fiddleheads

So it is spring here in Maine (really?  well, the calandar says so...) and with spring we get that local delicacy called fiddleheads.  I'm not sure you are a true Mainer if you've never had fiddleheads.  A fiddlehead is a baby fern before it has uncoiled.

And it is yummy!  Tastes a bit like asparagus/spinach.  We have a few spots around central and northern Maine that we find fiddleheads to pick every year.  We eat a bunch right away, freeze a whole bunch and last year we tried pickling them.  Any way you have them, they are good. 

This year I wanted to try something different--cream of fiddlehead soup.  I figured it would be kinda like cream of broccoli soup, which I love.  And it was.  I made a batch yesterday and it was wicked good!  (in perfect Maine-speak)  I am not known for my cooking skills, so I was pretty proud of myself that I made something that tasted really good and was not from a box!  yay me!  Fiddleheads are pretty good for you as well and the only thing that was fattening in this recipe was the 1/2 c heavy cream (for which I used half & half) and the 1 c sour cream (for which I used 'light').  Well, the butter to cook the onions and fiddleheads in.   But that doesn't count because you can't eat fiddleheads without butter.  But I digress...

I had a really big bowl for dinner after my 4 mile run and sat down to watch TV, all proud of myself for a making and eating a (somewhat) healthy dinner.  But like many greens, if eaten in larger quantities, you may notice a somewhat unpleasant side effect.  It's affectionately called "the trots".  This soup seemed to have the same effectiveness as a colonoscopy prep. 

On the bright side, I weigh two pounds less this morning than I did yesterday....  

I'll send the recipe to anyone who wishes to lose weight quickly.  Any unusual food recipes you care to share?