Garlic Scapes

What the heck are those?  We get a lot of that this time of year at the farmer's markets, and we don't even need them to clarify, we know they are talking about garlic scapes.  Garlic scapes are the flower of a garlic plant, it pops out right before the garlic starts to separate into cloves.  As a matter of good plant care we have to pull them out so the plant puts its energy into the bulb rather than flowering and making seeds.  Luckily for us and you they are tasty!  They have a nice fresh garlic taste, you can use them in almost any recipe that calls for garlic.  They're also ideal for blending up into a garlic-y pesto or dip, or for chopping up fine and putting into a homemade salad dressing.  You can also pickle them, use a basic vinegar pickling recipe, and add spices as well.  My favorite combo is oregano and basil along with the scapes, but use whatever you'd like.Here are a few of our favorite recipes:Garlic Scape and Bean DipGarlic flavored Green BeansGarlic Scape and Herb SpreadHerbed Polenta and Greens