Oh, Springtime! You’re all about wowing us with flowers, showing us those bursts of color we’ve been craving since Fall. And I love every little crocus and pansy and dogwood blossom that I see. But I really get stoked when I finally get my hands on something fresh and local that I can eat.

That’s where ramps come in.

Ramps live somewhere between a leek, garlic, and heaven. Unlike the other pungent bulbs, the greens of the ramps are soft and demand to be cooked up and gobbled down. So when I arrived at the Union Square Farmer\’s Market at 6:15 on Wednesday, I was offering up a silent, seemingly useless, prayer that there might be ramps in my future. And though half of the booths had shut down and the other half were in the process of folding up tables and shoving them into the back on big trucks, I came upon a man who had a few bunches of ramps left to sell me. I almost hugged him.

There seems to be a fancy fan club for ramps. Yoshi Yamada’s article, Ravenous for Ramps from last April’s Gourmet Magazine is one indicator. The incredible linguine with ramps that I had at Marlow and Sons, the lauded Williamsburg restaurant, is another.

I spirited them home, and following the basic recipe from Mr. Yamada’s recipe, I separated the greens from the bulbs and treated them to my lazy style of “julienning”…

Then tossed the whites in the pan with hot hot hot oil…

Cooked them until they were sweet and tender, and then added some cooked pasta and breadcrumbs…

Then added the greens, tossing them around until they wilted right proper…

And served them up with some freshly grated pecorino romano cheese…

My husband and I both agreed that they were something really special. Nutty and garlicky, but fresh and clean.

So though I may not see them again until next year, I’d like to say Thanks, Ramps. You’re the perfect spring fling.

Spring is here, and man, is she pretty! The trees are totally flaunting their petal power. This city is full of some braggadocious plant life. Hasn’t someone told them that we’re supposed to be a little bit more reserved in this economy? 

Oh, right – Nature doesn’t care about the economy! That’s what makes it the coolest. Let’s celebrate the awesome power of Mother Nature with two recycle-tastic events this week. Deets below. Hope to see you at one of those fine spots so we can craft together and swoon about Spring!

Crafternoon Earth Day Workshop at Kreatelier in Providence

When: Sunday, 4/26, from 12-3pm

Where: Kreatelier, 804 Hope Street, Providence, RI

http://kreatelier.com/happenings/

Come to Providence for an “Earth Day” workshop event at Kreatelier! I’ll be guiding crafters of all ages as they transform bins and bins of trash and recyclables into Recyclobots and Green Doll Houses. Come see how and make your own trash a total treasure.

**************************************************************************

Crafterhours at Spacecraft: Recycled Mother’s Day

When: Thursday, 4/30, from 6:30-8:30pm

Where: Spacecraft, 355 Bedford Ave., Brooklyn, NY

http://spacecraftbrooklyn.com/

Join me for an evening of crafting earth-friendly gifties for the mommas in your life. Bring your boring t-shirts and cloth tote bags and turn them into something mommalicious with fabric paint, sequins, buttons and more. Got a mom who loves to read? We’ll have lots of paper from our recycling bins to turn into cute collaged bookmarks and one-of-a-kind cards. Prefer to work on a mom-free project? Then just sit at the big table and enjoy the crafty good company. We promise we won’t tell your mom.

Feel free to bring your own materials to share with your fellow crafters. And if you think you might get thirsty, we’ll share some libations with you if you’ll bring some, too. Crafters of all ages are welcome. Moms and fans of moms are encouraged to attend. ‘Cause putting a recycled twist on your Mother’s Day shouldn’t mean regifting your birthday present.