jill SAUCEMAN From subsistence fare to the plate of the Pope, ramps have traveled an unusual path. Cherokees celebrated the coming of ramps because they were one of the first green plants to appear on the forest floor in the early spring. They believed that the pungency of the plants thinned down the blood and got it moving again, after a winter of relative inactivity. In white cultures in On one bracing November evening, The Harvest Table featured turnips prepared four ways, the mountains, ramps each delicious. were often viewed as serves them on the elegant a mark of shame. Coming to tables of her Midtown res- school with reeking ramp breath taurant, Felidia. When Basti- resulted in many children being sent home from school. anich was asked to cook for Today's prestige and accompaPope Benedict XVI during his visit to New York City, she nying high prices for ramps are prepared a spring pesto for ironic indeed. I still recall the invitation I received to a $500-athe risotto, and it included a cup of ramp leaves. More January/February 2017 53