Spring is here (and it's about damn time)

Spring has come to the Farmer's Market here in New York, and may I just say, finally! I am so sick of winter and root vegetables and apples. I need me some fresh greens. I got some quintessential spring vegetables - ramps and green garlic. Here are the ramps.


What are ramps, you may ask? They are kind of like scallions, but cooler. They have a mild onion-y flavor and you can eat the whole thing, the greens, bulbs, everything. They are only available for a short time every year, so people go nuts for them at the market. Here's the green garlic.


Green garlic is young garlic that was harvested before the cloves matured. You can use more of the stalk, also like a scallion.

Anyways, because these ingredients are more special and rare, I figured I should cook something that highlights them. First, I trimmed the green garlic and cut it into small slices (white and pale green parts only) and sauteed it in a pan with some olive oil and red pepper flakes until it got soft.


Then I trimmed the root end off the ramps and tossed them in whole.


While the ramps cooked, they shriveled and became long and skinny, kind of like spaghetti.


And then I mixed it with spaghetti! And Parmesan cheese and salt and pepper! Yay!


It tasted it so good. The ramps mingled with the spaghetti nicely, and the red pepper gave it a little heat. It was easy, quick and delicious.