Garlic Scapes: Get Them While You Can!

If you love garlic, you will love garlic scapes.  It's a short-lived delight, available for a couple of weeks early in Summer.  We always say it's what gets us through until the garlic bulbs are ready later in the summer!  Not familiar with scapes?  Lots of people aren't.  We took them to both the Friday Night Farmers Market and the Saturday Morning Market at Riverbank Discovery Centre this week.  A few people were delighted to see them; most asked what the 'curly' thing was!  Love introducing people to something new at the Farmers Market!

Garlic scapes are the flowering stocks of garlic plants.  They should be removed so that more energy goes into the formation of the bulb.  The upside to all that work is that they are delicious eating!  Milder than a garlic clove but stronger than garlic chives with a fresh, almost sweet flavor, this first cut will be very tender and awesome for fresh eating on salads, in a tuna salad, salsa and such.  They are also great for cooking, although they should be added later in the cooking as they are a little delicate.  Perfect for sautes, stir-fries, in omelettes; we diced them and put them on a pizza with shaved asparagus a few nights ago.  Yummy!  Later today, we're doing a garlic scape pesto from this recipe, which has almonds instead of pinenuts.  On the food blogs, they're pickling them!  Very useful for the garlic lover, but in another week they are all gone.  We'll have them at Tuesdays' Neighborhood Country Market, and the last cuts will be available at the Friday Night Farmers Market and Saturdays Farmers Market at Riverbank Discovery Centre.  Have you tried garlic scapes?

Chicken Coop in Motion

With the help of the crew, we're somewhat caught up; work on the chicken coop progresses. We've got walls, two out of four isn't bad for a couple of days work between harvesting for CSA and the Neighbourhood Country Market. We'll have a south facing window and door, and there will be a window on the east side. Little chicken doors, at ground level, will be on the north and east side. New fencing will be built, tight up on the building. We're probably going to divide the coop and the two doors will open onto two separate pastures. That way we can keep the Isa Browns and the Leghorns separate: tooooo many girls for Rocky, otherwise. Don't want to stress the rooster, don't you know?

CSA Will Be Berry, Berry Happy!

It is a gorgeous summer day today; an excellent day to be preparing for CSA and the wee Neighbourhood Country Market at Stanley Park. Not too hot, not too windy and veggies looking good. We've started the morning with a BIG pick of raspberries - it's good to be in the prickly bushes in the cool of early morning when long sleeves are possible. The picking is incredibly easy right now: it's a very efficient process when it's this easy! Linda has come through again with some gorgeous snow peas, broccoli, lettuce and, probably new for some of our members, pac choi. This Oriental leafy green is superb in stir fries: chop a little onion, maybe some mushrooms or summer squash, and toss in oil. For a real Oriental taste one could use sesame oil and add a bit of oyster sauce, for a Thai flavour use chili paste instead of oyster sauce. Pac choi can also be used like beet greens or Swiss chard: boiled or steamed. Very nutritious!

We've got a good haul of raspberries for the CSA members. If it seems a bit much for fresh eating, the berries freeze beautifully. We like the method of freezing on a cookie sheet; go through the berries and clean, lay them out on a cookie sheet (not touching, if possible) and throw the cookie sheet in the freezer. Portion into freezer packs or containers later: the berries stay more as individuals rather than freezing in one big lump. We always try to have some of our own raspberries with Christmas dinner - it takes us back to summer in the cold of December! Also in the baskets this week: saskatoons from our neighbours the Webers. They are growing chemical-free and the berries are luscious this year! They are open for U-pick and can do some custom pick; call them at 204-728-0664.

A little something special in the Full Shares this week: nasturtium blossoms. They are very good eating, a light, peppery taste. Take the flowers, swish gently in water, blot dry and then use clean scissors to cut the petals from the heads. A nice little pick of baby summer squashes for everybody, an assortment of Papaya Pear, Golden and Green Zucchini, and Romanesque. Great for sauteing with the Pac Choi!

So, in the Full Shares: broccoli, pac choi, red leaf lettuce, romaine lettuce, 3 lbs. baby Norland potatoes, bundle of onions, 2 lbs. snow peas, 4 pints raspberries, 3 pints saskatoons, assorted summer squash, nasturtium blossoms, Swiss chard and a bundle of beets.

In the Part Shares: pac choi, 2 lbs. baby Norland potatoes, bundle of onions, 1 lb. snow peas, 2 pints raspberries, 2 pints saskatoons, assorted summer squash,lettuce, Swiss chard and beets.