Wild Onions

After months of perfect sunny weather, Big Sur was recently blessed with rain.  The ground had been so dry that I had all but given up on any local mushrooms and was concerned that even oxalis, wild radish and onion would not sprout this spring.  After the rains came, I put on a raincoat and went in search of Mugwort and Wild Onions for our smoked pheasant dish and was pleasantly surprised to find a lush stand of wild onions coming up along a seasonal stream, with hundreds of sprouts popping up all around.  These wild onions, or "triangle leeks" are one of my favorite spring ingredients.