The First "Fruits" of My Labor

The First "Fruits" of My Labor

I harvested my first crop today! Ok, so maybe it's not considered a crop but I grew it in my own garden and you can eat it. I consider that a success... except I haven't tasted it yet.

What am I talking about? Garlic scapes! Yes, those curly green things are garlic scapes. Basically they are the flower stems of a garlic plant. While that may not sound appetizing, as soon as I clipped the first one off I smelled the wonderful aroma of pure strong garlic. Yum!


I don't think I have ever tried a scape before so what do I do? Head to the internet! Well, send DH (dear husband) to the internet. He found this site which has a "garlic scape pesto" which sounded pretty good. The best part is that you can freeze it for later. That was important because I had already cut the scapes and didn't have many other ingredients on hand. (Oops!)

 

Recipe: Garlic Scape Pesto

Excerpted From “The Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook” by Kim O'Donnel by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright 2010.

Ingredients

• 1 cup garlic scapes (8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¹⁄₄-inch slices 

• ¹⁄₃ cup walnuts 

• ³⁄₄ cup olive oil

• ¹⁄₄ to ¹⁄₂ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, or to taste

• Ground black pepper

Here’s What to Do

- Place the scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. 
- Slowly drizzle in the oil and process until integrated.
- With a rubber spatula, scoop the pesto out of the bowl and into a mixing bowl. 
- Add Parmigiano- Reggiano and salt and pepper to taste.
 - Keeps for up to one week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 
- Also freezes well; add the cheese after the pesto has thawed.
Makes about ³⁄₄ cup.


 It's just such a happy green color! I didn't add the walnuts because Mom is allergic. So really I just blended the scapes with olive oil, salt, and a little pepper. When I do thaw it, I will mix in the cheese. If any tomatoes are ready from my garden I may throw those in and eat it like a bruschetta!

Here I am with the garlic scape pesto in a baggie ready to be frozen!




You may be wondering what else I am cooking there since the pesto isn't heated at all. About a month ago DH and I handmade vegetarian pot-stickers and were able to freeze half of them for later. Well, an empty fridge signaled the need to grab them out of the freezer so I was just frying them up. (Thanks to G.M. my super cooker/baker friend for the recipe!) Yum!





 Since DH made me pose with the pesto, it is only fair that I also post a picture of him. Here he is looking handsome with Eva, attentive as always.

She was sulking a little though because she didn't get to try the pesto. No garlic for puppies! It is toxic to them!