HOW TO FERMENT GARLIC SCAPES

YOU CAN FERMENT GARLIC SCAPES EASILY!
If you have received garlic scapes in your CSA share in the past two weeks, and haven’t been sure how to deal with all of them, this is a great way to preserve them easily, so you can use them in many ways in the coming months
The stems of the garlic scapes are much sturdier than the blossom ends are, so cut off the blossom ends and use them right away.
The stems have a mild garlic flavor, so you don’t want to lose them.
I have two ways you can ferment garlic scapes:
1. Chop the garlic scape into small pieces and pack them into a pint (or larger)jar.
2. Make a brine of @ 1 C water and 1 T salt. To that, add 1 or 2 caps of probiotics (or 1 teaspoon of probiotic powder). Pour the brine over the garlic scapes, to fill the jar up to @ 1/2 in of the top. Push the garlic scapes down so they are under the brine.
3. Put a dome (2-part lid) on the jar, or, if you are using a “found” jar, just put that lid on it, and put the jar in a bowl, or on a saucer, and leave for 3-4 days (or more). You need the dish under it because it is likely that liquid will seep out.
4. Enjoy

Way 2 –
Chop the garlic scapes finely (or process them in a processor (small food processor, Magic Bullet or Nutri Bullet with the flattest blade) and combine them with a salsa mix or other vegetable mix, and follow step 2 above

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6/7/12 CSA SHARE: WHAT I ACTUALLY GOT & WHAT I AM GOING TO DO WITH IT

I love it when the CSA is in season. It is so nice to go there and see so many happy people picking up their shares. Sometimes they are even friendly.

Yesterday afternoon, I went to pick up my share (early shares are always slim pickings, and overloaded with lettuce-t kinds of things, but… hey! That’s the way it is — they really really want me to start liking salads.

Yesterday, we got:
Baby Arugula – 1 bag
Romaine Lettuce – 1 head
Boston Lettuce – 1 head
Swiss Chard – 1 bunch
Garlic Scapes – 1 bunch
Japanese Salad Turnips – 1 bunch
STRAWBERRIES!  We got strawberries in the box, and I also got strawberries as my fruit share! Yum! Smoothies!

ARUGULA – I decided to keep it. I’m not overly fond of arugula, but I decided to make a raw version of the Greek beet, arugula, and goat cheese salad (I’ll post it later
ROMAINE – I kept it. I think I’ll make some wraps.
BOSTON LETTUCE – I like this stuff well enough.   I can deal with a salad or two a week.  This is a fairly big head, so I might be having three salads. I like to mix in seaweed (I stalk the Japanese supermarkets for sales on the mixed, or else I just get wakame when it is in the bulk bins at Integral Yoga Foods, my favorite natural foods store) and sauerkraut, along with onion, and, if I have it, some red bell pepper.
SWISS CHARD – I am still not ready to even try to like this stuff.  It is high on my yuck scale. I traded it for more turnips.
GARLIC SCAPES– these look weird, but they are GREEN, and they taste like garlic, so I like them.  I chop them up or grind them in the food processor,  and put them in everything as a garlic (they are a part of one kind of garlic).  These will get chopped or ground and put in salad, or go into pates.  Since I was lucky and got two bunches, I will probably experiment with my next sauerkraut, and put some sliced garlic scapes in there with lots of sliced jalapeno.
JAPANESE SALAD TURNIPS – I have no clue why they call them Japanese Salad Turnips (my Japanese room-mate did not recognize them.  When I was testing a recipe with them, she said she had never seen them before).  So, okay, they are all white, where other turnips have some purple on them. Never mind. They are turnips and they taste like turnips. I grind them in the food processor to almost an applesauce consistency, then add apple cider vinegar, olive olive oil, and any seasonings which strike my fancy (usually garlic, sometimes coriander, sometimes Spike)
STRAWBERRIES – These are going in smoothies. I am not really into eating right now, but I know I need some protein, so I will put these into a hemp or soy protein shake in the morning. I am also thinking of making some strawberry leather in the dehydrator.

So! I have things to do with all these vegetables!  I got into a use- everything -in-the-box a few years ago, when the CSA issued a challenge.  I continued it when my job went south – the CSA box was my food for the week (I’d have maybe $5 more to get other food.  Good I have that experience because I am back there now. Smart people who have full-time work tell me about all the things I should do, like save money, or invest in a 401K, but, when you can barely pay the rent, and you have to think twice about what food to get, and you can’t afford your health insurance and medicine copays on top of all that, well, the CSA is very very important — at least I will not die from malnutrition. I feel so blessed that my CSA has jumped in this year and allowed me to make payments as I can.)

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO
based on a recipe found at http://goldenearthworm.com

1 C garlic scapes (8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1/3 C walnuts
3/4 C extra virgin olive oil
1/4 – 1/2 C cashew/pine nut “parmesan” (see recipes below)
1/2 t salt
black pepper to taste

• Remove flowery top part of garlic scapes and cut scapes into 1/4 in. slices.
• In a food processor, combine and process scapes and walnuts until somewhat smooth.
• Drizzle olive oil slowly into mix and process until well-combined.
• Remove mixture  from food processor and place in a large mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper, and cashew/pine nut “parmesan” to taste.

Refrigerate in an airtight container for 5 – 7 days.

FOR “PARMESAN”
Here are two recipes.  I like the dehydrated version, which keeps well in the refrigerator, but the “instant” version is also nice.

CASHEW/PINE NUT PARMESAN (“instant”)
1/4 C pine nuts
1/4 C raw cashews, soaked for 1 hr., drained, and rinsed
1/2 sm. clove garlic
2 T lemon juice
1/2 t sea salt

• Process all ingredients to fine meal in the food processor.

CASHEW/PINE NUT PARMESAN CRUMBLE (dehydrator)

3 C cashews, soaked for 1 hr., drained, and rinsed
1/4 C pine nuts
2 cloves garlic
3 T nutritional yeast
2 t sea salt (or to taste)

• Combine cashews, pine nuts, and garlic in the food processor, and process fine.
• Add remaining ingredients and combine thoroughly.
• Spread mixture on Teflex-covered dehydrator trays.  Dehydrate until dry and crumbly (@ 12 hours) at 110 degrees.

Refrigerate in a tightly sealed glass jar.

CSA SHARE 6/19/08: what I got

I will be honest.  I did not pay  close attention to what was in the box. I did not pay close attention to what was written on the board. I just bagged leaves and more leaves, and noticed the things that were NOT leaves. I bagged it all, brought it home, and stuck it in the refrigerator. I did not prepare dinner last night and I am not going to eat tonight, so I am not at all sure what all those leaves are that I got.

This is what the email said we would get:

SWISS CHARD
TOSCANO KALE
ROMAINE LETTUCE
GREEN CRISP LETTUCE
STRAWBERRIES
BABY ARUGULA (1/2 POUND)
GARLIC SCAPES
BROCCOLI
CILANTRO
KOHLRABI

It  is  not on the list, but I got  rhubarb!!!!

I have dehydrated the cilantro.

What is kohlrabi?  It is a cruciferous vegetable related to broccoli. It looks like a big pale green bulb with some leaves on top.  I will probably grate it up and throw it in a salad.

What are garlic scapes?  They are the stems of garlic, with little things on the end that will, if left, develop garlic seeds. I got them last year and chopped them up in salads. They taste just like garlic.  This year, they will probably go in some smoothies, too. Yumm.