The Houndstooth Gourmet

Garlic scapes are at the Dupont Market now. I bought a bright, beautiful and firm bunch last Sunday-and had absolutely no idea what I was going to do with them! But first things first. I had heard of these ‘curls’ or ’scapes’, and I know that they are a spring delicacy-but what are they, exactly?

Garlic, and the rest of the Allium family (onions, leeks, chives), grows underground. As the bulb forms and begins to harden, it sends a shoot through the soil, above ground. This green tendril of hard-neck garlic is the garlic scape, or curl, as they are called at Next Step Produce, where I bought them. The scape is cut, or pinched, so that the garlic can use all of the energy of the plant to grow fully.

Scapes are thought to have a mild garlic taste, without the ‘bite’ of garlic cloves. This means, you can flavor any dish with this green tendril in the same manner you would use garlic or onion. Try tossing chopped scapes into a salad or omelette, or frittata. Make hash browned potatoes and toss them in towards the end of cooking to retain their crunch.

From what I’ve read, the most popular use for the garlic scape is pesto. The best part of making pesto from the scapes is the ability to freeze it. Simply portion the pesto into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, remove the pesto from the ice cube molds and store them in a plastic bag in the freezer.

You can use the pesto in pasta dishes, omelettes, frittatas and on bruschetta or crostini. Think how nice this would be for an impromptu gathering!

Garlic Scape Pesto

Ingredients

• 1 bunch garlic scapes or curls, washed and ends trimmed
• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• 1/2 cup walnuts or pine nuts, finely ground
• 3/4-1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Blanch the scapes in simmering water for 4-5 minutes, or until the just begin to yield when lifted out of the water. Remove them immediately to an ice bath to stop the cooking and retain the bright green color. Dry thoroughly.

Chop the scapes in a food processor until they are fine. Add the cheese, nuts, salt and pepper. Turn the food processor on and stream in the olive oil until desired consistency. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Tags: pesto, garlic, Recipe by Ramona
7 Comments »

OK. Pretty soon I’m going to be covered in tiny seeds and have a green top sprouting out of my head. I’m alright with that, actually.

Strawberry season is going strong, and the prices at the Virginia farmers markets are very good, however, you need to use your fresh market berries quickly; they aren’t made to store long and can bruise easily.

Now, what’s more traditional and wonderful than strawberry shortcake? A delicious biscuit, split and filled with fresh whipped cream and macerated berries is just the way to end a meal at this time of year. This recipe makes biscuit baking easy work, and the strawberries can macerate while you bake.

Individual Strawberry Shortcake

makes 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb. strawberries, washed and sliced
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (optional)
• 2 cups All Purpose flour, sifted
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, well chilled and cut into 8 pieces
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• whipped cream, fresh or store bought

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, pour strawberries, add sugar and (optional) balsamic vinegar. Stir to coat fully. Cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator until ready to use. The maceration process will produce a syrup from the berry juice and vinegar.

Fit a stand mixer with flat beater. To the mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Turn mixer on low to just combine. Add chilled butter and slowly increase speed to medium-high for 2-3 minutes. The mixture should resemble coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, pour milk and egg. Stir to whisk lightly. Add milk and egg to mixer. Mix on medium low until just combined. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough until it comes together.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll dough out to 1/2 inch thick. Using a floured 2 1/2 inch cutter, cut into approximately 10 biscuits. Transfer biscuits onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in oven for 10 minutes.

Allow to cool until you care able to handle the biscuits. Cut each biscuit in half with a serrated knife.

Open the biscuits up like a sandwich. On bottom piece, place a generous dollop of whipped cream, topped with macerated strawberries. Replace biscuit top.

Garnish with mint (optional).

Serve immediately.

Tags: strawberries, dessert, Recipe by Ramona
4 Comments »

(flowering chives from New Morning Farm-Dupont Farmers Market_

Wow! What a wonderful weekend we had here in the Washington DC area. These are the days we cling to when the summer turns up the heat and humidity.

Since I was a bit under the weather on Friday, Frank went to the Kingstowne farmers market. Frank noticed a few new vendors at the market. Salsas Las Glorias was selling fresh salsa and tortilla chips. He bought a pint for $6.50, and I can tell you that you won’t find this comming out of a jar. Short of making it yourself-this salsa is the freshest you can get. I believe Salsas Las Glorias is also at the Ballston farmers market on Fridays from 11-3.

Bees n’ Blossoms from Providence Forge, VA sells all things bee pollen and honey. It’s good to see so many local honey vendors thriving. BnB sells honey, honey jellies, honey and wine jellies, herbal honey, creamed honey, honey with bee pollen, bee pollen, bee pollen tea bags and bees wax hand cream. These folks take their honey seriously, and are passionate about the health benefits of bee honey and pollen.

Susie’s Cookies also joined the market with handmade gourmet cookies.

Other market favorites returned, such as Crackpot Gourmet, who supplied Frank with a jar of their new jelly. It’s delicious with a spicy sweet flavor. Smita of Crackpot Gourmet has asked us to help come up with a name for the jelly-Frank and I have some ideas and I’ll let you know the winning name when I hear!

Middleburg Creamery’s truck returned to the market with their terrific ice creams. The owner has sold her little country cafe in Middleburg, but she still supplies the ice cream to the store. She is now focusing on making ice cream and selling it at farmers markets and fairs.

Saturday, Frank and I went to the farmers market at Del Ray. The market was teaming with customers who gathered on the picnic benches to catch up with one another. On the produce front, the mainstays are still asparagus and strawberries. Terrific sweets are sold by Bonaparte Breads, Gracie’s Pastries and Kudzu Cookies.

A nice surprise awaited me at the Alexandria City market-West Virginia’s Spring Valley Farm joined the market and had their first Saturday on May 24. They were quite popular right away. SVF had gobs of strawberries, greens, and even ramps. Of note was their lower prices here as compared to their prices at the Dupont Market. Strawberries were $1.50 less, and ramps were $1 less in Alexandria, compared to Dupont.

Frank and I (along with Tucker) enjoyed a nice breakfast of Emine’s sweet and savory baklavahs along with a large cup of freshly squeezed orange juice.

On Sunday, Frank and I loaded Tucker in the Subaru and headed into DC to go to the Dupont farmers market. The market stalls were overflowing with gorgeous flowers, produce and baked goods. I picked up goldent beets at New Morning Farm, garlic scapes at Next Step Produce, and from Keswick Creamery-a dozen of my favorite eggs and some Ba Ba Blue Cheese. It was a lovely morning at the market. Well, except for the crazy homeless guy who accosted my husband and dog while they waited for me to get coffee from Starbucks.

Check out the post below to see photos of the DC Mall, Monuments and Rolling Thunder which I took after our Dupont Market visit. My favorite picture of a boy looking at the names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial made it into DCist today. Yay!

Tags: District of Columbia, Washington, Alexandria, farmers markets by Ramona
7 Comments »

Frank and I are fortunate to live near Washington, DC, where we can see the Monuments, walk the Mall, and see events like Rolling Thunder. After the Dupont Market on Sunday morning, we spent time on the National Mall and the Vietnam Memorial. Enjoy…..back to our normal programming tommorow!

Tags: District of Columbia, Washington by Ramona
5 Comments »

Spoiler Alert! This salad is easy and delicious….and not one ingredient came from a farmers market! Gasp, I know. Me-Miss “eat and buy local”. I  know, I know.

Ahem. I can explain.

I have been buying quarts of strawberries at the markets, and honestly, they’ve been good, but not great. I’m not wowed and I really want to be. But, here’s the thing-we’ve had so much rain, and strawberries prefer dryer conditions. Dryer weather sweetens the berries and this area has seen over 9 inches of rain in the past month.

I’m contemplating building an arc-a small one-it only needs to fit 3 dogs.

Which is why I have been keeping an eye open for sales on strawberries at my local markets. Yesterday, I found them on sale at Whole Foods for $3.89 per pound. They are much sweeter than local berries at this time. I will be checking out the local farmers berries each weekend to see how the taste is coming along over the rest of the season.

This salad is a a perfect begining, or ending to a meal. The candied pecans will have you snacking on them again and again (the recipe makes 2 cups). The sweetness and crunch of the berries and nuts plays nicely off of the creamy, salty tang of the cheese and mild pepper taste of the watercress.

Salad of Watercress, Strawberries, Gorgonzola Dolce and Candied Pecans with Champagne Vinaigrette

serves 4

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 large bunch watercress-about 6 cups loosely packed, washed and dried (you can use arugula or escarole)
• 4 large or 8 small strawberries, washed and dried just before serving, quartered
• 1/2 cup candied pecans (see recipe below)
• 1/4 lb. gorgonzola dolce, crumbled (you can use any mild blue-veined cheese)

Champagne Vinaigrette

• 2 Tablespoons champagne vinegar
• 2 tablespoons spicy apricot mustard (you can use other mustards such as dijon, or cranberry, or any fruity mustard if you like)
• kosher salt, pinch
• pepper, 2-3 grinds freshly ground
• 6 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Candied Pecans

• 2 cups pecans, rough chopped
• 1 egg white, beaten
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• pinch kosher salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees

In a bowl, combine pecans and egg white. Coat fully.

Turn coated pecans out onto a baking sheet which has been sprayed with a non-stick spray. Sprinkle sugar over pecans and turn to coat evenly. Sprinkle pinch of salt over the pecans and spread evenly on baking sheet.

Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes. Turn once during cooking. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. The nuts can be stored in an airtight container for 4 days, or in the freezer for 1 month.

In a small bowl, add champagne vinegar, mustard, salt and peppers. Whisk briskly to incorporate. Continue whisking and slowly stream in olive oil. Continue whisking until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Adjust seasoning to taste.

To compose the salad;

Arrange watercress, quartered strawberries, crumbled gorgonzola and candied pecans on 4 salad plates

Drizzle vinaigrette over composed salads and serve immediately.

Tags: strawberries, nuts, cheese, salad, Recipe by Ramona
5 Comments »