ramps! ramps! ramps!

on our road trip through west virginia this spring, we noticed an interesting phenomenon: pickup trucks parked on the side of the road with bearded gentlemen standing next to handmade signs that said "ramps: 3 bunches for $5". we had no idea what a ramp was.  we got home from our road trip and googled.  apparently it's an onion-like vegetable.  we love onions. how did we not know about this?

our adventures with ramps begin:

Pasta with Ramps

Ingredients:

RAMPS (one bunch or about 8)

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons olive oil

red chili flakes to taste
salt and pepper to taste

pasta of your choosing (we used whole wheat rotini)

Procedure:

This newly discovered vegetable is apparently a dirty one. So clean your ramps and chop off the root end.

Slice off the green tops, roughly chop them, and set aside.

Thinly slice the white/pinkish ends.

Saute the white/pinkish part in olive oil and garlic until soft.

Add red chili flakes, salt and pepper.

Add the green portion of the ramps.

Saute until wilted.

Toss in your cooked pasta.

Serve with roasted asparagus to accentuate fresh, spring flavors.

bbq extravaganza, part 2

this morning we woke up and the fridge was full of delicious leftovers from the bbq.

A's dad showed up to finish the yard work so we decided to put together a bbq, part two.

i grilled the veggie dogs.

A made up some more coleslaw.

and i grilled the fruit that elizabeth brought over yesterday but we didn't get a chance to eat.

fresh pineapple and black plums.

i soaked the fruit in cold water and then drizzled it with balsamic and sprinkled some brown sugar on top.

bbq extravaganza

A scheduled herself for a random saturday off. we decided it would be the ideal time for a bbq.

as A was preoccupied with maid of honor duties and homework, i was put in charge of planning the menu for said bbq. i think i did good work. i may have gotten a little obsessive regarding the planning aspect - i sent A an email complete with recipes, pictures and a grocery list organized by section of the store.

at any rate, the menu:

appetizer:

freshly made guacamole (i make this often. it gets eaten. it's delicious) and salsa with tortilla chips

main course:

chicago style vegan hot dogs (we purchased two varieties from whole foods: "tofu pups" and "good dogs". most preferred the "good dogs" because they were "smokier" but i liked the "tofu pups" for their consistency). in order to cook the dogs we boiled them on the stove in a pot of water and then placed them on a lightly oiled grill and cooked until the skins started to blister.

hot dogs were served with a beautiful array of condiments. being from chicago, i did not allow ketchup (except for punky who whined until she was given ketchup. she even offered to bring her own ketchup - in packets).

a true chicago style hot dog contains:
the dog

poppy seed bun
tomato wedges

diced white onion
dill pickle spear

sport peppers

relish
yellow mustard

celery salt

side dishes:

coleslaw (see sassy joe post for recipe and pictures)

grandma graves's baked calico beans (this recipe is based on the recipe handed down from my great grandma. when i asked my grandma for it, she wrote it out on a nice little recipe card.)

i had to tweak it a bit since the original recipe called for 4 slices of bacon and worchester sauce, which contains anchoives.

i did my best to get an image of the recipe card. it didn't work.

so here's the recipe:

1 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup ketchup
1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp cider vinegar

1 tbsp yellow mustard

1/2 cup molasses

1 can pork and beans (vegetarian)

1 can lima beans

1 can butter beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can garbanzo beans

1 tsp salt

drain and rinse beans.

saute the onions.

put eveything in a crock pot.

cook 3 hours.

no crock pot? it's cool. bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes. bake uncovered at 325 for 30 minutes.

beet and orange tomato salad:

4 beets (ideally these should be different colors. this is a source of disappointment for me because we struck out at several stores in our attempts to find golden beets) i only used about 1 1/2 beets because the ones we got were rather large.

1 bunch watercress (i opted for 1/2 bunch watercress and combined this with some of the beet greens)
1 orange tomato (this was used for added color due to the fact that we were not able to procure various colors of beets)

dressing:

1 part real maple syrup

1 part balsamic vinegar

1 part dijon mustard (i used stone ground horseradish mustard)

2 parts extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

i cleaned the beets, cut off the tops (left about 2 inches on), drizzled them with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, wrapped them in tin foil and put them in the oven for 1 1/2 hours at 375. you'll know they're done when they're tender and you can easily stick a knife in them.

peel the beets. slice the beets. slice the tomato. wash and dry greens. arrange salad. drizzle vinaigrette on top.

we invited friends who brought beer (this is the key. if i'm cooking, you're bringing beer).

it was pretty damn good.