A Late Spring Tradition

In my neck of the woods, at this time of year, wild garlic appears. People come to pick it, often trespassing on private property to get it. If you have every had it, you can understand why. It is a wild plant that grows in the bush, along side trilliums. Around here, people pick and sell them on the roadsides.

I read an article in Gourmet Magazine that referred to them as ramps. According to the article's author, Chef Yoshi Yamada, "ramps (Allium trioccum) are a member of the lily family, which includes garlic, leeks, and onions. Built a little like scallions, ramps have elegant green leaves growing from a richly purple stalk that fades to a white bulb. Below the bulb, roots hang down like dendrites. Ramps are often called wild leeks or wild garlic, and if you taste them you will know why: They occupy a middle ground of flavor, with the sweetness of leeks and the bite of garlic. And this flavor is delicious."

And they are delicious. I can eat them like olives and just pop them in my mouth. The other night I made perogies, and fried up the wild garlic and the perogies together. Last night I made meatballs in a barbecue sauce made with them. They were fabulous and fast.

Wild Garlic Barbecue Sauce

2 cups of wild garlic

3/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup plum sauce

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup soy sauce, sodium reduced

1/4 cup low sodium or homemade beef stock

2 cloves finely minced garlic

Heat a large saute pan, in olive oil, saute wild garlic until it begins to soften, about 5-7 minutes. Add sauce ingredients and still until sugar dissolves. Add in your favorite meatballs, cook until meatballs are done.

You can use pork chops or chicken, this sauce is great with that. You must serve this with french fries or rice, so you can sop up the extra sauce- because it's so good you'll want to!

A Successful Experiment

The farmer doesn't like food cooked in the slow cooker! I think my slow cooker stage almost got me a divorce! Everytime I made something in the slow cooker, my girls and I would think it was just fine- sometimes even fantastic. The farmer on the other hand, always said " I thought it tasted funny" When I would ask him to elaborate, he couldn't. I argued that it was all in his head and continued to cook in the slow cooker. Eventually he wouldn't even eat the food I cooked. I eventually put the slow cooker away- after a couple of fights about the cooking - and have now devised other ways to prepare my supper ahead and have it ready for the farmer to eat at his suppertime. One method I discovered is putting frozen meat in the oven and set the oven time to start the cooking before I get home. So far it has been successful. Last night's supper, was I think the most successful to date!I bought some pork rib, cut into small pieces so they were one serving each. I made up the sauce as I went along. When I came home, the aroma from the ribs had filled the kitchen and they came out perfect.

Sweet and Spicy Baked Ribs

4 - 5 pounds of pork side ribs - I use center cut- less fat
1- 350 ml jar (10 oz) of plum sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 small onion, finely minced
4 tablespoons of soya sauce
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste
Montreal Steak Spice

Place ribs in a large shallow roasting pan, in a single layer, if possible, fat side up.

Sprinkle both sides with Montreal Steak Spice. In a small bowl mix all other ingredients. Stir well to help distribute the brown sugar evenly. Pour over ribs- cover them completely. Bake, covered at 275F for about 2 - 2 1/2 hours. They should actually fall of the bone when they are done. Great with rice and a salad.

Serves 4 - 5

Along with my ribs, I baked rice at the same time. It came out great also.

Baked Vegetable Rice

1 1/2 cup long grain rice
1 - 796 ml can ( 28 oz) diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chicken stock or water
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, chopped onto 1/4 inch pieces
1 celery stalk
1/2 bell pepper, any color
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of dried parsley - or 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Grease a 2 quart covered casserole with butter.
Mix all ingredients together, place in casserole. Cover with a tight fitting lid. Bake 2 - 2 1/2 hours at 275F along with the ribs.

Makes 4-6 servings

Another Family Gathering

We had another family gathering over the week-end. This time my little niece was making her First Communion. We gathered at my brother's house for a party that was again a combination of Greek and Polish! I decided since the weather was so spring-like, I wanted to bake something that reflected that. My choice was a delicious Lemon Cake, that's light but flavourful. I served without the berries, since we had no nice ones available yet, but this cake is wonderful if you serve it with raspberries. Use fresh lemon juice, not from a bottle, it gives the cake a much sweeter flavour and you must include the peel- even though it's a hassle. Be sure to wash your lemons well with soap and water before you add the peel!

Lemon Cake

4 eggs, separated
1 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a bundt pan.
In a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks appear. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar and butter. Beat together until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, beat until creamy and well blended. Mix together flour and baking powder in another bowl. Add flour gradually to to butter mixture, alternating with milk. Mix well after each addition. Add lemon peel and lemon juice. Now by hand, fold egg whites into butter mixture until completely combined. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 50- 60 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Once the cake comes out of the oven, make syrup.

Lemon Syrup

1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
grated peel from one lemon, about 1 tablespoon

In a small saucepan, stir together all syrup ingredients. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved.
Poke holes in the cake with a cake tester or wooden pick. Spoon syrup over cake. Cool 15 minutes, remove from pan.

Lemon Glaze

1/3 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons cornstarch
grated peel from one lemon, about 1 tablespoon

In the same small saucepan, mix all glaze ingredients together, bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes or until slightly thickened. Allow to cool slightly. Spoon over cake to make a glazed finish. Serve with fresh raspberries if available.

Serves 12