It’s always fun to find something new and fleeting at the farm stand. So when I came across garlic scapes last week — I grabbed a bagful. A garlic scape is the flower stalk of the garlic bulb. They are harvested so that the garlic plant focuses on bulb growth, not reproduction :). They are tender and garlicky but the flavor is not as strong as the bulb. And here in the Mid-Atlantic, they are an early June treat (a little late this year I think) — so you gotta get ’em when you see ’em!

I’ve never used them before, but the nice lady at the farmstand suggested making pesto with them. So I googled around and found an approachable recipe over on Dorie Greenspan’s blog. But of COURSE I didn’t have the nuts she used, so I had to experiment a little. Oh my goodness — this stuff is GOOD. I ate it with a spoon. I smeared it on crackers. I smeared it on crackers with the olive cheese. I made a shrimp “scampi” with it. I made a pomegranate molasses vinaigrette with it.

Garlic Scape and Pistachio Pesto
Adapted from a recipe by Dorie Greenspan

10 garlic scapes, roughly chopped
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan (I used the bagged stuff)
1/4 cup roasted, salted pistachios
About 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Whir the scapes, Parmesan, pistachios, and half of the olive oil in the food processor until well blended and finely ground. Add a grind or two of black pepper. Slowly add the remainder of the oil — watching the texture closely — you might not need all of it. If it’s a little too thick — add a little more oil. I used my mini food-processor, so I ended up with a fairly “rustic” texture (pictured below, left). A couple of days later, I doubled the recipe in my full-size food processor and ended up with a much finer texture (pictured below, right). Both were scrumptious.

If you don’t eat it all immediately, store in the fridge with plastic wrap pressed on the surface. Should be fine for a couple of days, but any longer than that, you need to freeze it.

I confess — I’m not a natural blonde. More of a mousy brown with gray sneaking in. So every few months I head off to see Anu at Shear Shack to get my highlights and a cut. What does this have to do with the price of tea in China you might be asking. Well, next to Shear Shack is a small neighborhood Indian grocer!

I start at the snack aisle, where I see these twirly, spiky crunchies called “muruku.” I work with several Indian immigrants, and a couple of them have brought in the home-made version of these. They have learned to bring a small ziploc bag for themselves and a LARGE ziploc bag for me. I call it Indian crack. These munchies are crunchy, well-seasoned (cumin, coriander, fennel, ?), and just a little spicy. You can’t eat just one handful, I swear. It starts with a rice and lentil flour batter that is extruded into hot oil. So not something I’m going to figure out at home. I grab a bag. I also grabbed another bag of fried snacks. Because I love Indian snacks.

I got lost in the frozen aisle next. All sorts of exotic vegetables I don’t recognize, but they do have naan. And kulcha. And paratha. And roti. And chapati. Oh my. I restrain myself to one naan and one onion kulcha. And some baby red onions. You know, just because they looked interesting.

So I get home and realize that I am STARVING. I briefly consider a muruku and naan lunch, but realize it’s probably a little heavy on the carbs. I have chickpeas and tomatoes in the pantry, an onion in the fridge, and some pepper strips in the freezer, so a vegan chickpea curry is just 30 minutes away. And I can stuff my face with muruku while it cooks

Chickpea Curry
Adapted from “Chole” in Padma Lakshmi’s Easy Exotic
Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side

1 onion
A couple of generous handfuls of frozen tri-color pepper strips [*]
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained and liquid reserved
2 tablespoons neutral oil
2 teaspoons garam marsala [**]
1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained well
1 – 2 tablespoons lime juice

Put the onion, pepper, and tomatoes in a food processor or blender and process until fairly smooth. I did this in batches in my mini-food-processor.

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the puree and cook for 20 – 30 minutes over medium-low to medium until the onion is softened. You want a gentle simmer, not wild ploppy bubbles. If it starts to dry out, add some of the reserved tomato liquid or water, just a tablespoon at a time.

Add the garam marsala and cook for 5 minutes. Add the chickpeas and cook about 10 more minutes, until heated through. Again, if it starts to dry out, add some of the reserved tomato liquid or water, just a tablespoon at a time. Serve over rice or with Indian bread, like the onion kulcha I just bought. Cilantro would make a nice garnish.

[*] The CGP doesn’t really care for green bell peppers. So I rarely have them on hand, fresh. What I do keep around are bags of frozen strips of bell peppers — most are a combination of yellow, green, and red. Far tastier than just the green and way better shelf-life.

[**] A mild spice blend typically with cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, and black pepper, but does vary regionally. Can be bought at any Indian or Southeast Asian grocer. Penzey’s has a version as well. I sneak a little into my chili!