It used to seem like such a good idea: It’s early in the spring, there’s nothing in the garden yet to pick and eat, so why not go out into the woods and look for edibles that are growing wild?You get to enjoy an early harvest; you get to eat something rare and exotic and delicious; and you get to feel like a serious woodsy outdoors-type person who likes to hike, even on cold wet (horrible) days.Because you really couldn’t drag me into the woods at this time of the year without some kind of serious incentive. The earliest incentive of this sort is the wild leek, known as a ramp.I went out foraging for ramps last Friday with Lawrence Davis Hollander, a Sheffield resident and ethnobotanist. This is shocking and exciting news. First of all, people who know where to find edible forest forage almost never share their favorite forage sites.And Hollander is more protective of the wild ramps than the average forager. He is on a crusade of sorts, and is determined to convince people that they are over-collecting their wild forest foods. If some restraint isn’t shown, and soon, he warns that it might not be long before the ramps, the morels, the fiddlehead ferns will go the way of wild ginger, the dodo and cheap gasoline. Americans famously do not do well with abundance. And ramps do give the impression that they are and always will be available in endless quantities.Perhaps they will be, Hollander says. But not if people tramp through the woods pulling the plants up by their roots and grabbing more than they need.If you go foraging he beseeches you to think about the health of the species: Do not cut more than, say, a quarter of the ramp leaves that you find (most of the plants have two leaves; just cut one, so the plant can still perform photosynthesis). And do not pull up the bulbs; this will allow the plants to propagate so that, in time, there will be ever more ramps, not ever fewer.Needless to say, neither Hollander nor I has any intention of saying where we found our leaks. But once you find some (and they are deliciously oniony and delicate, like very tender scallions) there are many ways you can cook them.Obviously, they are excellent in a saute (try mixing them in with some spinach). They make an exquisite substitute for scallions in any Japanese broth dishes (such as soup base for hot or cold noodles).And this wild ramp flan, adapted from a Jacques Pépin onion custard, is beautiful to look at and deliciously creamy to eat, with an oniony little kick at the end. It’s also very easy to make. You can cook it in a souffle dish instead of ramekins, if you prefer. And if you have a fully stocked bar, you can use dry vermouth to cook the ramps, instead of water.Wild ramp flan Serves four as a side dish2 tablespoons unsalted butter; 3 cups wild leeks (ramps) cleaned and cut into 1-inch pieces; 1 cup water; 3 large eggs, beaten; 1/2 cup heavy cream; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper; very fine zest of half a lemonPreheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter four 1/2-cup ramekins and set them in a baking dish that holds them snugly. In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add the leeks and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about five minutes. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over moderately low heat until the leeks are very tender, about 20 minutes. Uncover and boil over high heat until any excess liquid has evaporated, about two minutes.Whisk the eggs, cream, salt and pepper and combine with the leeks and any remaining liquid in a food processor. Puree, and then stir in the lemon zest. Pour the onion custard into the prepared ramekins. Add enough tepid water to the baking dish to reach halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until almost firm but still slightly loose in the center; if the water in the baking dish simmers, add a few ice cubes to cool it down.Remove the ramekins from the water bath and wipe the bottoms and sides dry. Run a small, sharp knife around each flan to loosen it, then invert the flans onto plates. Serve right away.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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