Week - 4

(Posted by Denise - finally!)

So this has been a really busy time of the year for me. School and baseball just ended and we are finally getting into the summer routine. The farm share has been going great. Even though has been a mountain of lettuce, we have been eating on the run a lot and the salads have been great. I'm finding that salad turnips are some of my favorite things and that I love radishes!!

The farm has also provided us with herb plants, which has been great. I am currently growing, chives, oregano, parsley and thyme. Their plants have been beautiful and are doing really well with my marginally green thumb.

I have also developed a love for garlic scapes. (I know that Ruth shares this devotion!) So here is what I have been doing with them...Garlic Scape Pesto. Trust me, this has so many amazing uses. We have had it over pasta, with goat cheese on bruschetta and I have stored away three containers for later in the season when the tomatoes are really great and for a day in January when anything green and springy seems so far away.

Garlic Scape Pesto (this is a double batch so you have some to freeze)

15 - 20 garlic scapes (rinsed and rough chopped)

1/2 - 3/4 cup of parmesan cheese

1/2 - 3/4 cup toasted slivered almonds

3/4 of a cup olive oil

black pepper

Toss the garlic scapes in the food processor and chop until they are fine. Add the cheese, almonds and half of the olive oil. Process until relatively smooth. Add the rest of the oil and process. If you would like the pesto thicker use less oil, and more oil if you would like it to be thinner. Add pepper to taste.

Note: When using the pesto over pasta, save some of the pasta water (1/2 cup) to thin out the pesto and make a sauce that coats the pasta. (I used penne.)

We also used all of the kale in the share for kale chips! It does a mother's heart good to watch their children two whole bunches of kale and not have one single "Yuck" come out of their mouths!

The goat cheese that was used with the garlic scape pesto bruschetta was from Beltane Farms. The cheese is wonderful and if you are at the Wooster street market you have to try it.