Springtime is the only time of the year to get ramps. What’s a ramp, you say?

Ramps (or Wild Leeks) are a member of the Allium family, along with onions, scallions and leeks. After finally getting to try them, I have become a huge fan. They have the most interesting taste of scallions and strong garlic. Just beware of ‘ramp breath’ - these guys are potent! They’re very versatile - the leaves and bulbs are edible, raw in salads and in any dish you would use other Alliums in. The only limiting factor is the price-tag - $10 to $15 a pound! I limited myself to just half a pound.

What did I do with them? After eating a few raw, I made scrambled eggs with them. The next day I decided to try them in Peruvian Purple and Sweet Potato Hash, from What We’re Eating.

Finally, my “Spring Burger”. (I might have been visually inspired by What We’re Eating on this one, too. The purple component in my burger is pickled red onions.)

Everything turned out delicious - but my wife avoided me for a few hours afterwards. By the way, these photos are close-ups and those are quail eggs - another springtime food. I saw them where I purchased my ramps, and was curious. As you might guess, their unique size is their only difference from any other eggs. But they do make a nice presentation, don’t you think?

The Kollel of Greater Boston is advertising a lecture by Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, rabbinical administrator of the Star-K, Wednesday, May 2, at 8:15pm. The event will take place at Young Israel of Brookline, 62 Green Street. The topic is “Cutting Edge Issues in Kashrus.”

The last time R’ Heinemann spoke in these parts was about five years ago. As I remember it, the topics he covered were kosher veal, Sabbath-mode appliances, and genetically-modified vegetables. He spent a great deal of time discussing the terrible conditions that veal calves are subjected to, but never ultimately passed judgment on the practice, just something about “Jewish housewives” preferring lighter-colored veal. He told a funny, if unfortunate, story about another “Jewish housewife” who, upon installing a Sabbath-mode oven, complemented the Star-K on finding a way to making cooking okay on Shabbat. (Note: It’s not okay.) And with regard to the vegetables … even when a tomato has turkey genes mixed in, if it looks like a tomato and it tastes like a tomato, then it’s still a pareve tomato.

Neil Rosenbaum and his Kosher Community Surveys LLC organization has just opened the second annual Boston Area Kosher Community Survey.

This survey is your chance to give your opinion about local kosher restaurants, grocery stores, and bakeries. The on-line survey is located at boston.kosher-community-surveys.com. A full report of the results will be distributed to the community.

Questions and comments should be directed to Neil at neil@kosher-community-surveys.com

Kosher Blog aficionado Seth writes in with his review of Teaneck’s latest kosher joint, Smokey Joe’s BBQ (494 Cedar Lane, 201-836-RIBS, RCBC supervision).

When I first discovered that a kosher restaurant with honest-to-goodness barbecue was opening in the area, I was pretty excited. After watching way too many barbecue competitions on the Food Network for my own good — imagining all the while what a real smoked brisket might taste like — I finally had the chance to try some for myself. Let me preface by saying that I have never had “real” barbecue beyond my meager attempts at smoking ribs, brisket and chicken with my backyard grill.

The restaurant used to be a kosher pizza joint and the decor hasn’t really been updated, but the smell when we walked in was amazing. The air was filled with the sweet and smoky scent of hardwood wafting from the open kitchen (a nice touch), where the gleaming stainless steel smoker stood as centerpiece.

We were seated rather quickly for a party of eight on opening night. Instead of the normal chips-and-salsa or slaw-and-pickles you might get at other kosher restaurants, here we were served exceptional cornbread with an amazing and distinctive onion jam.

The kids at the table started with the Aztec Corn Soup — a little spicy for them, but the adults loved it — and then enjoyed foot-long hot dogs and fantastic chicken nuggets.

I ordered the barbecue sampler plate with ribs, brisket, chicken, very good cole slaw, and pesto-rubbed corn-on-the-cob. The ribs were pretty good, the brisket was better, and the chicken was amazing. Probably the best piece of chicken I’ve ever had — in fact, I’m eating the leftovers as I write and even a day later it tastes great. To top it off, at each table, they have a bottle of some of the best barbecue sauce I’ve tasted.

One pleasant surprise was the impressive number of vegetarian options on the menu. We mentioned this to the owner, who told us he used to be a vegetarian so he understands the plight. My wife — a vegetarian — got the barbecue tofu taco salad. Aside from the tofu being cold it was another hit.

The other dishes ordered at the table were the carnitas. They looked like pieces of meat and beans on Ritz Crackers; the presentation left a lot to be desired but they were pretty tasty. Otherwise, the brisket chili was very good and spicy, and their hamburger was descent.

Overall, the food was very good and I will definitely be returning. I enjoy spicy food but some of the dishes created by the Mexican chefs might be a bit too fiery for the unaccustomed palate. The owner noted that they were trying to play around with their spice mixture so they can adjust the heat without “dumbing down” the food.

As was expected on their opening night, the service at Smokey Joe’s wasn’t the greatest. Nevertheless, the owner was very accommodating, giving free guacamole to every table and even offering our neighboring table a free meal because their waiter forgot about them. He also encouraged everyone to give their honest input on the food and the service. If the owner can learn from these opening night hiccups, the restaurant is sure to be a success. I hope so because I’m going to need a constant supply of his smoked chicken.

The Shabbos after Pesach was the traditional time to bake Shlissel Challah.

In the midst of my Seder cooking, while preparing a farfel kugel, I reached for my newly-purchased Rokeach garlic powder. Open, shake, shake…achoo!

It seems there was some sort of labeling error, and the bottle contains not garlic powder but rather white pepper. I scooped up the greyish pile of powder (I’ll never figure out why I didn’t notice color before shaking) and adjusted the recipe on the fly. A second container (also Rokeach - I wasn’t the one doing the shopping - and also purchased from the Butcherie) had the same problem, so I must assume that at least one whole lot was affected. At this point I figure I’ll survive without for the next few days. But if you found some of your side dishes this year a little more peppery than usual: now you know why.

The custom to avoid kitniyot has come under serious attack– serious enough to lead to the formation of the Kitniyos Defense League, a blog devoted to fighting the “very foolish movement” to reject the ban on kitniyot. On the opposing side is the Kitniyot Liberation Front, “fighting for truth and abandoning ’shtuth.’”

No, this is not Purim Torah, either, I’m sorry to say.

Hat tip to Jewlicious.

(Btw, have a look at those URLs.)

Last year, I posted a couple of Passover kugel recipes, one of which was a farfel kugel recipe from my mother. Due to a miscommunication with my source, I neglected to include the instruction to sautee the onions. The recipe been corrected.

I know that at least one person tried the recipe last year, and I apologize if the kugel was disappointing. I myself prepared it without sauteeing the onions and thought it was all right, although not up to the usual quality.

A chag kasher v’sameach to everyone!

In time for Passover, Neshama Gourmet sausages have finally found a permanent home on the shelves of the Butcherie here in Brookline. Smoked Andouille and Country Apple, both Kosher-for-Passover varieties, are available now, and the full line will be stocked after the holiday. Sorry for the late notice, but there’s still time to buy.

To mark the event, we’re happy to present two recipes featuring each pesadik product, available for download in PDF format — Chef Jeff Nathan’s andouille sausage and pepper frittata and a Passover roast chicken with Country Apple sausage stuffing.