mediaOrganic » Garlic http://www.media-organic.com a journal of sustainable suburban living Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:33:25 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 bonus garlic http://www.media-organic.com/bonus-garlic http://www.media-organic.com/bonus-garlic#comments Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:07:16 +0000 john http://www.media-organic.com/?p=1341 We didn’t plant any garlic this year but we had a (small) harvest anyway. It seems that we didn’t get it all out of the ground last year and two bulbs overwintered providing us with nine new plants; ergo, bonus garlic. Given all of the unpleasant surprises we gardeners face each growing season, this [...read more]]]> holdover hardneck from last seasonWe didn’t plant any garlic this year but we had a (small) harvest anyway. It seems that we didn’t get it all out of the ground last year and two bulbs overwintered providing us with nine new plants; ergo, bonus garlic. Given all of the unpleasant surprises we gardeners face each growing season, this is the kind of garden surprise I can live with. Those in the know will see that this garlic is a hard neck variety. My wife loves to make pesto from the garlic scapes which only the hard neck varieties grow.

I think this fall we will plant some soft neck garlic. In fact, I am toying with the idea of just buying the warehouse sized bag of garlic from Costco and using that for my seed stock. The stuff seems to sprout in my pantry well enough!

]]> http://www.media-organic.com/bonus-garlic/feed 0 Garlic Scapes! http://www.media-organic.com/garlic-scapes http://www.media-organic.com/garlic-scapes#comments Sat, 13 Jun 2009 12:25:56 +0000 phyllis http://www.media-organic.com/?p=490 What?  What’s a garlic scape? Well, when a hardneck garlic variety reaches it final growth phase it sends up a curly shoot called a scape.  This is basically the garlic flower head and they need to be removed to force the plant to put more energy into making a bigger bulb.   Scapes are [...read more]]]> garlic-scapesWhat?  What’s a garlic scape? Well, when a hardneck garlic variety reaches it final growth phase it sends up a curly shoot called a scape.  This is basically the garlic flower head and they need to be removed to force the plant to put more energy into making a bigger bulb.   Scapes are edible and I like to use them for Garlic Scape Pesto.  They  have a wonderful flavor that is a cross between garlic and scallion that is just delicious!  After garlic is dug up it needs to cure for several weeks and the scapes are an early treat until we can cook with the bulbs.

Garlic Scape Pesto
1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), cut into ¼-inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano or grana padana
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Method:
Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add cheese to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

For ½ pound short pasta such as penne, add about 2 tablespoons of pesto to cooked pasta and stir until pasta is well coated.

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