My Own Tiny Ramps Mania?

[flit]

So as a west coast person who has never tasted a ramp, I was kind of bemused by all of the ramps ramps ramps ramps ramps talk in my food blogs. All these recipes that I cannot possibly make! Of course, it was also bemusing to discover that... *coff coff* Meyer lemons were not in fact simple lemons. That they are special and hard to get in rampsland. I grew up thinking that Meyer lemons were ordinary lemons that had been grown in someone's backyards, and the lemons you find in supermarkets (Eurekas, mostly, I guess) were these "normal lemons" that had been harvested immature for some reason. A logical mistake since I'd only gotten Meyer lemons off my mom's tree and seen them growing in neighbors' yards, but still.

Anyhow, I am beginning to succumb to a ramps-like obsession. Allium blossoms! First there were the elephant garlic blossoms I got, which caramelized so beautifully when I cut them in half and used them to top the frittata. Then there were the green shallots, which had a healthy dose of tender, sweet, shallot blossoms with hollow stems. And then there are the spring onions, oh the lovely spring onions. The blossoms have been topped from these, but the blossom stems are just amazing, hollow tubes of crispy sweet goodness. I can cut them into thin little rings that hold their shapes perfectly. I can cut them into thicker rings to add crunch to a salad. Or I can halve lengths of them to make celery-like stalks perfect for scooping up dip. And don't even get me started on chive blossoms.

Yogurt Dip, Based Loosely on Tzatziki

• 1 pint Greek yogurt of whatever degree of fat you prefer; this tastes fine made with nonfat; optionally, normal yogurt but expect that to be runny unless you drain it
  
• about 1/3rd of an English cucumber, grated
  
• as much fresh garlic as you like, minced and/or crushed
  
• parsley or cilantro, or fresh thyme or dill, or lemon thyme, or chives, or dry thyme or dill if you don't have any fresh
  
• smoked hot paprika, to taste (I used about a half teaspoon), or cayenne, or chili powder
  
• 1/4-1/2 preserved lemon, peel only, finely diced (this is optional but I love it)
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour. If you use non-strained yogurt then it will be very runny; you can thicken it up into something almost like spreadable cheese by hanging it in cheesecloth or a clean kitchen towel, ingredients and all, to drain for at least an hour. Hang it longer if you like it thicker. One of the more practical ways to do this is to tie the yogurt up into a little bag and hang it from a long-handled wooden spoon into a stockpot, in the fridge. It can also hang out at room temperature for an hour in the sink if you don't have room, and then go into the fridge when you've taken it out of the cloth.

This makes a great dip for halved onion blossom stems, or any other vegetables you have around.