Garlic Scapes and Pea Tendrils...

This was just sent to me, and I though I would post it here as it combines two of our more unusual offerings.  

Sautéed Pea Tendrils with Garlic Scapes

By Charlie Burke

www.TheHeartofNewEngland.com

With farmers’ markets and farm stands open throughout northern New England, it is fun to see what new varieties of vegetables appear and to find ways of preparing them. This week’s recipe, though, brings us familiar flavors from unusual sources.

Pea tendrils, the tender tips of pea plants often including blossoms, taste similar to peas, both raw and cooked. Commonly used in Asian cooking, they have found their way into some restaurants but still cause comments when presented. They make great additions to salads and can be quickly sautéed for a fresh taste of spring to add to any meal where peas are appropriate. When buying them, look for bright green color, avoiding those with browned leaves or tips. Stems should be soft to the touch.

Garlic scapes are the seed pods of garlic plants. In New England, most garlic grown is hard neck garlic from the cold climates of northern Europe. The bulbs are harvested in August, but in July stems rise from the center of the leaves, each bearing a pod of seeds, with the stem continuing beyond the pod and tapering to a point. Some make a graceful loop and bob in the wind like a graceful bird, while others make double coils, resulting in rows of interesting geometric designs. When they first emerge, they are tender and the entire stem can be eaten. As they mature, the lower ends become woody, and only the tender ends are used. They taste of garlic, but are milder than the cloves. Garlic scapes can be chopped and added to salads, added to soups and used wherever garlic cloves are used. I like to sauté them to use as a side dish or to mix with potatoes or other vegetables. As is often the case with vegetables which appear at the same time, the mild garlic flavor of these scapes blends perfectly with the sweet “green” taste of fresh pea tendrils.

The most difficult part of this recipe may very well be finding both of these together, but either will be a fresh new taste alone. We’ve been enjoying the pea tendrils alone for over a month, well before the scapes emerged.

Four servings:

8 cups of pea tendrils, washed and roughly chopped

1 ½ - 2 cups tender ends of garlic scapes, excluding the seed pod, cut into 1/8 inch pieces

2 tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil

Kosher or sea salt to taste and freshly ground pepper

Heat a heavy sauté pan over medium – high heat. Add oil or butter (or a mixture of the two), add scapes and sprinkle lightly with salt. Cook, stirring, until scapes are bright green and slightly softened. Add chopped tendrils and cook until they are just wilted. Add further salt and ground pepper to taste.

This quick sauté will add to any meal, so check out your local farmers’ market or farm stand and give these great crops a try.

jean's (baked) beans

here's my baked bean recipe!

1 lb. beans
1 head garlic, crushed
1/2 lb. salt pork, cut in half
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup molasses
1/2 t ginger
1 t dry mustard
1 t pepper
1 t salt

Soak beans for no more than four hours.
Boil beans with 2 cloves of the garlic until tender. Save the cooking "liquor."
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place half of the salt pork at the bottom of the pot.
Add beans along with their cooking liquor, sugar, molasses, ginger, mustard, pepper and salt. Top with remaining salt pork.
Bake for four- four and a half hours. Let beans rest for at least a half an hour before serving.

Cousa

Audrey from Seacoast Eat Local just shared her secret Cousa (or Kousa) recipe. So promise not to tell anyone, alright? Cousa is a Lebanese zucchini that is traditionally stuffed with seasoned meat and rice, but she shows an easy way of enjoying the same great flavors. You can use the same preparation guideline for any summer squash or zucchini, but it's best with the real-deal light green Cousa variety. Try it!

Poor Man's Crab Cakes (vegetarian)

From Pia's Grandma Esler

2 Cups grated Zucchini (or other summer squash)
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 tsp. old Bay Seasoning
---------------------------------------------------

1. Combine ingredients
2. Shape into cakes
3. Saute or fry in small amount of oil until golden brown

Serves 4

Simple Beans

from Seacoast Eat Local:

This is more a preparation guideline than a recipe, though following these ingredients will produce wonderous results. However, substitutions in seasonings and stock are highly encouraged. This method allows the unique qualities of these heirloom variety local beans to come through. Since these beans are fresher by far than dried beans in the grocery store, they require less soaking time, less cooking time, and less seasoning.

Along with bread and a light salad, ample for four as a hearty meal.

1 1/2 cups dried beans

about 6 cups ham stock (made by simmering a ham bone in water for about 4 hours)

2 tbs olive oil

garlic – as much as you like, minced

onion – about a cup chopped

1/2 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp sage

1 tsp black pepper

(Poultry seasoning is a mix of the above ingredients. I prefer them separate, but if you have the powdered mixture on hand, by all means, use it.)

Soak the beans in water. These beans do not have to be soaked overnight, but should be soaked for about 6 hours. Longer is fine. Shorter is fine, too, the beans will simply need to cook longer. In a heavy pot, sauté the onion and garlic until soft, then add the beans and their soaking water. Add stock until the beans are covered by at least an inch. Cover. Simmer on low, occasionally stirring. Add more stock as necessary to provide enough moisture. After two hours, begin tasting the beans. They should be tender. The beans should have imparted a starchy thickness to the liquid, and much of it should have been absorbed by the beans or evaporated. The overall consistency will resemble very thick stew. Cook longer as needed, continuing to taste test for tenderness every 20 minutes or so, adding stock as needed. When they are close to being done, add the seasonings.