Fiddling and Postcard-ing

I guess my picture yesterday of the fiddleheads we acquired has raised questions as to what they are.  In my naive state I thought most people would know...oops.  

Doing a 'google' led me to this....

Fiddleheads are one of the world's coolest greens. These unfurled fronds of the ostrich fern (matteuccia struthiopteris) are known as fiddleheads because they resemble the finely crafted head of a fiddle. Depending on the weather, they begin to appear around late April to early May along river and stream banks, in open woodlands and at the edges of swamps and marshes across New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. They are harvested when just a few inches off of the ground so they are still tender and tightly coiled.

Loaded with healthful properties (such as iron and potassium), fiddleheads are easy to cook and, like asparagus, have a delicate green flavour that is best accentuated by simple cooking.

How to cook fiddleheads
Fiddlehead preparation is easy. With a brush, carefully remove brown scales then wash well under cold running water to remove dirt before cooking; trim woody stems. Boil fiddleheads in lightly salted boiling water for 10 minutes (or steam for 20 minutes.) Serve at once with a drizzle of olive oil or melted butter and a squeeze of lemon.

Cooked fiddleheads can also be used like blanched or steamed asparagus in pasta, quiches or omelettes. They also make lovely salads when tossed with diced tomatoes and lemon-garlic vinaigrette.

Source: http://www.canadianliving.com/food/cooking_school/yum_fiddlehead_season.php 

Fiddleheads are found here in Canada at the local grocery store about this time of year....or, if you want to brave the mosquitoes and black flies, you can pick your own.  There, all you wanted to know about fiddleheads and more!!

Here's my latest postcard
(#8 of 19)

There have been a couple of inquires as to how I plan to mail these. The post office will accept them as they are (after I finish them properly that is!) and will hand-cancel them.  Some people choose to enclose them in a clear plastic sleeve prior to mailing.  I plan to put them inside a regular mailing envelope - mainly because I don't trust that they won't get damaged (or stolen!) in transit.

 Talking about books made me go on a wee search for quotes regarding books/reading and of course I found a golden nugget by my favourite person - Ralph Waldo Emerson - "Some books leave us free and some books make us free"