Scapes!

Last year, spring and early summer was a hard time for us to make it to the farmer's market on a regular basis, but one of the times we were there, I met my favorite vegetable for the first time; garlic scapes. Crisp and spicy raw, smooth, creamy and almost asparagus-like cooked, garlic scapes are the sprout of the garlic bulb, the flowering stem before it is allowed to straighten and flower. Long and curly, they looked like a heap of green vines all tangled together when I first saw them on the farmer's table. Luckily, he had put out samples, otherwise I wouldn't have considered them or even asked what they were (I'm a sucker for free food...). But one bite and I was hooked. They have a really short growing season, with garlic greens (lik scallions) before and garlic bulbs afterwards, so we were only able to get them once last year. This year, we anxiously awaited their arrival, asking (along with everyone else in syracuse apparently) when the scapes would be ready. The last two weeks, they have been so we've stocked up. We put them in stir frys, soups, and casseroles, as well as raw on salads or just as a quick snack. My favorite way to have them, though, is just steamed and then tossed with garlic and maybe some red pepper flakes. Yum. if you ever get a chance to buy some of these, do it without hesitation. Its worth it.