Issue 07
Written By: Molly Yeh

Ramps (wild leeks) are among my favorite things, and I love the fact that you can only find them a few weeks of the year. When I lived in New York before moving to a farm on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota, I had a “ramp guy” who I would meet on a street corner, hand over a couple of bills, and make the exchange. I am a little bit nervous for the upcoming ramp season because I haven’t yet found a ramp hookup in the Midwest!

Recipe: Whole Wheat Dumplings with Ramps, Eggs, and Bok Choy
makes 12 dumplings.

Ingredients

dough:
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c boiling water
1/4 c cold water

filling:
3 tb olive oil
1 bunch (about a dozen) ramps, finely chopped
3 large stalks of bok choy, finely chopped
salt + pepper to taste
1 large egg
1 tsp sriracha (optional)
soy sauce, for serving

Instructions
To make the dough: Combine flours and salt in a medium bowl. Add boiling water and stir with a fork to form a mealy mixture. Add cold water to bring the dough together and form a ball. Turn onto a floured surface and kneed for five minutes. Cover with a damp towel and let rest while you make the filling.

To make the filling: Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add ramps, bok choy, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately transfer to a medium bowl and stir in the egg (you want it to cook in the vegetables a bit). Stir in sriracha (if using).

Line a steamer with blanched cabbage or parchment paper poked with a few holes to let the steam through, set it aside. Set a large pot of water over medium high heat to come to a boil. While it’s heating, form the dumplings.

Form the dumplings: Divide dough into 12 equal balls. Using a rolling pin, roll out balls until they’re three-inch circles. Add a tablespoon of filling to the center, fold, and crimp edges. Place finished dumplings in the steamer. Once water comes to a boil, place the steamer over the pot and steam for 10 minutes, or until dumplings are cooked through. Serve with soy sauce and enjoy!

INTERVIEW: Molly Yeh, Food Blogger, My Name is Yeh

01 Where are you based?
In a kitchen on a farm on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota.

02 When and why did you launch your blog?
I have kept a diary since the day I could write. I have a natural desire to document everything. My blog, which I started in 2009, is an extension of that. I like that I can add pictures and I like that I can show it to people, rather than hatch a plan to bury all of my journals and hope that aliens in the future will uncover them and be able to understand them.

03 When did you start cooking?
My mom cooks a ton, so it was great to grow up around it. I really took an interest to food when I went to school in New York. First, I became enthralled in the restaurant scene and spent all my money on eating out. When I finally got my own apartment and realized how fun/healthy/economical/tasty cooking can be, I did it more and more of it. Now that I live in the middle of nowhere, there are things that I absolutely have to cook if I want them. Like, nowhere in my town are you going to find a babka or a black and white cookie or a pork bun. So I have a lot of fun with that.

04 Why did you choose this particular recipe for spring? 
Ramps are some of my most favorite things and I love that you can only get them during a few weeks out of the year. When I lived in New York, I had a “ramp guy” that I’d meet on a street corner, hand a couple of bills to, and make the exchange. It was the most badass I ever felt. I have a tendency to put everything in dumplings, and these ramp dumplings make me so darn happy. I am a little bit nervous for the upcoming Spring because I haven’t yet found a ramp hookup in the Midwest!

05 Who/what inspires your cooking?
My Jewish and Asian roots, my travels, my surroundings, my mom, Yotam Ottolenghi and his amazing books, zillions of blogs, pinterest, minimalism, rustic things

06 Where did you have the best meal of your life?
It was at Blue Hill Stone Barns in New York. There was ricotta made from milk that was milked that day from a cow named Bessie, stunningly fresh simple vegetables, strawberries how strawberries should taste, oh it was just so pure and good. No funny business. Just the highest quality everything.

07 If someone were to visit your city, where would you recommend they eat?
Down a long country road, there is a little house in the absolutely middle of nowhere called The One N Only. They have the sweetest, gooiest, all you can eat ribs. It’s an Experience with a capital E.

08 Do you entertain at home?
A few varieties of salt, often hot sauce, mismatched dishes, silver forks and knives (that are in dire need of a good polishing at the moment) passed down from my mom.

09 Are there any cultural traditions/expectations that you can share with us related to entertaining guests at home?
I always have something to nosh on when guests arrive. A bowl of hummus, some nuts, a fresh bread of some sort… The noshies are often where I have the most fun in planning a meal because you can get away with putting out cute jars of a local jam or using a rustic wooden cheese board for a yummy new cheese. I have a tendency to fill up on them before dinner even starts, but I’m getting better at it. Aside from that, I really like to keep it casual. I’m not a fan of all the rules that tell you to pass it to the right and stuff. If people want to eat with their hands on the couch/start eating before everyone else/get too drunk/want to do all my dishes, that’s cool.

10 What is next for you?
Well it is 10:30am and I am trying to debate if my next meal will be breakfast number 3 or lunch number 1. And that’s as far ahead that I normally plan…