Garlic Scapes Flavor Potatoes and Vegetables

In the beginning of summer it’s time to look for the flower stalks of garlic. That is if you grow hard neck varieties of garlic.

Garlic leaves are flat and linear and they grow longer as Spring progresses. These flat “grass blade” type leaves may arch gracefully to either side of the plant or grow almost straight up.

Near the start of summer a round stalk will sprout from the center of the garlic leaves. This round stalk is noted by its curly style of growth.

Garlic flower stalks grow into curled shapes before they straighten up.
Garlic flower stalks grow into curled shapes before they straighten up.
The central rounded stalk with a cone-shaped end is a garlic scape that should be pruned.
The central rounded stalk with a cone-shaped end is a garlic scape that should be pruned.

If the flower stalk is allowed to grow, the plant will be putting more of its energy and nutrients into the formation of small bulbils instead of into the garlic bulbs that we want to harvest in a few weeks time. The bulbils can be planted for another garlic crop in 2-3 years.

To grow the largest garlic bulbs

Read more

Roasted Potatoes with Oregano and Parsley

Roasted Potatoes with Oregano and Parsley is an easy-to-make vegetable dish. It’s one you can make up ahead of time and keep refrigerated before you need that special side dish.

The dish is better with the fewer ingredients you put in there.

Once on a particularly hectic day in the kitchen I somehow forgot to add the onions AND the garlic so the potatoes only had butter and parsley. Now that’s the meaning of bland. Salt and cracked pepper kicked up the flavor in my mouth, but without a little onion or garlic in the mix the plain potatoes tasted super flat.

You could add other vegetables to make a sort of roasted vegetable dish, but with potatoes and onions you can’t go wrong. If the potatoes are slightly overcooked by the time they’re reheated the onions may be reduced to just a glaze, but that’s alright. Other vegetables that cook at different speeds get a little mushy for my taste when cooked with potatoes, so we’ll do them separate, ok?

Snip the fresh herbs from the mother plants and then rinse off. Shake off water by grasping the stems of the herbs and whacking the plants against your hand. You can feel when most of the water has been shaken off. Trim the leaves with a pair of scissors to make small pieces of herb, like flakes.

Roasted Potatoes with Oregano and Parsley

  • set oven to 375 degrees
  • butter a small baking dish
  • peel 2-3 medium potatoes
  • cube potatoes into bite-size pieces and add to dish
  • dice 1 small onion and add to dish
  • smash or press garlic clove(s) and add to dish
  • dot with butter
  • snip 3-4 sprigs each of fresh parsley and oregano
  • sprinkle with fresh cut herb flakes
  • season with salt and cracked pepper
  • cover dish with lid or aluminum foil
  • bake @ 375 degrees for 30 min., until potatoes are fork tender

Serve with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh cut parsley flakes or chives.

The herbs that we like are parsley and Greek oregano, but other herbs could be used like thyme, rosemary, tarragon or chives. The flavor of some herbs may be better when added after cooking, like tarragon and chives.