Farmer's Market Fun

Dale and I went to Farmer's market on Saturday and were delighted to see so many beautiful fresh veggies and herbs, that were twice as big and beautiful as those in my garden...We decided to please the more adventurous side of taste buds, purchasing garlic scapes, lemon basil, and beets.

While Dale was working, I had to find someway to use these ingredients and please my pallet. Let me just say, I was licking my kitchenaid clean after making scape pesto!

GARLIC SCAPE PESTO
Garlic scapes are the tops of garlic that are beautiful and tasty, almost like basil and garlic in one plant. They are tough to find, but if you can find scape, this is one tasty concoction! I froze the pesto in ice cube trays and then transferred to a ziplock bag so we can have pesto any day! You can freeze garlic, ginger, and other types of pesto using your kitchenaid and freezing them in trays...pretty handy!

Ingredients

10 garlic scapes, finely chopped
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (to taste and texture)
1/3 cup pinenuts (you could toast them lightly, if you'd like)
About 1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt & black pepper
Put the scapes, cheese, pinenuts into your kitchenaid, blender, or cusinart and pulse until finely chopped. Slowly drizzle the olive oil in until the texture is smooth. If you like the texture, stop; if you'd like it a little thinner, add some more oil. Season with salt and pepper.
The pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days or packed airtight and frozen for a couple of months. I would serve this over flank steak, maybe toss with pasta and zucchini, or fry some prawns in there as well! The possibilities are endless!

***If you cant find garlic scapes, just grab a handful of basil and a few cloves of garlic and make a traditional pesto. You could also substitute spinach and lemon or arugula and freshly grated pepper. Pesto-magic!!

Pickled Beets

I love beets and will eat them on any occasion. I especially love them roasted in orange juice and garlic and tossed with pork. I also love them sliced thin and served with a sharp goat cheese, like Cana de Oveja. For all you who shudder at the thought of beets, you must try them roasted because they are far superior to any red wedges found in a can.

Ingredients

3-4 medium sized beets, I used red beets and chioggia beets (candy cane striped)
1 tbls Coriander seeds

1 tbls Fennel seeds
4 star anise
1 Cinnamon stick
A few black peppercorns
2 tbls sugar
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper
Olive Oil

1 cup of apple cider vinegar
1 cup of water
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash your beets and toss in a roasting pan. Toss with olive oil and roast for 40 minutes, or until fork tender. Let cool slightly and using a towel gently rub beets free of their skin. Set aside.
2. Bring vinegar and water to a simmer. Meanwhile, lightly toast the coriander, cinnamon stick, star anise, black pepper, and fennel seed until their aroma is released. Toss the spices and the sugar, salt, and cayenne into the simmering liquid and continue to simmer for 4-5 minutes.

3. While the liquid is simmering, slice your beets and layer them into a quart size glass jar. Add the liquid and let cool before placing the lid on and store in the fridge for up to a month.
I snack on the beets almost like candy. As mentioned before I serve them with cheese or will toss them onto a salad. Feel free to add garlic or shallot during pickling. Enjoy!!!