Fiddlehead Ferns
Every area of the country has its own harbinger of spring. In the Mid-Atlantic where I grew up, we knew spring had really come when the dogwoods and azaleas were in full bloom. My friends in West Virginia rave about their ramps. When we lived in Japan, it was the Cherry Blossoms, in Florida and Hawaii spring simply meant higher temps and having to mow the lawn more often.
Here in Maine we have the fiddleheads pushing through the still damp earth, and the peepers calling loudly in the pond every evening. We have windows open--after all it's over 50!--and sun shining between the clouds blown in by the afternoon sea breezes. Ok yes, there are a few black flies, but those don't tend to reside here on the mid-coast. There are ticks, coyotes, and mosquitoes, but for these few glorious weeks, the ferns and the peepers give us hope for a beautiful summer.
Incidentally, Fiddleheads are considered a Maine delicacy when sauteed with new red potatoes and garlic in butter. I also saw a recipe for a Fiddlehead Martini--they put pickled fiddleheads into a mixture of peach or pear wine with vodka. Whew....that would have me opening the windows!
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I have often read about these fiddleheads...but never tasted them. Or seen one for that matter..
ReplyDeleteOnce again your blog has me nostalgic for Maine. My mother-in-law loved to cook fiddleheads. Maine folks keep the location of a good harvest of fiddleheads a state secret. We have peepers here too and I've been going to sleep to their constant peeping every night for a while now.
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