Ramps are wild leeks from the onion family that grow for only a short period of time each Spring. When they arrive at the green market, people either look at them curiously wondering what they are or buy them up immediately. I had them once in a soup at a restaurant and they do taste a lot like leeks.So what is the weirdest vegetable you've ever eaten?
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I've eaten bitter melons. Those are god-awful. Also, those durian things that are stinky and sold all over Asia. Although I think those are technically fruits.
Well, I have never heard of them before. So thanks! I shall try if I see them. :)
I think the weirdest vegetable I ever ate was this one (I am sure you know it - I have completely forgotten its name).
That's tough to answer, since one person's weird is another person's ordinary. For example, I think okra is incredibly weird, but I've eaten it before, and so have millions of other people in Turkey, New Orleans, Africa....
But I suppose it's dried sea palm leaves, a type of ocean vegetable (sea weed) that grows on the rocks of the Pacific coast up near here, and makes a nice salty-crunchy snack.
Oh, that's Baerlauch aka bear leek (lit.). We got that in the forest back in Switzerland. For free. Mom put some in the potato salad when available. Yumm.
Hmm, I can't rememver any weird veggies but I ate a new (for me) and interesting one lately: Umi Budo aka sea grapes aka green caviar. Healthy!
Leeks and leek soup are famous here where I live. You have to look high and low to find anyplace that makes and sells it but once you do that will be your choice of restaurants in the future.
If I don't get back to see you again before the weekend, I will wish you a "Happy Decoration Day" weekend. Alas, now called 'Memorial Day' weekend here in the states; and, better known for the Indianapolis 500 race than for decorating the graves of the dead.
I know well these leeks (ramps)! Have not yet considered any vegetable as weird. If it's offered or sold, I presume it must be worth trying.
It must have been so weird that I don't even remember... ;)
Any particular reason for the introduction of comment moderation?
c'est un marché bio ? J'avais remarque qu'il y avait de plus en plus de marché dans NYC, surtout dans les quartiers dévalorisés, si j'ai bien lu, la mairie veut changer le mode de nourriture de ces quartiers, c'est une bonne idée non .
it is an bio market? I noticed that there were more and more of the market in NYC, especially in neighborhoods devalued, if I have read, the council wants to change the mode of food these districts is not a good idea
Someone at the Green Market near Brooklyn Borough Hall was selling ramps for $12.99 a pound.
$10 MORE than Manhattan? Needless to say, I didn't buy.
I once ate ramps sauteed with asparagus, and thought they tasted like very strong leeks.
Blather From Brooklyn
Hey, Ming! I love the look on the lady's face (on the right).
I agree that what's weird to one person is not weird to another. I was going to say carrots (as per my post from a few days ago), but they're not really weird. I just don't like them. . .Nor do I like onions or peppers or okra. Sigh. I guess I stay away from the weird things since I can't think of anything.
I love leeks, but I have never heard of these. Can't remember any weird vegetables. I like most all of them!
I love leeks, but I have never heard of these. Can't remember any weird vegetables. I like most all of them!
Personally, I think artichokes are a bit weird. Totally scrumtious, though. You can find a nice selection of strange veggies at weirdvegetables.blogspot.com.
And hello to fellow PDP'ers uselaine and Abraham Lincoln. I guess one good blog leads to another.
...Ming! I don't visit for weeks and then, when I drop in I find....food and cafes. You are incorrigible, but obviously enjoy it. So stay happy.
Leeks..........great, all mashed up in potato and cheese with a little milk to form a tasty soft creamy mountain. Yummy.
I think sea vegetables top the list for being weird. Dulse, Kombu, etc. If you're looking for ideas of what to do with ramps, we just had a recipe contest and the winning recipe was for ramp, spinach and mushroom tart - it was delicious! You can view the recipe and photos at MarxFoods.com as well as other ramp recipes.
mmmm. i love ramps.
probably the weirdest veggie i've had was a fiddlehead fern.
there are some weird (and expensive) mushrooms out there too.
for fruits, i've yet to try a durian. the smell scares me.
oh i just read teahouse's comment. omg, bitter melons are so nasty.
Having opened my mouth in a half dozen East, Southeast and South Asian countries, I have no idea what the weirdest vegetable I've eaten might be (by American standards). And I'm probably better off not knowing.
How things have changed in New York City since my time. Sorry to sound like a creaky old geezer, but a vegetable market in Union Square would have been unthinkable. In Sunnyside, we did have Mr. Rosoco's greengrocer shop on the north side of Queens Boulevard between 42nd and 43rd Streets. His twin sons, Jimmy and Steve, were in my class at Queen of Angels (may she rest in peace). He always gave me a carrot when I went in with my mother. Do the vendors in Union Square give kids something to chew on?
And I thought ramps were for wheeling thing up or down. Any clue to why these leek look-a-likes are called ramps? Leek soup I like, but the best French onion soup I ever tasted was in Dinas Powis, Wales! Mmmm!!
I don't think Ive tried ramps before.Hmmm.....
I had ramps once at Craft in NYC. I also remember being served varieties of mushrooms (at the same restaurant) I had never seen before.
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