Trout Season opened last Saturday. A local Waltonian stopped by my Retreat and dropped off two rainbow trout he had caught. True, they were hatchery-raised and stocked in a stream for sports fishermen, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth.
 |
| Rainbow trout and ramp leaves (click on photos for enlargements) |
I also pickled the bulbs and the lower stems of some ramps in a brine of one-half water and one-half vinegar with one teaspoon of turbinado sugar, one teaspoon of Mongolian lake salt, and two sassafras leaves (used as a substitute for bay leaves; both sassafras and bay belong to the same botanical family).
 |
| Pickled ramps |
As a side dish to the trout I made some lentils and Basmati rice with steamed (not boiled) ramp leaves and pickled ramp stems and bulbs as a garnish.
