Farm-ily,
I pride myself on liking all the vegetables... from the trendy to the under-appreciated (poor kohlrabi). Food is as emotional as it is visceral for me, and many of my milestone memories are tied to a meal.
Years ago, on a sun-drenched afternoon in a friend’s backyard, I met garlic scapes for the first time. The long stems were hot from the grill, curling between the tongs, fragrant and tender. I remember clearly that, although I couldn’t identify them, their delicately sharp flavor mixed with undercurrent of charcoal smoke made my food-loving heart beat faster. My generous friend sent us home that night with a bundle of coiled green scapes tied with twine and a recipe for using them in pesto.
Since then, I’ve gleefully unwrapped garlic scapes in my own farm shares, from both Willowsford and other farms in earlier days. I think of them now as both a reward and a rite of passage in seasonal eating. In a globally-sourced food supply system, we trade transparency (and sometimes quality) for accessibility. Very few items are ever truly unavailable, no matter the season or region. Despite this, I have never seen scapes in my local grocery store. At farmers markets, they are quickly sold out. With a season spanning only a few weeks, they are oh-so easy to miss! Even during a decade managing restaurants, those delicious tendrils were a rare prize.
For farmers and their shareholders, garlic scapes are the herald of summer. While the mundane truth is that scapes are the stem and flower bud of a hardneck garlic plant, we know them as a secret handshake, a password into the fellowship of seasonal eating. Their magic is doubled by the knowledge that if we didn’t harvest scapes to eat, the garlic bulbs wouldn’t plump and ripen! Have you tried these delicious benefits of knowing your farmer?
If this is your first season of garlic scapes, try these suggestions for enjoying them. I'll always return to my infallible favorite: grilling them with a really good olive oil. Here's to nature's best flavors, and a season of creating new memories over meals!
Eat well and be well,
Ashley, Collin, John, Lex, Alexandra, Rory, Nate, James, and the hens, hogs, and dogs
Meal Plan
- For those of you with meat shares, you'll be delighted to see salmon in your bag. Couple that with the dill coming in from the field and make a simple, yet tasty Lemon Baked Salmon with Garlic Dill Sauce.
- The author of this recipe makes a pretty serious claim, saying that it is the "best broccoli of your life." I'd say give it a try - what have you got to lose?
- Curious how to use your bok choy and garlic scapes, how about some Pak Choi (Bok Choy) with Garlic and Chili? Simply substitute the garlic scapes for the cloves (1-2 scapes/clove) and enjoy!
- Hakurei turnips were bred to have a hairless green (most turnips have bristles that can be irritating to some). This means the greens are excellent eating and should be included in your meal instead of discarded. This Glazed Hakurei Turnip recipe is a kid-friendly way to use a somewhat perplexing vegetable.
- Who doesn't love apple pie? Have a couple bags of the Fuji apples in your fridge? I'd say a pie is on the menu. Try this Gooey-Good Fuji Apple Pie, and be sure to save a slice to send over to your favorite farmer ;)
