Thursday, June 11, 2009

CSA Haul/Garlic Scape Escapades

Here's the latest from my CSA share, starting clockwise from the top: Spring Onions, Swiss Chard, Mint, Head Lettuce (almost looks like a type of bibb?) garlic scapes, kale, and strawberries in the center.

Now the plotting starts! How to use this in two weeks? (note: I share my CSA share with a colleague so I get it every other week) Especially since I still have Collard greens from last time?

So those collards are going tonight; getting cooked with some local sausage (from Wagon Wheel) and served over rice.

Approx half the strawberries went into my wifes lunch today, the rest will be munched on. The Kale and Swiss Chard are prime candidates for this excellent Rick Bayless recipe for swiss chard and goat cheese soft tacos (it can take any greens, from spinach to kale, to collards, it can take almost any cheese, and its fast for weeknight cooking!) so unless my wife decides she wants risotto with greens, they have a plan.

It's easy to say "Oh, I'll just make a salad with the head lettuce!" but given that I actually have a grilled chicken breast half in the fridge right now, I can assure you it will be part of my lunch, so no worries there. The mint will be made on Friday (remember that mint that went bad a while ago? It will go into that salad). I'd like to do something more with the spring onions than just put them in eggs every morning; perhaps we'll grill a pizza on the patio and use them as a topping.

Which brings us to my old nemesis, the garlic scapes! When I grew garlic, I didn't know what a scape was and I just cut them off. Last year we got scapes from our CSA and someone suggested making pesto out of it. Whoa. Uncooked scapes proved to be too much for my mouth and breath to handle; that pesto went unfinished. Now I see a frittata recipe where the scapes are cooked by themselves for five minutes! That explains why my initial pesto experience was too strong. (rule of thumb: always try something twice; the first time might have been messed up.)

This morning two scapes were chopped and sauteed for 5 minutes on just shy of medium heat. Then the usual egg scramble ensued.
While I wasn't that impressed with what I had, this was at least palatable and edible. But I have got to master these scapes! Suggestions are always welcome.

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