Rampfest 2015

 We took off early yesterday to drive through the snow to go to the only Rampfest within driving distance to us.

The weather eventually cleared and it was nice to see all of the Spring colors in the mountains.

 We arrived just as the festival began so not much was happening.  Ramp chili for sale at this both. Click any of the pics for a closer look.

 Local honey, baskets and maple syrup for sale.

 This local guy was selling hippie bracelets and the booth in the background was selling all things bees.  Everything from their own honey to bee keeping necessities.

 Ramp risotto with or without shrimp.

It was so cold that this guy was warming his hands over the rampburgers.

 Last year we skipped this booth but not this time.  We headed straight to this Colombian street food vendor.  They were selling cachapas.

 These were simply one of the best things I have ever tasted and now I will be on a journey to duplicate them.  The Blog Tech holds a pulled pork and cheese cachapa with ramp sauce.

 These are made with cornmeal and fresh corn and are similar to a very flavorful pancake.  They are fried on a griddle, topped with cheese, the filling of your choice and a heaping pile of fried ramps.  Then they are folded over and served with this fantastic ramp sauce which I also need to duplicate. I can't wait to add these to our food repertoire.

 I bought some local honey.

 Ramp jelly.

 Ramp salsa.

 And some ramp seasoning.  This industrious seller harvests ramps, dries them and then sells ramp flakes and her own personal seasoning mixes.  Now that I have my own ramps growing, I will be making these on my own.

 I like the Ball jars she puts them in too.

It is a fun event.  Everyone stands around chatting, eating all things ramp and telling you where you can find ramps.  I'll show more of our trip tomorrow.  We found something extremely interesting and very scary!