Jackpot! Garlic Scapes!!

Today, as we do on most Sundays from May 1 through the end of November, we went to our favorite farmers' market. We like to be there by opening time, since a lot of the vendors tend to run out of my favorite items fairly early on. Today we actually got there about 15 minutes early. This gave me ample time to make the rounds to see what everyone was offering before deciding upon which vendor I'd start with.

At vendor 1, I found some lovely strawberries, asparagus & soil-grown greenhouse tomatoes. I was off to a good start, and very happy about it!

Vendor 2 had the mint I needed for the sun tea that we drink gallons of in the warm weather. As I reached for the little bunch of mint, my eye landed upon the jumbled mass of stalks (seriously, it strongly resembles a small, green, tangled-up octopus) that I would recognize anywhere- Garlic Scapes! This was *the* find of the visit, and I bought the only 2 packages they had.

Since some of you may be unfamiliar with garlic scapes, here's the scoop...

What we all recognize as a head of garlic is the bulbous root. I'm pretty sure all of us have found that forgotten head of garlic, sitting in the pantry for so long that it has actually started to sprout a green shoot. That shoot is called the scape. Scapes are edible when they're young. As the plant matures, the scape grows tough and becomes pretty much inedible.

They are green stems that twist and curl, and usually have a little bulge on the end. (That bulge eventually turns into a garlic bulb.) They smell like very mild, sweet garlic. The flavor is that of garlic without the bite. I am not doing them justice right now, because I'm a bit tired, but if you ever see them, snap them up!

The thing about garlic scapes is that they're usually only available from this one vendor at my farmers' market- I've never seen them anywhere else- and they're only available for 3-4 weeks out of the year. I usually don't realize they're available until the last week. Part of the reason for today's major excitement is that this is the FIRST week he's had them! This means I have another 2-3 weeks to be able to get them!!

So you're probably wondering, "What exactly does one do with a garlic scape?"

My answer would be to get creative. If the flavors of garlic and onion would work well in a recipe, why not give the scapes a try there? I have used them in grilled veggies, frittatas, stir fries and salads. I also think they'd make an amazing pesto. Oh, and they lend a really nice flavor to soups and stews, as well. The vendor from whom I buy them says that they pickle them, but I've never tried that. Honestly, they all get eaten before I could even consider doing something like that with them!

So, in the coming week, I'll be attempting to create a recipe that fits in with our allergy/sensitivity restrictions and uses the scapes. Hopefully I'll come up with something tasty to share with you soon.

Macaroni & Beef

A quick and easy dinner. Here's how I make it:
1 lb GF pasta noodles, cooked al dente (still firm)
1 jar of your preferred tomato sauce/spaghetti sauce
1/2 lb ground beef, cooked, finely crumbled and drained

Put it all into a large pan or pot. Fill the sauce jar about 1/2 way with water, shake to get the last of the sauce and add to the pot. Add some garlic, dried minced onion, oregano, basil, and any other spices or seasonings you like. For adults I usually add a bit of hot pepper flakes, and for kids I usually add a teaspoon or so of sugar. Cook over medium, stirring frequently, until hot and liquid is cooked down.

Serve with a green salad.

Notes:
-If your pasta is mushy, see my previous post on Cold Rinse and Rice Pasta
-This is one of the ChaRM Plan stars, made using leftover pasta and leftover ground beef. It cooks up in all of about 15 minutes, which makes it perfect for those crazy, hectic days.

Planning ahead

Planning ahead is very important for me. I work best when there's some sort of structure to things. When it comes to putting dinner on the table, taking a half hour or so every other week to decide what we'll be having for dinner each night is well worth the time.

-It saves me the stress of realizing at 4:30 pm that I have no idea of what to make.
-It saves electricity because I'm not standing, staring vacantly into the freezer trying to find some inspiration.
-It saves money because we eat out less frequently.
-We waste less food because it reduces the forgotten produce/veggies, etc. that tend to get lost behind other stuff. It reduces the incidence of frozen food ending up in the trash due to freezer burn, because I'm constantly rotating through everything. We end up wasting less because I plan out my leftovers and how they'll be used.
-It also saves last minute trips to the grocery store for random items because as I make my menu plan, I make my grocery list.

So yes, I plan out 2 weeks worth of dinners in advance. It reduces my stress levels, saves money and time, and is, when you stop and think about it, better for the environment. It works for me. It took me several tries to find an approach that works for me, though. If you are interested in me posting about the various approaches, or want to know more about mine, please post a comment and let me know. I'll be happy to share the information.

For today, I'm going to share one of the tools I use to keep meal prep sane. I don't have some spiffy name for it or anything, but it's really helpful.

What do chili, tacos and sloppy joes have in common? They all call for browned & drained ground beef. In our house, before allergy knowledge, we would often have one or 2 of those things within a couple of nights of having a meatloaf dinner. Back then, I would break the meatloaf up and use it as the 'ground beef' ingredient for the chili, tacos or sloppy joes, just seasoning and adding other ingredients as appropriate. Since wheat, parsley, mustard and eggs are no longer on the menu for us, we don't eat meatloaf any more. I have had to adapt.

Now, instead of using the leftover meatloaf, I brown up 2 lbs of ground beef at a time, even if I only need 1/2 lb for that night's dinner. The rest is drained and then stored in the fridge or freezer for another night's meal. With a little planning, you can chop a lot of prep work out of the equation. Also, it cuts down on active cooking time, which is really good in the summer. (Especially if, like us, you don't have air conditioning!)

Tonight (Tuesday) I am having pasta salad for dinner. Brown rice macaroni (don't forget to rinse with cold water after cooking!), canned tuna, peas and salad dressing, served on a pretty bed of frilly lettuce, and maybe some sliced black olives and tomato wedges to add a little extra interest to the look and taste.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) I will use leftover pasta from tonight to make macaroni and beef in tomato sauce. I will brown 2 pounds of ground beef and use about 3/4 of a pound for the mac and beef. The remaining 1 and 1/4 pounds will go into the fridge, drained. The veggie side will be green beans.

On Thursday I will make an apricot chipotle glazed pork roast in my slow cooker. We're unlikely to eat more than 1/2 of it, so the remainder will go into the fridge to await being turned into Saturday night's dinner. The roast will be served with roasted sweet potatoes and spinach.

On Friday, I will pull out the 1 1/4 pounds of ground beef from Wednesday and turn it into homemade sloppy joes, served with a nice green salad.

On Saturday, we'll be having pulled pork BBQ sandwiches made from the leftover pork roast. The side will be asparagus.

Maybe I should call it the Chain Reaction Menu Plan, or ChaRM Plan for short. What do you think?

A good day...

Yesterday I went to the Holistic Expo in Allentown. I've been wanting to go for a couple of years, but something always happens to prevent it. So anyway, this year I got to go and I'm really glad!

I bought a bunch of pretty rocks, got a reading and had a foot detox. While sitting for the detox, I got to talking with a couple of people. One of them said she'd heard of this blog & I was so happy! I really didn't think anyone was reading this and I'd been considering giving up. The other woman seemed very interested in the blog, so I gave her the web address. I'm so happy to know that people might actually be reading what I write here!

Before the Expo, we went to the local farmers' market in Emaus. I love it there! Always such wonderful, local grown food! Anyway, we got some eggs, asparagus, kale, ground beef, lettuce and zucchini. I had hoped someone would have fresh basil, but no such luck. Oh well. If that's the biggest disappointment that I have to face all week, I'll be in good shape!

I plan to dry some of the zucchini and stuff the rest. Stuffed veggies freeze really well and make a nice dinner or lunch on those days when I don't have time to deal with cooking or can't decide what to make.

The stuffing will be made of sausage (if I were serving a vegetarian, I'd use the spicy sausage crumbles), onion, brown rice, probably some pine nuts or almond slivers and whatever seasonings I decide to throw in. I may also include some spinach, but haven't decided yet. Before the allergy results, I would've used breadcrumbs instead of rice and added parsley and cheese, but wheat, parsley and dairy are all off the menu, so I've tweaked the recipe a bit.

One of the things I miss most about the new allergy-free diet is that we can't have spring rolls or egg rolls anymore. They contain a lot of cabbage, which I'm not supposed to have, and the wrappers are wheat based. I got the kale in the hopes of creating an acceptable substitute. On a trip to a gourmet-type health food store, I found rice paper wrappers, so I'm hoping to use them instead of the standard egg roll wrappers.

I'll let you all know how it turns out!

breakfast bar recipe, perfection!

So, one of my first posts was about gluten-free, egg-free, milk-free breakfast bars. The original recipe I used was too greasy for my taste. The next 2 attempts each had their own problems. This morning I made another batch, slightly tweaked to fix the problems. They came out perfectly, IMHO. Very muffin-like. Texture was similar to a quick bread, not overly greasy, dense or sweet. I am very pleased! I think I'm going to use this as a model for some different flavors of quick breads and muffins in the near future.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

dry:
2 c ground almonds
1 c rice flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 c dried blueberries & cherries, combined
1/2 c finely diced candied orange & lemon peel, combined
1 c pumpkin seeds, lightly chopped
1 c sunflower seeds, lightly chopped

wet:
3 very ripe bananas (should be mushy)
1/2 c agave syrup
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey

Preheat oven to 325

Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl, sealable container or large zipper food storage bag and mix well.

Put the bananas into a large mixing bowl and use the mixer to liquefy them. (If you're using a Kitchenaid-type mixer, use the paddle attachment.) Add the rest of the wet ingredients. Mix well.

Line a 9x13-inch pan (Note 1) with parchment, and grease any portion of the inside of the pan that the parchment is not covering.

Working quickly, mix the dry ingredients into the wet, just until combined.

Pour batter into pan, and bake for approximately 30 minutes, till the top begins to brown. (Note 2)

Cool and cut into 10 pieces.

Note 1- next time I make this, I'm going to use a muffin tin instead of a big pan.
Note 2- all of the ingredients in this recipe are safe to be eaten raw, therefore, you only need to cook it long enough for it to 'set up'