What the heck is a Garlic Scape?

They have been around for a long time but are popping up in the local food markets everywhere lately. But what are they? What do you do with them?

A garlic scape is the flower stem of a garlic plant. Garlic growers cut them off so that the energy is not wasted on flowering but rather sent into the growth of the garlic bulb. The stems are cut in two spots. The first cut is made as close to the bottom of the stem as possible. The second is to remove the flower bud. All the inbetween is edible.

Cooks are using them in the same ways that you would use a garlic clove. They are very versatile in that you can saute them as is, chop or slice thinly to use in salads or garnish, make soups, jellys, pickles or pesto just to name a few ideas.

I have attempted a few recipes so far and have enjoyed them all immensely. I am a garlic lover from way back.

The first recipe I experimented with was Double Garlic Soup posted on the NY times website. If you love soup, garlic and garlic scapes this is a wonderful recipe by Melissa Clark called Double Garlic Soup. I gave it a try with a few tweaks here and there. It was silky smooth and delicious. Would be an elegant soup to serve for any occasion.

You can google the recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/reci…/1018493-double-garlic-soup

Here are my photos from lunch last week.

Today, I made Garlic Scape Pesto and then turned that into a cream sauce for my pasta.   It was sooo gooood!

Pesto can be made in a flash with a few simple ingredients.  It can also be made with just about any greens these days.   With garlic scapes on hand todays choice was garlic scape pesto. 

Pesto has a variety of uses:  Veggie dip as is or mix with sour cream,  Use it to marinate your meats, poultry and fish, put it on a sandwich, or use in your sauces or soups. 

Today's plan was to mix it with some heavy cream and use it over cooked pasta.  

I have used others pesto's in this manner too!  Even the jarred pesto's.  Makes for a quick and easy pasta sauce.   

Here are both the pesto and the Creamed Garlic Scape Pesto recipes.   Enjoy!

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The Great Debate: White or Red

There has always been great debate over which is better White or Red  Clam Chowder.   My all time favorite and vote goes to Red.   I especially love the mix of vegetables and herbs in this recipe.

I found this recipe in a cookbook my mother-in-law had. It is titled Dom Deluise-Eat this It'll Make You Feel Better.    It is a great read, filled with stories of family and friends as well as packed full of family style Italian recipes.    Not only was Dom Deluise a funny comedian, but he also loved to cook.  His love of laughter and cooking come together in the pages of this book.  Each recipe comes with it's own background story, often evoking an a-ha moment or punch line to make you chuckle.   Being married into an Italian family, I can see a lot of similarities in Dom Deluise growing up in an Italian family and my husband's family stories.

When I borrowed the book from my mother-in-law, I had written down quite a few of his recipes to try, but the Red Clam Chowder was my all time favorite. 

I was fortunate enough to find a copy of his book in a garage sale a few years ago, so now I have my very own copy.    The book is still a good read.   I had forgotten that not only were there family recipes, but also recipes from some of his co-stars and friends.    Turns out the Red Clam Chowder Recipe was from his friend and co-star Mel Brooks. As told in the book, Mel, Dom and their wives have shared many a meal together with either Dom or Mel doing the cooking.

Once you try this recipe you will see why it made the book.   It is bellissimo!

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Is that even a word?

Gagootz!  Gagoots!  May sound like a sneeze to some but it is actually an Italian word for squash or Zucchini.  When used as slang, Gagootz expresses an entirely different meaning: "good for nothing".  I think we all know a few those. 

Cucuzza! No, I didn't stutter.  Cucuzza, is another word used in parts of Italy, that also refers to squash. It has a flavor combination of summer squash and cucumber. Cucuzza is an edible gourd. It has many other names, including bottle gourd and calabash. It can grow up to 3 feet long. It has light green inedible skin that you must peel away. The white, pulpy flesh has many seeds in the center, similar to a cucumber and has a slightly sweet, nutty flavor. .

So to answer the question, yes, they are words in the Italian language.  Fortunately enough, we all have been blessed with more than enough zucchini's throughout their season in the USofA.  They are very versatile and whether it is called a Zucchini, Squash, Gagootz or Cucuzza, it can be sliced and fried or sautéed, steamed or microwaved. They all make great addition to soups, stews, gumbos, quiches and sauces and can even be used in baked goods such as quick breads, muffins and pies.

Recently I put my clever to work and I tried my luck at making Gagootz Stew. It received rave reviews from both my husband and my father-in-law, who I thought would not like it for the fact that the stew was loaded full of fresh crunchy vegetables.
  

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The Can Can of Minestrone

This recipe came from my husbands side of the family.   The original recipe started with dried northern beans.  When the recipe was first given to me, I was told I had to prick each dried bean with a pin so that it would absorb the water better.   Of course this made the recipe less appealing.   I made several times the old fashioned way by soaking the beans and it turned out as yummy as the first time I tried it.   The next few times I made it I replaced the dried beans with canned northern beans  and replaced the water with chicken stock and it is still delicious and oh so easy to make.

 

The next time you are shopping at one of the Can sales in the grocery store, remember to try this recipe.  As you can see it calls for 6 cans of vegetables.

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There are many types of Minestrone; this one is my favorite because adding the butter at the end enhances the flavors of the beans and other vegetables.   

Yes you can make this with fresh vegetables, but honestly why would you when it tastes so good this way.



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It's Chowda Time

Winter is a great time for sitting down to a nice hot bowl of soup, stew or chowder.   One of my all time favorites is Corn Chowder.  

My recipe calls for a number of ingredients, each adds that extra little something, that makes the flavor blossom on the tongue with each spoonful.   You won't be able to stop dipping that crusty bread in to sop up the juices.  

One of those ingredients is Bacon.   Who doesn't love bacon, right?  We all have our favorite brand, but I often buy it on sale or pick up something different to try. I make my bacon on cookie sheet in the oven.  It cooks the bacon more evenly and you don't get all that grease spatter on top of your stove. I have also learned that when it is really good tasting bacon to save the drippings in a container and store it in the fridge for use in recipes such as this Corn Chowder or making popcorn from scratch but that is for another time. 

Hot pepper flakes:  Many people are afraid to use hot pepper flakes,  thinking their food will be extremely hot.  Well that is simply not the case when used in moderation.  I generally add a pinch or two of it in when sautéing just about anything.   It is one of those items that adds to the layering of flavors.

Nutmeg: This is strong spice generally used in anything with a cream base.  Again, used in moderation it does enhance the flavors on your pallet.  Freshly grated is the best, but the ground nutmeg works well too.  Remember less is best and that you can't take it out if you've over used it.

Honey:  This sounds a little bit unusual to most people, but I have used honey with sweet corn for quite a few years now.  My mom used to follow the directions on the frozen corn, pour into pan with a small amount of water and heat and serve with butter, salt and pepper.  My mother-in-law always cooked her frozen corn in milk.  And we have all tried tricks for making sweet corn to bring out its natural flavor.  But somewhere along the line I came across a tidbit about adding a bit of honey to my sweet corn and I have done it ever since.   When used in moderation, it enhances the sweetness of corn and you can't tell that it is honey.   Yes, I still add the butter, salt and pepper.  

Give it try and let me know what you think. 

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Soup for Your Belly

There is nothing better than a bowl of warm and steamy soup on a dark, damp, rainy day.   Yes, you guessed it, it is raining here today.  I snatched this recipe up from my mother-in-law.    It is an Italian soup that uses penny pinching ingredients, which when mixed together make a most flavorful soup.   Be sure to have some crusty Italian bread for sopping up some of the wonderful broth.   This soup comes with an added bonus.  As you can see it takes only a few ingredients that couldn’t be easier to put together and cooked in about an hour.  

Greens & Beans Soup

1 large escarole cleaned and chopped

¼ lb. bacon or pancetta
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
4 cans chicken broth
1 can cannelloni beans rinsed and drained
Dash nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese for topping

Fill a large bowl full of ice cold water and leave it in the sink.   Remove outer leaves from escarole and discard them.  Chop the remainder of the escarole into bite size pieces.   Place into bowl of water in the sink.   Push down and stir escarole in the water repeatedly to remove the and grit that gets stuck in the lower part of the leaves.   Drain and rinse a couple of times.  Set aside.

Chop bacon into ¼” pieces. Sauté in large stock pan until bacon is almost crisp.  Add garlic, salt, pepper, nutmeg and onion sauté until translucent.  Add escarole, chicken broth and beans.  Bring to full boil for 15 minutes and then turn down to a simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with crusty bread and sprinkle of Parmesan.

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Dill Pickle Soup?

Really!   At first thought you might think, "No way."  But after you taste this soup you’ll be thinking, "This is good.  Why haven’t I tried this before now?"

With a family full of pickle lovers I found my self puzzled in answering such a question. We have grown up eating pickles.  Pickles in jars, fried pickles, pickles in our dip, pickles on our sandwiches.  These days you can even get a dill pickle potato chip.  How is it we have never tried putting pickles in our soup.  Seemed like an interesting dish to try.   In researching this recipe I found it is of Polish or Swedish decent.   More notably found in European countries where pickling is popular for storage of all types of fruits, vegetables, and meats. 

This would be a great soup to make for guests, because they would love the flavor and they would be pleasantly surprised to find out the flavor comes from a jar of Polish Dill Pickles.   Like any other recipe there are many different versions.  After researching several recipes I came up with my own.  I hope you like it.  

Dill Pickle Soup

Ingredients

2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. oil
1 small onion chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped fine
1 cup carrots, diced
½ cup celery, chopped
3 potatoes, diced
1 cup heavy cream
½ cup dill pickle juice
1 tsp. dried dill
1 cup dill pickles, chopped

Start by sautéing onion in the butter and oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add in garlic, celery, carrots, and potatoes.  Continue sautéing for 3-5 minutes.   Add in broth.   Cook over medium heat until vegetables are tender.    At this point turn down to low heat and stir in pickle juice and heavy cream.   Add in chopped pickle and dried dill.   Cook for another 5-8 minutes.  Serve with crusty bread.   

Notes and exchanges:

·         You can thicken the soup if you like.

·         You can exchange the heavy cream for sour cream.

·         You can grate the pickle or chop it really fine.

My husband thought I was being foolish making such a soup but when it was all said and done he commented that “This is pretty good, tastes a lot better than I thought it would.”  



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