garlic scapes – Page 2

One Local Summer 2012 – Week 6

By Sheetar 15 June 2012 15 June 2012

Zucchini are finally coming into season and we’re indulging in ALL THE ZUCCHINI! Husband took the lead on this meal again, cooked on the grill, and we dined al fresco. It’s been so nice that the weather has been compliant for outdoor cooking and eating – we’ve had a relatively nice spring/summer so far. On that plate is a Maple Apple sausage which really was something incredible. The outside was glazed in maple syrup and just perfectly sweet while the inside was savory. Really just the perfect combination. The grilled vegetables at the bottom of the plate are Zucchini, Broccoli, and Turnips, and the salad at the top is Lettuce, Turnips, Garlic Scapes, Spring Onion, and Blue Cheese, tossed with non local Balsamic Vinegar. There is a glass of wine along with the meal as well, a Gewurztraminer from the Mount Hope winery. And, if you notice there, the vegetables take up over half the plate and were oh so delicious. We have a pan for the grill that looks like someone took a hole puncher to a sheet of aluminum and went wild, and it works great for grilling vegetables – everything mixes together and comes out just right. This could also be attributed to husband’s chefly abilities. We did inadvertently agitate the Robin who is nesting under our deck and sitting on some eggs, but apologized profusely to her and allowed her to nest undisturbed for the rest of the evening.

Sausage, Vegetables and Salad:
Maple Apple Sausage: Mt View Organics
Zucchini – Jack’s Farm
Turnips – Jack’s Farm
Garlic Scapes – Jack’s Farm
Spring Onion – Jack’s Farm
Blue Cheese – Birchrun Hills
Broccoli – Charlestown Farm
Romaine Lettuce – Charlestown Farm
Gewurztraminer – Mount Hope Winery
Non Local – Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Balsamic Vinegar

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2011 – Week 7

By Sheetar 22 June 2011 22 June 2011

Okay, I know I say this every week, but, I REALLY made a good one here. It’s no secret that I love garlic scapes, the spirally green vegetation that grows above the garlic bulb. In order to get a proper garlic harvest, the green shoots need to be cut back to allow the garlic bulb to grow and harden. Those shoots, or scapes, are gently garlicky, and can be cooked up much like scallions. After a little googling last week to find other uses for garlic scapes, I came to a brilliant conclusion. Garlic scapes could be steamed and blenderized and then used to make pasta (why no, I haven’t been on a pasta kick either), and then topped with a garlic scape pesto. That’s exactly what I did. I steamed the garlic scapes for about 10 minutes. Then, using a stick blender, added in a little of the water from the steam pot, and blended until I got a thick slurry of garlic scapes. Made and rolled the pasta using about 1/4th cup of the garlic scape slurry instead of water and allowed that to rest while I cooked up zucchini, diced scapes (yes, ALL THE SCAPES!), spring onions, and some crimini mushrooms along with pork sausage. The remaining garlic scape slurry was given a boost of smoked sea salt and a little olive oil to make the pesto sauce. Boiled the pasta, threw some sauce on top, added the sausage and vegetables to the plate, and there was dinner! A little chunk of cheese on the side of the plate finished off dinner – which, I’ve just finished off dinner as I’ve been sitting here typing this up for you, it was THAT GOOD.

Garlic Scape Pasta with Sausage and Vegetables:
Garlic Scapes – Jack’s Farm & North Star Orchards
Crimini Mushrooms – Oley Valley Mushrooms
Whole Wheat Pastry Flour – Mill at Anselma
Zucchini – North Star Orchards
Spring Onions – Jack’s Farm
Pork Sausage – Countrytime Farm
Smoked Sea Salt – Pureblend Teas
Fat Cat Cheese – Birchrun Hills
Non Local – Olive Oil

One Local Summer

One Local Summer 2011 – Week 6

By Sheetar 15 June 2011 15 June 2011

My, my, how time is flying already. It’s over a month of One Local Summer meals. For those of you late to the party, the One Local Summer challenge involves spending the summer (or at least here, our summer farmers market season) cooking one meal a week using only local ingredients with a few allowable exceptions (salt, olive oil, seasonings, etc). This is my third year of doing the One Local Summer challenge, and I’ve learned so much about my own cooking skills (or lack thereof sometimes), different foods, and new vegetables. The benefits are many, probably too many to list here, but for me, the big deal is that we can get soo much food locally, without hauling food across the country or even halfway around the world. I’d love to hear your take on eating locally and what’s important to you, and if you’re interested in participating too!

This week is an amazing Asian Pork Cutlet meal complete with Bok Choy and a little veggie side of spinach, mushrooms, and garlic scapes. I was SO excited to see garlic scapes this past weekend at our Phoenixville Farmers Market, that I couldn’t help but add them to the plate. The real big non local item this week was teriyaki sauce, but it was only used in the marinade, so I’m calling that a spice/seasoning and giving it a pass. The scapes and mushrooms were sauteed with a little butter, and then the heat was turned off, spinach added overtop, and then covered to allow the spinach to wilt. Meanwhile, just as the pork was nearing perfection on the grill, I dabbed the bok choy with a little olive oil and threw that on the grill as well. Everything came out so perfectly (or am I just that hungry?), I believe we have a HUGE win for today. No real recipe with this one, just your basic grilled pork and vegetables.

Asian Pork Cutlet w/ Vegetables:
Bok Choy – North Star Orchards
Garlic Scapes – North Star Orchards
Spinach – Maysie’s Farm
Portabella Mushrooms – Oley Valley Mushrooms
Pork Cutlets – Countrytime Farm
Non Local – Olive Oil, Butter, Soy sauce

One Local Summer

OLS: Week 6

By Sheetar 10 July 2009 10 July 2009

Week six of One Local Summer and it’s almost the mid-point of the thirteen week challenge. The husband decided to take the lead on this week’s meal with no objection from me. In the back is a pile of mashed turnips and carrots with maple sugar added for flavor. Clockwise, next is a Bison Meatloaf using ground bison, tomatoes, garlic scapes, swiss cheese, an egg, and last year’s frozen tomato sauce. Finally, sugar snap peas finish the plate. In the wine glass is a Strawberry wine. It was a great meal, and even better, I didn’t have to cook it!

Rundown of ingredients:
Turnips: Willow Creek Orchards
Carrots: Willow Creek Orchards
Maple Sugar: Miller’s Maple
Bison: Backyard Bison
Garlic Scapes: Willow Creek Orchards
Tomatoes: Lancaster County (via Willow Creek)
Tomato Sauce: My garden, last year
Egg: Pleasant View Farms (via Willow Creek)
Swiss Cheese: Hendricks (via Willow Creek)
Snap Peas: Willow Creek Orchards
Wine: Mount Hope Vineyards

One Local Summer

OLS: Week 5

By Sheetar 5 July 2009 5 July 2009

One Local Summer rolls on into week five. I figured I’d switch it up a bit and do a breakfast meal this week before we left for the Dominican Republic. Why yes, I spent most of June out of the country. 🙂

Potatoes in front are basic home fries in the skillet with potatoes (there were lots of potatoes) from last week’s run to the Anselma Mill Market. The bacon on the side is from Country Time Farm and is becoming a fast favorite probably because it’s almost fresh off the pig with no nitrates. In the back is a slice of frittata containing eggs picked up at Willow Creek Orchards from Pleasant View Farms, Tomatoes from Lancaster County, Garlic Scapes grown at Willow Creek, and Hendricks Swiss Cheese, and more bacon.

Non-Local ingredients used: Olive oil, salt, pepper

This was my first time visiting Willow Creek and I just love the store and the pick-your-own vegetable patch. We brought home some turnips, snap peas, and carrots as well that I hope to use this week. As previously mentioned, we were away most of the week in the Dominican Republic since I was flown in for a friend’s wedding to be the photographer – LOTS of great photos and I can’t wait to post them. We had a lovely time and may even go back for a proper vacation maybe in the winter when it’s hopefully not quite so warm!