a spring treat ONLY.

David,
These are now available at $11.50/pound! You can also buy pickled ramps from the same company. Thinking about bring a few to Carlisle. Would be a great addition on an egg "samitch"! Here's the link... http://www.earthy.com/Fresh_Ramps_Wild_Leeks_-_per_P146C267.cfm

OK, now I am up to date on my "Learn Something New Every Day" list. WTF is a ramp? Well, I guess I know now. Looks a lot like a weed growing in my flower garden. I'll take your word for what they taste like and am very unsure where/how I would ever find one to try. Leeks I know about, and they are fine to cook with. Why not cook w/ these too?

Curious in MD . . .

Kelly,

Ramps are an old mountain blockader's way of celebrating Spring! I'll have some pickled ones at Carlisle. Now, as for taste, one must be a grand lover of the combination of raw onions and strong garlic. If you happen to be around a ramp-eating group, you must engage in order to defend yourself. Breath mints, Listerine or chewing gum ain't nary help!

Ramps are found growing in the earthy ground in the mountains and ridges. They are hand-dug when found. A most delicious wild vegetable in the spring time. It's a lot stronger than poke salat! Oh, and I do have a few recipes if you desire copies. Check with your wife, girl friend and other acquaintances before indulging.

Aaron,

I look fwd to sampling some "ramps" at Carlisle. Is this a bona-fide name, or possibly a country-fied appelation for a wild leek? Are these really leeks? And I will eat onions raw and like them, although they tend not to like me afterwards -- better if cooked. Also like garlic, but cooked not raw. Txs for furthering my education.

Kelly,

Ramps are an old mountain food for Spring. It's a member of the lily family. Eaten cooked or raw, the eater will "stink to high heaven" for a very long time.

Have you ever tried poke salat? Another springtime favorite. Now, it doesn't smell and is pretty tasty good. Also, served as a spring tonic similar to the old standby of a tablespoon of turpentine and brown sugar.

I have some old mountain recipes for possum, cooked and pickled ramps, poke salat, etc. Would you like a copy?

Well, Aaron, what can I say?? Bring whatever you think appropriate to Carlisle, and we'll take it up there. Generally speaking, I am an adventursome eater. Have heard of poke salat (as in Annie), but obvioulsy have had no clue to what it might really be. So, it is plain to see: I ain't so southern boy, nor even much of a gentleman. But I did live south of the Mason-Dixon line for a time (Jr. high school years), and it took me many years after that living up north to not say y'all all the time.

Kelly:

Ramp is common all throughout the South. May be related to the Lily, but they look and cook like scallions, although maybe a little stronger and leaning toward Garlic in flavor. They grow wild and are seldom seen in stores.

Poke Salet is common even around here, although the Gullahs usually gravitate to Mustard or Collard greens instead.

Poke plants are poisonous, and some say that once they're boiled (forever, if they're anything like Collard greens) the water is poisonous so they're rinsed once or twice before being served. Personally, I'd stick with Collards (which are really tasty if prepared as the Gullahs do....boiled for a while and then sauteed in bacon grease. Sounds awful, but taste like heaven.

If you're a Northerner, you might try "country" Endive instead. You don't have to cook them, and they're much better (and less bitter) if the leaves (shoots) are young and tender (shorter than 4" and picked before June). GREAT in salads and I've even seen them served (as Endive ) in fancy, $$$$$, restaurants. Truth is, all they are is Dandelion leaves, but they're pretty tasty and we had them in salads ever since I was a little kid on the farm in Massachusetts and Vermont, often with just lemon juice as a dressing.

Chef Speedstah Guy

Mmmmmm, collards! Add a little pepper sauce and there may be no better veggie on the planet. I pity those of you who aren't Southerners.

Oh Yea...collards, turnips, ramps, and Watermelon in the summer! A good'ol roast pork tenderloin with any of the Southern Greens along with corn bread and buttermilk! Damn, supper time yet? Right now, I'd go for creamed possum garnished with coon grease gravy, sweet taters,and a bait of biscuits!

I saw me some creamed possum on the way to work thin morning. Didn't look to appetizing. ;)

~WB

"Road pizza "

Oh dear, you southern boys have definitely gone 'round the bend now -- creamed possum?? I think not.

Kelly,

I thought that you may needed a choice. So, we could add squirrel and dumplings, pork brains with scrabbled eggs, chitlins, liver and onions(ramps)...just a sampling. Sure beats the sacred National Peruvian dish of CUY...served only in the Highlands of Peru to honored guests. I prefer the ancient dish of me ancestral home of the Scottish Highlands...Haggis!