#onions

Now that we are in the middle of April, I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of ramps at your local farmers’ market. If not, then blame all the chefs and hipster home cooks for hogging it all for themselves. Food enthusiasts go CRAZY for this leafy looking scallion.

Actually they’re wild leeks…cousins, in the onion family. Native in the forests of the east coast and Canada, they break through soil in the early part of spring. They’re high in vitamin C and have a garlicky, oniony flavor that’s pungent. Really delicious and versatile. You can use them anywhere you would use scallions or spring onions. 

Roast or grill them whole. Make a pesto out of them with walnuts and pecorino cheese. Batter ‘em up and fry them whole..or no batter, making the leaves crispy. At work, we pickled them! OMG, I just thought of making kimchi out of them. Put ramps on your pizza, toast, scrambled eggs, oooh how about compound butter!

The only thing that sucks about them are the price. At the farmers’ market in Studio City, a vendor had them for $15 a pound! But that’s hella ramps. And they weren’t that good looking either…it was 1pm and all the early birds got best pick. The ones in the photo are from work. Aren’t they gorgeous? They taste as good as they look too!

06.09.2020

Delicious school lunch. Sesame chicken, a tomato soup that I would call “hamburger soup”. A side salad and barley rice.

We rent a converted garage behind this main house. We have 400 square feet, a small garden under a pear tree and a dozen or so potted up fruit trees. Love our little place, little garden and little trees.

I started another batch of fermented onions today. The first jar was so tasty and so easy to add to meals.

While I’m far from an expert yet, I’ve come to a few conclusions now about the process:

1. At least while you’re a beginner, successful fermentation is more about chemistry than it is recipe. Get the ingredients right. Use coarse kosher or sea salt, fresh vegetables, and distilled water. Keep everything clean and sterile. Your goal is to create an environment in which a particular chemical process –i.e., lacto-fermentation — can take place. 

2. If you don’t see fizz and bubbles within a day or so, something isn’t right. 

3. Taste test along the way. When the taste and texture are where you want them to be, remove the airlock and put the jar in the fridge. The fermentation will continue there, but at a much, much slower rate.

I’ll put these two jars in a place that is warm-ish and away from direct sunlight. They should be checked every other day to make sure nothing is going awry. You may need to skim them on occasion.

I can’t wait to start fermenting hot sauces this summer. By then, I should have a better sense of how all this works and how to produce a consistent process. Mango-habanero salsa, anyone?? 

Onions

Papa bless

Quenton Greyjoy killing the guy who was about to kill Asha was the kindest thing a Greyjoy has ever done for another Greyjoy. For that he was struck down not a moment after. None of those niceties are allowed.