April Harvest: Morels And Ramps

WARNING: The following post is about another hobby of mine and has nothing to do with bikes.

I think April is my new favorite month. I'm a huge fan of foraging for wild foods and April has quite a bounty. This month I've found my usual morel mushroom spots to be producing quite well. I found enough morels for a few meals which is not always the case. 
Sauteed in a little butter and shallots, these yellows and greys let off a succulent hazelnutty flavor.

This year I was fortunate enough to stumble onto a nice sized patch of ramps, (aka wild leeks) while foraging for morels. If a very yummy onion and a clove of garlic made sweet sweet love and had a baby, that stinky lovechild would be a ramp. The ones I found don't have the reddish stem color that most do but turn out to be much more tasty.

After making a few ramp omelets I did a search and found two recipes on Food52. The first was a pesto from the greens which turned out great. No garlic needed.

The second was for spicy pickled ramps which should be done this week.

I should note that if you find a patch of ramps, harvest sparingly to ensure next years crop.


It's nice to find and eat local foods sans food industry.

DC area wild food resources:
MAW DC
The Natural Capital
Slow Food DC

Eating Locally On Vacation

A while back I posted about a mushroom event I attended after I lucked upon a patch of Chicken of the Woods mushrooms. It seems my luck is still running strong, I happened upon these beauties while on vacation in Rhode Island last month. 

It had been raining for a few days and the mushrooms were popping. This dead tree was standing in a neighbor's yard where my wife and I were renting a house. I saw them from the road and started thinking about a recipe. We had visited a friend's farm nearby the day before and left with some fresh picked okra, string beans, and tomatoes. 

I threw everything in a pot and made another pot chicken of the woods curry that thanks to the fresh veggies rivaled the initial last batch. 

The farm where we got the veggies was 20 minutes away and the main ingredient was picked a few hundred yards away. With the exception of the spices and a little butter, this may have been the most "local" meal I've eaten, and damn was it good.

This weekend is a perfect time to hit up a farmer's market or two. ;)

Happy Friday.

Summertime Harvest

I know there has been a lot of non-bike related content as of late and I mean to correct that. Until I do, here's some photos of a dinner I prepared this week with some home grown tomatoes and basil. 

Step One: Cut a hole in a box... Grow some of these.

Step Two: Combine with this stuff.

Step Three: Eat.

Repeat as necessary.

More Bling For Silver Spring

For those of use who've lived in the area a long time it's well known that progress hasn't come easy to Silver Spring. Most of this struggle I blame on wretched architecture and the failed attempts at restoration and mimicry of said wretchedness.

The old Hecht Company building which was reborn into the Shitty Place (city place). A glowing beacon of wretchedness.

Happily that's all behind us. In the past decade Silver Spring has successfully been reborn into a very, very cool place to live, even more so now with an influx of new hip dining options.

Last night I tested the waters at Pacci's, an upscale Italian pizzeria and bar.

It was a very good evening, especially given that they just opened on Friday. There are still a few wrinkles to iron out but the pizzas were delicious. They were on par with Two Amys and slightly better than Mia's in Bethesda (which I love).  The crust is very good, the ingredients are fresh, and the Montepulciano goes perfectly.

Another recent opening is 8407 Kitchen Bar, opened by the owner of Mrs. K's and headed by Chef Pedro Matamoros (from Nicaro).

I freakin' love this place. Pedro has a great imagination and the menu reflects it. Lot's of exposed beams and brick make the interior very comfortable. I wouldn't have thought overlooking the metro construction would be a plus but I kind of like it.

Lastly, the Hook & Ladder Brewing Company  Fire Station 1 is turning the old fire station into a micro brewery cliché from the looks of the menu and poor website design... said to open in early 2010 and it looks like their well under way. We'll see.



Bling Blingy Silver Springy...

Thursday, you're just not Friday (unless I take tomorrow off).

Friday Beer Review: Anchor Porter

A few days ago a good friend reminded me that it's braising season. Time to get out the dutch oven and slow cook some goodness. I started off with a recipe from Cooking Light for beer braised beef stew since it covered the two major food groups in the title. It called for root veggies; carrots, onions, garlic, and turnips, some beef broth and 1 dark beer. I headed off to my LBS (local beer store) and was delighted to find Anchor's Porter. I hadn't tried their porter but I am a big fan of their seasonal Christmas Ale so I grabbed a sixer.

Let me say that I love a good dark beer. To make it creamy, rich, and thick while going down light and smooth is an art form. A good porter has that mix of hoppy bitter and chocolaty sweetness that makes you want to poor it on ice cream. I was not disappointed by the Anchor Porter, not overly sweet with just the right amount of hops made this a perfect beer for braising, and drinking for that matter.

As the weather turns cold grab some and drink it slowly, you won't regret it. It's even good at room temperature.

Bottom line: Highly Recommended.

Buy it if you like good beer with complexity and you have a bowl of stew in front of you.
Don't buy it if you don't like porter.

Wildlife Tuesday

I saw this pair of Wood Ducks this morning in Sligo Creek just across from the golf course. There is a little bridge I cross every morning where Malards congregate in the winter time. In the early spring a pair of Wood Ducks shows up at the bridge from god knows where. They are much more cautious then the Malards and usually will not let you get close enough for a good photo but I lucked out.

Here is a shot of the morels I found on Sunday doing what they do best. 

Lean in close...  closer...  you can smell them can't you?

I dare you to click the photo.

Shroom Hunting And Custom Headwear

Yesterday I took my daughter mushroom hunting. We stumbled around the woods for two hours with nothing to show for it so we cut our losses and went home. Later in the day when out walking with my wife we lucked upon these fresh morels! I sauteed these lovelies in butter, garlic, and parsley they tasted amazing. Even better when dried morels are $149.99 a pound and Whole Paycheck(Foods).

respec...

Morel Hunting Tips: 

  -  They are only around for a few weeks in April

  -  If you are in central eastern USA as I am look around under Tulip Poplars the morning after a rain

  -  Keep the mushrooms you find in a mesh bag with lots of air flow. NOT in a plastic bag as they will turn to mush pretty quickly.

  -  Know your false morels.

  -  For more info go here, 

On a less scrumptiously delicious note, my custom Walz cycling cap came in last week. "Large Marge Sent Me..." embroidered on the side as a nod to my faux bike shop design.

Monday Out...

Teddy's Roti Shop

Last night I ate at Teddy's Roti Shop for the second time. If you are looking for great Caribbean food and the best roti in DC go check it out.  Watch out, the homemade beet and carrot juice is um.. strong.

Roti with chana and pumpkin

Apologies for the crappy camera phone image.

The Bacon Challenge Accepted!

A few months back I bounced a post from McAuliflower detailing her venture into meat flavored alcohol. In a comment she dared me to make a batch myself and I admit for a few months there I was scared. Then a few months after that I was merely cautious, and for these last few months I have been pensive. Now, I am happy to say that I accept this dare and after 6 months and five days I have sprung into action like a hungry badger!

Per McAuliflower's directions:
1. Cut a hole in a box Cook some bacon.


2. Eat some of the bacon. (tee hee)
3. Put the rest of the bacon in a clean mason jar.
4. Fill jar with vodka.
5. Put the jar in a dark cabinet for 3 weeks.I also took her advice of throwing in a pinch of ground black pepper.

So now we wait... and daydream about the many possibilities of bacon flavored vodka. I think the first thing I will try is a mixed drink where I salt the rim of a highball glass with smoked salt. Maybe heating up some maple syrup to mix in as well.... yeesssssssssss.

Post your bacon vodka ideas and I will try out the best one.

Stay tuned and thanks again to McAuliflower for the inspiration.

UPDATE:
See Bacon Vodka Part Deux

More Things Bacon

Every once and a great while an individual comes along that redefines zeitgeist, a true mench that pushes the spirit of innovation forward and thus we all benefit as a society. Today that individual is MATTY SALLIN. Ole Matty boy isn't taking life lying down, but when he has to, it's to the sweet smell of fresh cooked bacon. Matty came up with an alarm clock that will wake you up to that most lubricious of odors... sizzling bacon. Everybody now... "MMM BAAAAACON". With the Wake n' Bacon alarm clock and shot of Bacon Vodka in the AM there is nothing I can't accomplish. Thanks to Mary for the hook. Happy Friday Everybody!

Bacon Vodka... Bacon... Vodka...

Say it again, this time slower. Baaaaaaaaacon VVVVVVVVVodka. It's starting to sink in a little isn't it. At first you recoil, but now you're curious aren't you. My pal hooked me with this link and I thought I would pass it along.

From McAuliflower at
Brownie Points Blog