FREE Food!

From the back yard to my belly--the leeks are up and ripe for picking. Also called ramps, these delicious treats carry their taste somewhere between a green onion and a garlic clove. It packs a mild but determined bite.

It was not until last summer, hiking with my friend Sonja, that I learned what to look for: two green leaves that look like giant blades of grass that turn purpleish near the ground. When they are dug out of the earth with a hand trowel, a pure white ball hangs onto the stringy roots.

Then I realized that they blanket our back yard. Trudging into the yard in my pajamas to dig up leeks for a morning omelet makes me as happy as it must make a dog to finally catch a rabbit. This elusive thing I've been chasing is even better than I thought it could be in my running, barking dreams.

In other news: We're planning a surprise for late June or early July: a Traverse City event involving art, music, bikes, galleries, Bay Bucks and secret decoder rings! Stay tuned!