Garlic Scapes, peas, and a great spring!

Well, the spring has gotten away from me. I've spent more time in the garden,m than on the computer, but it's a rainy day today, so it's a great time to catch up! We've already harvested 36 delicious radishes, and lots of lettuce, mustard greens and spinach, I got 1 great strawberry, but there are lots of green ones on the way. We got our first peas last week, only 30 or 40 pods, but I just grabbed some more, and there should be more still to come. Such a delight in late spring! I also got to trim some garlic scapes. What are garlic scapes you ask? Well, Garlic scapes are a great garlicky treat that come in late spring. They appear as a little curly green shoot that grows out of your garlic that you planted last fall. These wonderful little guys will draw energy from your developing garlic cloves, so you want and need to trim them off, but don't throw them in the compost! These guys are like a fresher, sweeter more mild garlic. Use them just like you would garlic, but about 2-3 times as much as you would full cloves if you want a similar garlic flavor.

Here is a great quick vegan recipe that uses garlic scapes:

Black Beans & Cous Cous

3 tbsp Olive Oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4-8 garlic scapes, chopped

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/8 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried basil

3/4 ground coriander

1/4 tsp oregano

1 can black beans

1 - 14oz can diced tomato

1 Cup dry cous cous

1 Cup water

heat oil in a large skillet. Add everything except beans, tomato and cous cous. Saute until the onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Add everything else and cook about 5 minutes.

Of course you can use fresh basil and tomato if you have it, I am not growing basil this year, as I had way too much last year, I just dehydrated it in my food dehydrator which is nothing fancy, but I can make fruit snacks, tofu jerky, and dry my spices, so really it's all I need!