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Strollerderby
Kitchenista – Joining a FarmShare
The words “Manhattan” and “Farm” don’t go together in my mind. So when I heard that there was a FarmShare that offered deliver to The Big Apple, I was skeptical.
After some soul searching (more like gut-searching, as in examining my ever-expanding waistline), I decided that I was willing to give it a try. We went whole hog — which is just an expression, because there’s no bacon involved — and got vegetables, farm fresh eggs, and fruit.
My main concern was not getting the kids to eat this stuff. That was number 2. Number 1 was cooking it. As I’ve pointed out in the past, my cooking skills are somewhat limited. I don’t like recipes, and I tend to avoid making food that takes longer than 30 minutes to prepare. Total. I partcularly dislike chopping or other food “prep.” (Gordon Ramsey would be thrilled.)
BUT! I will get over these irrational notions in favor of the health of my family!
Anyway, here’s what came in the first week’s box, which just arrived today:
Green Leaf Lettuce
Radishes
Cucumber
Bok Choi
Microgreen mix
Garlic Scapes
Opening the box was a little disconcerting. The vegetables are all really BIG. Colorful, even. It’s nice, but intimidating. What do I do with it all? Once I looked up what I had received, I felt a little better. The lettuce, radishes, cucumber and “microgreen mix” (sounds like a bad 80′s dance track) I can put into a salad. I had never heard of Garlic Scapes before, but apparently they are geeky in some way, so maybe that means I’ll like them. The Bok Choi I can steam. So far, so good. Now I just need to find the time to actually do it.
Anyone have any good recipes that include Garlic Scapes? I could use your help. Seriously. Have pity on a chef-challenged dad. Please?
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9 Comments
[...] Update on last week’s box: thank you to everyone who gave me suggestions of what to do with that stuff. I had to give some of it away because we weren’t going to be home to cook it all, but I did try the garlic scapes, which were amazing. [...]
Colorful Farm Share Box This Week | Strollerderby commented on Jul 01 09 at 3:00 pmCourtney commented on Jun 18 09 at 9:26 pmGarlic scapes can be used in any way that regular garlic can. They are actually the shoots of the garlic plant. The flavor is a fresher, slightly nuttier version of garlic. They are also really good raw, as the flavor is much milder than regular bulb garlic. I especially like using them in soups and salads. In fact, vegetable soup is the best way I’ve found of keeping up with our farm share. You can put just about any veggie in a soup, and while it does require chopping, that’s really all the effort involved. Plus, tasty!
e commented on Jun 18 09 at 9:29 pmWe love our farm share!
Garlic scapes are just the top part of the garlic bulb. If it were allowed to grow it would flower and a lot of the nutrients would go to the flower (instead of the bulb, which is the garlic most people know.) We use them for a subtle garlic flavor… we saute them in butter and put them on baked potatoes, eat them in salads, and add them to stir fry.
Hope this helps! And enjoy your farm-fresh foods!
Brett Singer commented on Jun 18 09 at 10:21 pmThank you – that’s a huge help actually. Now at least I know what they are. Soup is a good idea too, and the idea that it’s a more subtle garlic flavor is also appealing. Nobody here likes strong spices in their food.
Thanks again!
Madeline Holler commented on Jun 18 09 at 10:35 pmWe just joined a CSA — is that Californian for “farm share”? It’s fun getting the food delivered and like a birthday surprise every week … you never know what’ll be in there. I was all feeling smug because we got way more stuff than you, it looks like. But now I feel ripped off because … no garlic scapes. And I don’t even (until now) know what they are. Yay for farm shares/CSAs!
Oh and Bok Choy? You can also just slice it on the diagonal, saute in olive oil until the white part gets a bit soft on the outside and the green parts wilt and then sprinkle with soy sauce. Easy. Goes with everything (including garlic scapes?).
KD commented on Jun 19 09 at 10:27 amCheck out this cookbook:
http://www.amazon.com/Asparagus-Zucchini-Cooking-Farm-Fresh-Seasonal/dp/0972121781Farm shares/CSAs are great! :)
KD commented on Jun 19 09 at 10:31 amHere’s a better link for ordering that cookbook I just recommended ($12 instead of $50) -
http://www.macsac.org/atoz.html
Brett Singer commented on Jun 19 09 at 1:52 pm$12 instead of $50 sounds good :-) Thanks.
Lots of washing involved with this stuff. Not complaining, just an adjustment.
Adrienne Nutter commented on Jun 22 09 at 7:26 amI second the scape pesto. We discovered scapes at our local farmer’s market last year, and making the pesto to keep in the freezer for adding to sauces and slathering on meats and fish prior to grilling is fabulous.
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