AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Cooking with Katie DATE: 5/17/2009 10:18:00 AM ----- BODY:

Like most women, I vacillate between wanting to lose 20 pounds and being content with my weight. When I "adopted" Katie from Eat this, I excitedly looked through her recipes for new ideas to cook healthy. She cooks with a lot of whole grains, many that I know of, but don't typically cook. Maybe I can finally make realistic modifications to my diet and lose some weight.

Last night, I brought dinner to a friend. She prefers the style of Katie's cooking - lots of whole grains and mostly vegetarian -- so it seemed the perfect opportunity to make one of her recipes. Did I choose the healthy and beautiful looking Lentil Soup with Spinach? Or the Pinto bean, avocado, tomato and wheatberry salad? No. Of course, I opted for the Roasted Veggie and Cheese Pasta. The least healthy of all her delicious recipes.

And let me tell you, it was indeed delicious! I'll confess, I made a few adaptations... wanting to use what was in the fridge... I used fresh dug parsnips and carrots instead of the recommended peppers, zucchini and eggplant. And I added ramps instead of garlic and onions.

So, if you're craving virtuous and delicious recipes, check out Katie's blog. If you're looking for healthy twists on your favorite recipes, check out Katie's blog. You won't be disappointed.

And by the way, Katie is giving away jars of Tupelo Honey. Just leave a comment on her blog between now and Friday, May 22 to be entered to win. As if you need another reason to read her blog.

Labels: adopt-a-blogger, give-away, pasta, ramps

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Dewi DATE:5/17/2009 11:15:00 AM Oh, sounds like a delicious site to visit. I'll definitely check out her blog. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Katie DATE:5/17/2009 12:12:00 PM I love the idea of parsnips in this! I'll have to try it this way next time. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Heather DATE:5/17/2009 07:16:00 PM katie sounds like one cool chick! i'll check her out!

TOTALLY feel better about not knowing what RTKs were!! And I def agree about trying them in RKTs!! i'll bet it is delicious :) i just made s'mores bread. haven't tried it yet. hope it is good, though! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Reeni DATE:5/17/2009 07:23:00 PM The pasta sounds delicious!! I've been to Katie's site before, she has delicious and healthy recipes. I'll pay her another visit! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

noble pig DATE:5/18/2009 01:14:00 AM I wish I could get my hands on some ramps! This sounded delicious! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Kathy DATE:5/19/2009 06:43:00 AM I checked out her site, and tried the lentil soup with carrots and fresh spinach and it was a hit! Thanks for the referral! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:5/19/2009 06:56:00 AM Elra -- cool!

Katie -- I really liked the sweetness it added to the dish.

Heather -- S'mores bread sounds awesome!

Reeni -- they are definitely getting rave reviews.

noble pig -- I'm surprised you can't get ramps in your area...

Kathy -- That's next on my list. Glad you gave it high marks. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Melissa DATE:5/19/2009 05:49:00 PM Her site sounds great. Maybe I can find some tasty healthy stuff to make because Steve and I do need to lose some weight. Oh yeah. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

grace DATE:5/21/2009 06:21:00 AM come on now, we need our calcium too, and cheese is the perfect source for it. :) excellent use of ramps, too! ----- -------- AUTHOR: Julia TITLE: Where the Wild Things Are DATE: 5/06/2009 09:14:00 AM ----- BODY:

Nowadays, it seems you can get anything, any time of year. Asparagus in January? No problem… probably flown in from Chile. Apples in August? New Zealand. Even "wild" mushrooms aren’t wild. They’re cultivated, and perhaps generously called exotic.

I love spring for so many reasons, but especially for the seasonal spring foods that are truly seasonal. Ramps (wild leeks), for example, are only available in the May.

Ramps taste like a cross between garlic and scallions, with a white bulb and elongated, broad leaves. Like scallions, both the leaves and bulb are edible. I slice the bulbs thinly and sauté them before adding the leaves. I mix them with spring greens for dumplings or with a mix of peas and asparagus and morels for the quintessential spring vegetable mix.

Pickling ramps helps preserve their spring flavor for a few months longer.

Shad Roe is an east coast spring delicacy, also only available in the spring, when the shad leaves the ocean to mate in the fresh waters of the Delaware river. The roe is harvested in “sacs” (or ovaries if you want to be graphic about it). The thin membrane holds together millions of little roe, the size of typical caviar.

But unlike caviar or taramasalta, the roe is fresh, not salted or preserved. The flavor is sweet and earthy (like fresh-water fish) with a mild saltwater taste.

I pan-fried shad roe with the classic garnishes of capers and bacon, and the less classic pickled ramps. I made a sauce with balsamic vinegar, tomatoes (canned from last summer) and butter.

The greens in the background is from the first harvest of my own mesclun. No dressing, but enough other flavors on the plate that it really didn't need anything.

Labels: ramps, shad roe, urban gardener

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Rob Sama DATE:5/06/2009 03:37:00 PM I made shad row last week. It's like sweetbreads from the sea... ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Heather DATE:5/06/2009 08:12:00 PM i just pre-wrote a post about ramps too!! they're so amazingly delicious!!!! mmmm. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Reeni DATE:5/06/2009 08:22:00 PM I've never had a ramp. But I love garlic and scallions. I will have to look for them, I would love to try them. Your dish looks delicious! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Dewi DATE:5/07/2009 01:14:00 PM I saw ramps yesterday at my local grocery store. I didn't buy, but now I am tempting. I actually want to grow my own if possible. I guess it's too late now.

That pickle ramps, sounds so tempting...
Cheers,
elra ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Emily DATE:5/07/2009 05:17:00 PM I've never had ramps, but I'm excited to try them! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:5/08/2009 07:42:00 AM Rob -- and I love sweetbreads too! Great analogy.

Heather -- Can't wait to see what you did with the ramps. I just saw a recipe for ramp pesto... yum!

Reeni -- I think you would love them!

Elra -- That would be great if you could grow them... I've never heard of anyone doing that.

Emily -- you should! It's definitely a spring treat. ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Melissa DATE:5/08/2009 07:59:00 PM Finally tried ramps last weekend. Loved them! Don't know if I want to post the dish though, I actually didn't photograph it well. But it was a simple pasta with the ramps and olive oil and a bit of parm reg. I was amazed at the taste. Hard to describe and very strong (in a way I liked, obviously). ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Julia DATE:5/09/2009 07:47:00 AM Melissa -- I"m glad you tried them and liked them! I just bought more yesterday. And as you can see, bad photography never stops me from posting! ----- COMMENT: AUTHOR:

Jude DATE:5/10/2009 07:48:00 PM I love ramps. Gonna have to try that pickling recipe if I can still find them here. ----- --------