The challenge: 1)As a city girl, I needed to find ramps, they don't sell these in stores;-). Solution-Travel to visit friend in Ludington, search for ramps there, but without prior planning...2)Small town farm land meets big city gourmet...where do you find Applewood smoked bacon in Ludington? None of the farmer's are advertising. Since I didn't plan this recipe, I didn't pick up the bacon before hand.
The story: I was planning to stay home this weekend and garden, knit, read, cook and sleep. It sounded like a good plan. Jeri called me and asked me to come to Ludington to help her with some projects and visit. I decided to go, after only a little nudging. After all, spending the weekend with friends would be just a bit more fun, and the garden can go in when I have a little more cash flow. Maybe the weather will be better.
I get there Saturday afternoon, and after speckling her walls to prep for more paint, I ask if there is a good place to search for ramps around Ludington. Jeri then asks her dad, who sends us off to a two track that hasn't been plowed over, but has dips bigger than her car tires and a nice sand pit in the middle of the trail. This may bring back memories for some of you. To Jeri, this was the undercarriage cleaning provided courtesy of mother nature. As we wound through the trail and around and through dips and over the sand pit, she reminded me she hadn't yet told her car it was not a truck. I thought that a wise idea.
The directions were reasonable, and though it was late in the season and it has been quite rainy. So we dug up the ramps, kept some leaves-the ones that weren't too yellow or yucky. Then we took the ramps back to clean them off and separate them. We also picked some for Jeri's dad, to thank him for the directions. Of course, while there, I asked about sorrel, which I've cooked with, but gets expensive. I'll have to find some another time. Jeri's herb-expert friend, Maggie, could not locate sorrel at this time, so we'll have to look another day. Its not required for this recipe, anyways.
The next day, after visiting Jeri's church and Maggie's step-mother's birthday party in Manistee(in which I was invited back to the next party in early August, maybe even the 4th of July), we went searching for Applewood-smoked bacon. I felt bad about being exact, and after two stores, thought maybe I'd have to bring the ramps home to make it. Jeri and Maggie are not stopped that easily. Jeri called the local Meijer in Ludington to check if they had Applewood-Smoked bacon, not hardwood smoked. It was pricier than I planned, but it worked out, after we checked two other stores and found an interesting sage cheese that while quite good, would also make a great eery brain cover for a halloween dish or a fun St. Patrick's day cheese. I think this was at Best Choice. In the end, we went to five stores in two counties to find Applewood-smoked Bacon at Meijer. This time, I had two friends with me on the adventure, and neither one of them complained about this search. They're people I'm glad to call friends.
After calling other friends and letting Maggie have at it with barbecue sauce-co-conspired by Jeri, we had some excellent chicken on the barbecue and I don't care much for barbecue...I've just never had barbecue with Joyce's Black and Red Raspberry Homemade Jam before. Maggie's barbecue sauce will be posted on Blindly Dash later on Facebook. I put Jeri's nephew to work on the ramps first, but he didn't like onions and ended up with another kitchen duty. Being almost a teenager, we decided it was time he got an appreciation for what goes into a good feast while he normally plays video games.
I think I ended up making a double batch of this recipe which takes 6 oz applewood-smoked bacon(which smelled just incredible and added a nice sweetness) to 1# or so of ramps as well as the leaves, with salt and pepper to taste. It didn't need much salt and pepper. I sauteed the bacon, but probably added the ramps a little soon. I also realized I might not have had the heat high enough. The ramps didn't carmelize as quick as they were supposed to. Jeri did come into to help me with this part, as I began to lose patience after slicing ramps into quarter inch pieces, and forgetting that double the size often takes double the cooking time. She helped me to ensure the dish came out great, instead of just okay. Its good to have friends help. I'm sure I have forgotten some great funny detail, but that's what the comment section is for.
I will definitely make this recipe again, probably earlier in the Spring, likely with a little more planning. It wasn't the weekend I planned, but it was all the better for the unplanned and adventurous to take over for a bit.
Happy Ramp Searching, my friends!
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