In order to feed my need to feel "fancy" (see also: why we moved to Rittenhouse Square) (see also: I'm such a cool hipster that Whole Foods is beneath me) (see also: my new chair and a half from Crate and Barrel) I joined a CSA. In all honesty I fully support Community-supported Agriculture and love the idea of a group of individuals who pledge to back and share the risks and benefits of local farming.
Our particular CSA consists of a semi-weekly pick-up of veggies and eggs from Wimer's Organics.
The Spectacular Wimer's Organics
Our first box consisted of bunches of veggies but the star was certainly the Garlic Scapes. I had never heard of garlic scapes and the fact that I was getting such a unique item in our first box made me feel all kinds of exclusive!
Garlic scapes (if they are new to you too) are the "flower stalks" of hardneck garlic plants. These stalks start to appear a month or so after the first leaves. They are usually cut off of the plant, since leaving them on only diverts the plants strength away from forming a plump bulb. If left on, they eventually form small bulbs that can be planted to grow more garlic.
Let me tell you...the Garlic Scapes were good. They had a very slightly nutty and had a very mild garlic taste, but there's only so much you can do with them. I made my poor girlfriend eat so many scapes that she eventually said no more!
Our favorite meal using the scapes was a take off of a pizza that we had at Barbuzzo.
Barbuzzo - Philadelphia
I used pre-made pizza dough and made a quick white sauce. Then I added the garlic scapes and zucchini that I sauteed in olive oil. The crowning glory (and the idea that I directly stole from Barbuzzo) is the farm fresh egg cracked on top. It was TASTY!!!
