Hey Diddle Diddle

I DO understand that "in the moment" questions about things that make zero sense to someone are kinda exceptions... but I've been noticing over the past year or so that not too many (read: not enough) people take the time to try to figure out things for themselves. Seems people are quick to ask how/why/when/where without bothering to think the answers are super easy to find. Hi Google! I ♥ you!
There is NOTHING wrong with asking questions, nor should anyone ever be afraid to ask one ... but sometimes it will pay off to find the answer yourself if you can.
So for once and for all I am about to placate quite a few, 'cause I'm gettin' sick of answering the question "What are fiddleheads?"... or "how do I cook them?"... though the cooking question I fully understand, but only because I tend to want recipes from people I personally know that have cooked the dish. You know, 'cause it's already had a test run. Ever try to find a recipe on line, and read the comments that appear under it? I swear every person says stuff like "this was good & all, but I'd add/leave out *insert food item*" or they complain about oven temp/cooking time... ad nauseam.

Soooo.... in answer to the 2 questions I have been asked REPEATEDLY over the past two months (What are fiddleheads?/how do you cook them?) .........

 FIDDLEHEADS:

"Fiddleheads or Fiddlehead greens are the furled fronds of a young fern,^[1] harvested for use as a vegetable. Left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond (circinate vernation). As fiddleheads are harvested early in the black season before the frond has opened and reached its full height, they are cut fairly close to the ground.
Fiddleheads have antioxidant activity, are a source of Omega 3 and Omega 6, and are high in iron and fibre.^[2]
The fiddlehead resembles the curled ornamentation (called a scroll) on the end of a stringed instrument, such as a violin. It is also called a crozier, after the curved staff used by bishops, which has its origins in the shepherd's crook." (Wikipedia)

So there is the technical answer. My answer to "what are fiddleheads?" ? THREE DIFFERENT KINDS OF AWESOME, THAT'S WHAT!!! Seriously, if you dig asparagus... you'll love the @#$% outta fiddleheads! (Asparagus is the only vegetable I can even remotely compare fiddleheads to, but the truth is, they're only vaguely similar in taste/texture)


How do you cook them? Well, I'll tell you how I cook them.... and lucky you... I took pictures.

First you gotta clean them off. I bought one of those sink strainers at Ikea years ago (totally worth the $10 bucks)







See?

 THEN.... you can cut a little bit of the ends off, or just break them off. I couldn't break them off AND take a picture. I'm just not that awesome... so I cut them.

 Next up:

• boil some water... 
• while the water is boiling, slice up some bacon (like 3 or 4 slices) into 1" to 2" chunks. 
• throw the bacon into a frying pan

• check the water... & once it's boiling throw in the fiddleheads.

Take note of the time....

'cause only 1 minute later....

• Take the fiddleheads off the burner. 

You can strain them, in a colander, or use one like I've got over my sink... (OR just do what I did and use a slotted spoon... 'cause I'm wicked lazy and didn't want to do a bunch of dishes)... then dump them into the frying pan with the pretty much cooked bacon. Stir um all up together....

and if you have some lemon (I HIGHLY recommend organic lemons, holy crap they're yummy!!)... cut a wedge off and squeeze it in there too...

THEN... dump it all in a big bowl and eat the $#!& out of it!! 

 There really are TONS of recipes out there for fiddleheads, but this is MY favorite (for now) way to cook them... and after not eating since yesterday around 3pm (not including multiple cups of coffee & tea)... it tasted EXTRA yummy :)

Enjoy! ... and by all means, if you have some tried & true recipes for fiddleheads, PLEASE share 'um!