As our farmers market dates approach we have been ramping up our schedule in preparation. Zelnik takes a lot of time to make and well, I need to build stock up. In addition to Zelnik making, this time next year we will be ramping up RAMPS! Also known as "wild leeks" one could say that next Spring we will uh spring a leek!
OK, enough bad puns for now...Anyway, while visiting my wife's family for Easter one of her Uncles had a special surprise for me - two bags full of ramps picked from his property. The previous visit, I brought some Zelnik to share and when I mentioned that there was leek in the filling we got on the topic of the ramps growing abundantly on his property. I've always been curious about cooking with ramps and he must have picked up on my enthusiasm! I took them home and did some reading. I was delighted to learn that ramps are resistant to juglone - the chemical emitted from black walnut trees that kills darn near everything around them. So, we cooked some up and I planted the rest under our black walnut tree in the backyard. Excited to see how they take :)
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