Celebrating Garlic Scapes

Oh, my friends… garlic scape season has arrived!  I’ve alluded to garlic scapes at least once on this blog, but this is the first time I’ve had the actual specimen in my hand.  Wanna see it?  Oh, I’m totally going to show you.

I think garlic scapes are some of the most gorgeous edibles on the planet.  Their curvature is simultaneously crazy and fluid–there’s a method in their madness.  When I get married someday in the future, I may have to schedule my wedding around garlic scape season so I can work them into my bouquet.  Or, so they can simply be my bouquet.  Check it out:

But in addition to their beauty, garlic scapes are also delicious.  They have all the flavor of garlic without the spicy kick.  Now, I love garlic– a little too much, according to a certain boyfriend– but sometimes the bite is a little intense even for me.  Garlic scapes solve this problem.  When I’m making pesto during scape season, I can add the scapes with abandon; my pesto will have all the garlicky flavor I crave, but it’s considerably milder.  It’s a win-win situation.

I’m seriously giddy about garlic scapes right now.  So much in fact, that I wrote this little ode to the scape:

O garlic scapes, with wonder breaks
Across my face a smile;
No simple clove inspires such love—
For you, I’d run a mile.
Which might not sound like such a feat
(I’ve heard of marathons),
But there’s no root or other shoot
I’d heap such love upon.
O bundle of scapes, I cannot waste
Another minute of time.
Now get in my skillet! Get in my belly!
I’ll gobble you down!  Be mine!

Yes… that just happened.  “Now Earthlings, I present you with a simple choice! Either die in the vacuum of space, or … tell me what you thought about my poem.”

Free batch of cookies for the first person to correctly identify the source of that quote.

Dead serious.

No Googling, please.