This week's Poetry Bus has NanU, the Science Girl Traveler as our driver once again. She has asked us to write on a full blown spring-ish topic. My first thought was to write about my explosive sneezing attacks, but I really have little time right now with oodles of papers to grade, a chapter to finish for my dissertation, another lecture on my theory this Saturday, yada yada yada, so here is a poem that I revised a bit on fiddlehead ferns, another group of plants that are harbingers of Spring. I included a recipe for Fiddlehead Quiche below the poem. Bon appetit!
Photo from Google Images
http://gallery.photo.net/photo/3454350-lg.jpg
Fiddlehead Feast
Did you happen upon the fiddlehead fern
growing in the woodland mulch,
amidst the other springing buds
like skunk cabbage, crocus and such,
unfurling its primitive merit
with vitality richly designed?
Relentlessly, I search for the fiddlehead fern;
its presence seen, not much,
but then it boldly appears to me,
and I honorably prepare it to touch
my awaiting, salivating palate
that accepts its flavor divine!
What blissful company with which to dine:
this fiddlehead fern ~ a collation so fine!
Jeanne I. Lakatos 2011
YANKEE FIDDLEHEAD PIE (OR QUICHE)
Recipe by L.L. Bean Book of New England Cookery:
Serving Size : 8
4 Eggs
1 c Milk
1 c Fiddleheads, cooked --
Chopped
2 tb Leeks -- chopped,cooked
1 tb Parsley, chopped -- or 2
1 c Cheddar cheese, mildly shredded
Salt to taste
1 Pie crust, partially baked, 9 or 10"
8 Whole cooked fiddleheads
Beat the eggs with the milk until blended. Fold in the chopped fiddleheads, leeks, and parsley, and half of the grated cheese. Season with salt to taste. Turn into the partially baked shell and sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Decorate the edge with whole fiddleheads. Bake in a preheated 350 º oven for 40 minutes, or until set. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Cleverly done - I'd like to know more about this fiddlehead fern!
ReplyDeleteGreat name 'Fidlehead Fern' great poem, and recipe too!
ReplyDeleteNever tasted one (don't know if I've ever seen one either). Looks a bit like a caterpillar to me the way its rolled upon itself! Clever poem and great to include a recipe with it!
ReplyDeleteI love your ode to the fiddlehead fern. Since I love quiche I might have to try the recipe - if I ever run across any fiddleheads that is. And don't worry that you didn't write about sneezing - I did it for you :)
ReplyDeleteHave to say, the caterpillar-like appearance doesn't have my taste buds salivating but I'd give it a go. Very cleverly written - a sonnet par excellence.
ReplyDeleteYo, darling, this is delicious. Nice form, too. I'm reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, and one of the characters has just cooked some fiddleheads. They sound tasty.
ReplyDeleteAnd your header is lovely. I would like to see a photo of your whole back yard. I'm curious about the hill in the background.
Love fiddleheads ! great! thanks.
ReplyDeletehave never tasted one but knew you could eat them...thanks for a bit more insight into them...
ReplyDeleteDave: Thanks! Just look in the woods. You'll find them!
ReplyDeleteTFE: Thank you, kindly!
Lola: Yes, it does look a bit like a caterpillar at this stage, doesn't it? Thank you!
Dana: Let me know how the recipe turns out. A local diner here has the quiche every spring. They're quite tasty in the quiches... taste a bit like asparagus.
Dave: They sell fiddleheads in the grocery stores here... only at this time of year, though.
Chris: Thanks! That's my front yard. I had to transplant the day lilies so they'd be close to the street because the deer were eating the blooms. Yes, my house is on a hill with huge boulders in the front yard. Perhaps a pre-Columbian place of worship... or sacrifice!
Izzy: So glad! You're welcome!
Brian: You're most welcome!
These ferns certainly explode! Very tasty poem
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lucy!
ReplyDelete