A pan of dandelion greens

Instructions

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   Hard boiled eggs Pick a pan full of small spring dandelion leaves with no buds, wash and thoroughly drain. Cut the bacon into 1 inch pieces and fry until crisp in a separate skillet. Add the vinegar water and brown sugar to the bacon and drippings and heat to a near boil and immediately pour over greens. Allow hot skillet to cover the pan of dandelion greens for a few minutes to steam. Add chopped hard boiled eggs. ____________________ Did You Know? You can easily remove the silks from corn on the cob by wiping downward with a damp paper towel.

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   Ramps One sure fire way to tell that spring has finally arrived here in the mountains is all of people along the sides of road selling ramps. It seams that every produce stand, every yard sale and flea marked has signs advertising ramps for sell. Not car ramps or ATV ramps mind you but a local delicacy. Ramps, also known as wild leeks, are a type of onion that grows wild in the Carolinas. They look like scallions with broad leaves. Although their flavor is stronger, they can be used in place of scallions, onions or leeks. During ramp season, which begins in March and runs through June, ramps can be found in spe- cialty stores or at ramp festivals. At the end of the season, their leaves wither and the plant lies dormant throughout the remainder of the summer, fall and winter. Resembling the lily of the valley, the wild ramp has a woodsy and very wild aroma offering a de- licious onion-garlic flavor that people either love to an unbelievable degree or hate to the same degree. Personally I think they taste like a cross between a very strong, sweet onion and garlic. A word of caution: Ramps smell to the high heavens so it's best if you can cook them outside. They also leave you with breath that eating no amount of onions or garlic can even compare with. Also, if eaten in large enough quantities the odor will actually come through the skin. I know that this sounds really disgusting but ramps are really very good and an Appalachian spring tradition dating back to the earliest settlers. Continued…

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   Here are a couple of the more popular Ramp recipes: