Garlic Scape Pesto

You will know who your true friends are after eating garlic scape pesto. It is guaranteed to ward off evil spirits and maybe even a few good ones.

For this recipe, you will need:

  • A bunch of garlic scapes
  • Some good olive oil
  • Pine nuts or walnuts
  • Lemon juice
  • Salt
  • Blender or Food Processor
  • About 10 minutes

The recipe doesn’t use exact  measurements, so just understand that the bulk of the recipe is simply garlic scapes. You will be using the other things sparingly. If I had to put a ratio to it, I’d say 70% garlic scape, 30% everything else combined.  It really depends on how much you like garlic.

Garlic scapes are not as spicy as raw garlic cloves, so you can use quite a bit of them without getting a stomach ache.

  1. Rinse and dry the garlic scapes. Trim off the edges or any browned parts.  Chop into 1-2″ pieces. Tip: I find it is easier to just let the garlic scape curl into its natural position and then cut an X into it.
  2. Alternately add scapes, oil & nuts into food processor or blender. Blend until smooth using a bit of lemon juice to thin as necessary (you won’t need much).  Salt to taste.

I have added other herbs or spices to the pesto to switch-up the flavor. This recipe is only a base and you should experiment with adding other seasonal herbs. Be sure to chew on some parsley after indulging  yourself with this pesto.

Eat it generously on breads or crackers, with cheese or without; on pasta, potatoes, or even meats. Add it to soups, or  use it as a vegetable dip (especially for vegetables you should love, but don’t!); I have used it as a base for salad dressings and in place of mayonnaise, too.

Give it to friends! Give it to enemies!  Give it to grandma when she has a cold. But most importantly, get yourself some garlic scapes and eat ’em up.

Hello and Happy New Year!

I am writing to invite you back for another year with Big Train Farm.  2012 was a great year for us and we hope that you enjoyed your CSA share(s).  CSA membership is the life-force of Big Train Farm, representing 50% of all the business we did in 2012 and making it possible to get started with early spring costs!  You are very important to us and we hope you saw that exemplified in your shares last year.

In 2013 we will be extending the duration of the pick-ups, running the full season from early June until the end of NOVEMBER!  We are happy to see that our seasons are being extended by what we’re able to grow in greenhouses and low-tunnel poly-houses and we want to make that available to all of you.  Please note that this is the reason for the jump in price, weekly cost has remained the same from 2012 to 2013.

Reserve now!  Early payment is appreciated but not necessary to reserve a share.  Notice too that we will be working on securing a bread and cheese share this year as well as the local products we offered at cost in 2012.

Take a look at the updated e-brochure for pricing and other information.  Most everything will be as it was in 2012, as far as logistics.  Every year we are learning and adapting to make each CSA season a little better than the last.  Hope you will join us in 2013!
John and Mindy