Garlic Scapes

This is what my garlic patch looked like about 10 days ago. The patch was planted by my friend, Pete (of Pete's Portable Peppers fame) a long time ago. After starting the patch, he began gardening at another location and never came back for his garlic.

As for me; I had no clue how to raise garlic, when to harvest. My total lack of garlic knowledge even included not knowing what part of the plant the garlic actually came from. 

Pathetic, isn't it?

I would go out later in the summer and pluck off the top thingys, thinking that they were the garlic. By that time, they had become as hard as rice pellets. Trying to cook  with them was hopeless, so I gave up.

Enter an Expert.

I have another friend who is a fantastic gardener. Tim and his wife Patty (also a friend) were at the house. I was showing them the orchard when Tim noticed the garlic. I told him the sad saga of this patch and he gave me my first Garlic 101 lesson. Tim told me that those cute little curly-q thingys are called "scapes" and that, really, people do cook with them. They just don't let them get rock solid, and now is the time to harvest the tasty morsels and put them to use.

Scapes? Huh? what the....? 

I am visualizing a huge question mark hanging over your heads just now. Relax. It is harmless. I know. I had the same experience. 

Enter the Internet

About.com explains: Garlic scapes are the "flower stalks" of hardneck garlic plants. 

A short session with an Internet search about garlic scapes was all it took to convince me to go OCD and do as much with my garlic scapes as I can. Oh, the possibilities were absolutely TASTY!

Garlic butter!

Garlic oil!

Garlic vinegar!

Umm, umm, umm, umm, UMMMM! My brain got heady from thinking of all the dishes that I can make. And to think, this patch has been in my own backyard all this time. I felt a bit like Dorothy when the light bulb went off in her head.

To be continued.....

Marcheta *not in Kansas any more