Scapes --- the end of a love affair

ninja dog

So, I finally got to try scapes this summer. Two weeks ago, I tried sauteing in butter as suggested. Last week, I tried sauteing in olive oil. Last night I tried steaming, then saucing with lemon jelly and thyme, plus butter.

The results? My hands still reek a full day later, and scapes are just okay.

Sairis? Anyone? Want to weigh in? Am I missing out on a crucial step to making these greens delicious?

Curlyminx

I am about to guano all over this thread: who is that SUPER DUPER ADORABLE doggie in your avatar?

I just want to hug that dog!

so ending the guano: ok. so what you are trying to say is that when I go to the farmers market this weekend I shouldn't consider myself to be chef sairis and think that if I buy them I can do something with them?

They sounded delicious. I'm sorry you haven't been successful.

I can't wait for recipes!!!!

ninja dog

That super duper adorable dog is my puppy, Sadie. She's a fiend! I love her, but she's a kook. She also proves my faith in evolution; if she weren't so huggable, I'd probably wring her little puppy neck.

Me: Sadie! No!

Sadie: looks meek, drops sockshoeinsertrugcat

Me: Sadie! I just told you NO!

Sadie: looks abashed, drops above, again

Me: SADIE! This is the third time I said no to the same thing!

Sadie: cocks head, lets above fall from fangs

Me: SADIE! OMG! Will you stop?

Sadie: Holds out paw, continues chewing

Me: Okay. That's it. Crate!

Anyway, maybe you'll have better luck than I did with the scapes. They seemed to leave most of their flavor on my hands, which honestly, still smell after handling them, a full two days later, despite countless desperate washings.

Saria

I don't tend to eat them on their own. I add them to dishes the way I do green garlic.

Curlyminx

I got to see my most favorite doggie last night. I gave her kisses and kisses. She licked me over and over. I love dogs.

Ninja-have you tried washing your hands with lemon to rinse the smell? My aunts always use lemon for smells.

ninja dog

Lemon, baking soda, pumice.....everything!

S., how do you cook them?

Saria

I don't find the smell to be any different from just regular garlic. If you rub your hands on stainless steel (your kitchen sink for example), it should take care of it. They actually even sell what looks like bar soap made out of stainless steel just for this purpose. At least, many say it works. My hands smell like onion and sometimes garlic pretty much all the time, so I have never bothered. Heh, my hands might horrify you if we ever met. Aside from the smell of food, they look filthy and pretty damn raggedy! I often find myself hiding them when I'm sitting on the train on my way home.

Oh yeah, I thinly slice scapes and add them to scrambled eggs. Or I make souffles where scapes provide the flavor. I leave them in fairly large pieces and blanch them then add them to vegetable stews. I add them to stir fries. I use them in risotto. They have a fresher, greener flavor than garlic (though I do prefer green garlic to them as well as garlic chives), so I use them in a way I wouldn't necessarily use cloves of garlic and in dishes as the main flavor where garlic would be a supporting player.

ninja dog

I can't seem to make sense of the texture. They're always a little tough. I finally added the remainder of the batch I bought to a pot of homemade vegetable stock, my action of last resort when cooking.

Got rid of the smell by washing hands with baking soda and then again with lemon juice.

I bet your hands aren't horrifying. Anyone I've seen who uses her hands for a living usually has a beautiful, working look to them. And even if in your case, you're right, the results sure sounds worth it. :happy2: