Try something new: Garlic Scapes

I was on my way to the Green City Market with a friend when she mentioned she had too many garlic scapes from her community supported agriculture box. I agreed to take some off her hands, not knowing that they were or how I'd be able to use them. When I got to the market and saw some for myself I was amazed. I had been looking at them every morning in my garden, completely unaware that they were an edible part of the garlic plant.

I was delighted. I couldn't wait to get home and cook some. I talked to the farmer briefly about how to prepare them. He said that they were good in pesto, or sauteed with other vegetables. What could be easier than that? Fortunately for me that was the weekend that I realized my garden was overrun with green beans ready for the eating.

When I got into the kitchen I took a nibble of my scape. It tastes just like garlic which makes sense since it's the flowering part of the garlic plant.

As an aside, growing garlic is one of the easiest and most rewarding plants I've ever put into my garden. But more on gardening in another post. For now, let's talk about how I cooked my scapes and my green beans.

I trimmed my green beans, minced my garlic scapes and then sauteed them with almond slivers in a small amount of butter. I am not sure about the amounts of anything really since it all came from the garden. A few handfuls of this and that. I do know I used about 1/2 tablespoon of butter so they didn't stick to the pan. I love the taste of real butter. I despise margarine and refuse to use it in my cooking.

I served them with the chicken wings, corn, pineapple and watermelon that we were having for dinner. It may sound like the green beans were out of place, but since they came from 20 feet away they fit right in with whatever my heart desired for dinner. There's a tremendous sense of accomplishment that comes from eating what you've grown with your own hands.

Altogether it was a fresh and wholesome summer meal. I hope this has inspired you to try something new.