My uncle sent this photo of “a mysterious sign, art object, or political statement on Old Rt. 33 east of Buckhannon” (WV).
However, I just saw this video on CNN about a man from Indiana who installed a $100,000 oil well in his back yard and gets three barrels of crude a day. He claims that “it’s a money maker” (3*$100*365 = $109,500).
Video of the latest cash crop.
Happy Mother’s Day!
The first Mother’s Day in the US was celebrated by Anna Jarvis in Grafton, West Virginia, on 10 May 1908. From there, the custom caught on — spreading eventually to 45 states. The holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother’s Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war.
Nine years after the first official Mother’s Day, commercialization of the U.S. holiday became so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a major opponent of what the holiday had become. Mother’s Day continues to this day to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. occasions. According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States.
What does an inclined surface connecting two levels have to do with pizza you ask? For those of you not already in the know, ramps are an Appalachian delicacy, a leafy root vegetable popular in West Virginia and Quebec. Ramps are actually wild leeks, a member of the onion family and taste like a combination of onions and strong garlic. (“The taste is tart and delicious. The odor is pungent and lasting. A never to be forgotten experience — as a contest participant or an observer”)
In central Appalachia, ramps are most commonly fried with potatoes in bacon grease or scrambled with eggs and served with bacon, pinto beans, and cornbread. Ramps, however, are quite adaptable to almost any food style and can also be used in soups, puddings, ketchup, guacamole and other foods, in place of onions and garlic. Some people like them raw, but others say the aroma of raw wild leeks stays with one for days.
The community of Richwood, West Virginia holds the annual “Feast of the Ramson” in April. Sponsored by the National Ramp Association, the ‘ramp feed’ (as it is locally known) brings thousands of ramp aficionados from considerable distances to sample foods featuring the plant. During the ramp season (late winter through early spring), restaurants in the town serve a wide variety of foods containing wild leeks.
In Canada, wild leeks are considered rare delicacies. Since the growth of leeks is not as widespread as in West Virginia and because of destructive human practices, wild leeks are an endangered species in Quebec.
Trivia:
The name of the U.S. city Chicago is said to originate from “Checagou” (Chick-Ah-Goo-Ah) or “Checaguar,” which in the Potawatomi language means “wild onions” or “skunk.” The area may have been so named because of the smell of rotting marshland wild leeks (ramps) that used to cover it.
Ramp Eating Contest eating technique:
Here’s a WCHS TV news report on the Richwood Ramp Festival with video.
Enough with the lesson on ramps, back to the title of the post. The other day my uncle was driving through WV and spotted a sign advertising Ramp Pizza, mmm…. delicious!
Although I was born in West Virginia, I have never been to a ramp festival.
Read on…
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