Ramps!

Ramp season is upon us—those tasty little flags of spring that arise from the muddy shade and the shady mud are so good in a shrimp risotto.

Last year, as an experiment, Wren and I bought a sack of ramps at the Park Slope Food Coop and replanted them in a north-facing, woodsy spot in the plum grove. We were happy to see them come up this year, so last weekend we repeated the planting process, getting another 100 or so ramps in the ground. The plan: ritualistically inseminate the soil with a hundred plants per year for the next few years, until there's an established bed from which we can sustainably harvest thereafter.
We took about 100 ramps from our recent purchase into the garden, setting aside a good portion for cooking later on. It was Wren's birthday, and for her birthday each year I make a suitably springy risotto.
We got to planting. Plenty muddy, but fun. That happy clump of ramps in the background of the shot below were planted three years ago in a woodland trespassing spree led by our 85-year-old neighbor, Larry, whose family has lived in these parts for more than 50 years. That grouping is well established now and beginning to spread.
Once all the ramps were planted and watered, we turned to Part 2 of the ramp-related festivities...prepping for the birthday dinner.
Along with ramps (shown above), we included spring onions (lower portion of photo below), and a couple of pretty "spring garlic" plants (upper portion of photo below).
Most of these were cooked right in with the arborio rice.
And the rest were added to the shrimp. Everything was combined at the very end, for a delicious pink-and-green treat...
...with a side order of fiddleheads...
...and a strawberry rhurbarb pie we picked up at a local farm stand.
The cream—also local—was freshly whipped. Sencha went cross-eyed with joy when he tasted whipped cream for the very first time.
I think he spoke for us all in this shot—the meal was YUM! Happy Birthday, Wren!