A Spring Thing

Ramps are in season.  It's a short season so get them while you can.  Make pesto and pasta sauce, omelets and pizza, pickle them, freeze ramp butter.  So many options, so little time!  

What are ramps, you say?    Allium Tricoccum.  Wild leeks.  And, a few sources say, the reason for the name "Chicago".  The Potawatami word for Wild Onions (also skunk, but I choose to ignore that variation) is Checagou.  Apparently, ramps were plentiful and the are had a distinct - but pleasantly garlicky oniony 'aroma'.

Ramp-a-liciously Spring

OK. Forget what the weather is like, now it is really Spring because Ramps are in season. Ramps are a wonderfully earthy cross between garlic and an onion and are the first green edible item to emerge after the long dark winter days of root vegetables (really, how many ways can you make potatoes, carrots, and onions). Seasonal eaters REJOICE!

Ramps may also be responsible for the name of this city. You see, the Potawatami word for wild onion (also skunk, but we choose to ignore that translation) is Checagou. Apparently the area had a lively crop of ramps "back in the day", giving the area a distinctive fragrance.

Happy Spring!

What's In Season?

Ramps! Although the season is almost over as it only lasts a few short weeks. Ramps are a cross between onions and garlic. They are the first "green" produce item that grows in the Spring -and all seasonal eaters rejoice because it means the dark days of onions and potatoes are over. Also, ramps may have give the city of Chicago its name. The Potawatami Indian word for Ramps (or wild onions) is Checagou. Apparently the area was rather "fragrant" with the aroma of wild onions back in the day.

Anyway, the season is short so enjoy them while you can or make them into pesto (as the ingredients in this photo are about to become) and enjoy them in the winter --- when all us seasonal eaters have available is potatoes, onions, root vegetables and anything we were lucky to have frozen during farmers market season.

Ramps (the edible type, not the skateboarding ones)

Early Spring means Ramp Season in the midwest. Ramps (Allium Tricoccum), a cross between onions and garlic, have a very short season - a few weeks - so you have to enjoy them while you can. They are the first green edible item to emerge after winter -- kicking off the new growing season. For seasonal eaters that means the days of root vegetables, root vegetables, and more root vegetables are over. There is a great local organization called The Land Connection, and its big fundraiser, recently held, is called RampFest. Local chefs cook up dishes highlighting ramps.

These are ramps and they make a great pasta sauce (more a ramp pesto). They are also great in omelettes.
OK. So what do ramps have to do with Chicago? Well, according to a few sources, they are probably the reason for the city's name. The Potawatami word for wild onions (also skunk but we'll ignore that variation) is Checagou. Apparently there were a lot of ramps growing here in the "old days" and the area had a distinct aroma. One of the Riverwalk Murals memorializes the impact ramps had on Chicago (the ramps are at the top of the mural, above the boat).