Hi everyone and thank you so much for your feedback about the blog from my last post. Please feel free to keep the feedback coming if the mood strikes you. It looks like we will reduce the frequency of the posts a tad.
I’d like to touch on the topic of obscure ingredients or food items that are unknown to us. Often times, we dismiss a recipe that looks great simply because we are unfamiliar with one or more of the ingredients. Sometimes it does not occur to us to simply ask a friend what the ingredient is or ask at the supermarket. It may be because it doesn’t occur to us to ask or that we feel embarrassed for not knowing.
Is it worth limiting our cooking adventures simply because we don’t want to be perceived as gastronomically ignorant? Take Back the Supermarket! It is our friend and they will be more than happy to assist you in finding those unknown food items.
The following recipe calls for garlic scapes which I had never heard of before my friend Lauren told me about them in this delicious and easy recipe. I was fortunate enough to have them personally delivered to my home by her, but they are sold in the supermarket. They are part of a garlic plant but taste milder than garlic. I put this pesto on toast when I eat my famed egg and cheese on multigrain english muffins but we can also put it on pasta, crackers or as a dip.
Also, the following video clip of a role play/simulated supermarket experience will hopefully give you the inspiration and support to feel more comfortable broadening your culinary horizons. The video was directed by Pamela Carreon Scorsese:
Garlic Scape Pesto
Ingredients:
-1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into 1/4 inch slices
-1/3 cup walnuts (I used pignoli)
-3/4 cup olive oil
-1/2 cup grated parmigiano
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-black pepper to taste
Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process
until integrated. With a rubber spatula, scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes
about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/get_player
4 Responses
BTW, thanks for posting the pink lipstick photo. Nice color,
Cute video. Surprising, isn’t it, how a simple conversation like that can be so out of our comfort zone?
I noticed at Whole Foods that the produce folks work very hard on their displays and they LOVE to show it off. I’ve only asked once for help, and guy dropped what he was doing and spent five minutes with me to talk about ginger (very intimidating for me, and a nice experience). You two are naturals on film!
It appears that Ilah has the “big three” talents – artist, singer, and actor! Very cute.
I’m getting better in the kitchen, I guess, so I’m happy to hear about garlic scapes. I’ll try them!
Thanks for everything you do to inspire me! With your encouragement, I have ventured out a few times and cooked without recipes! I’m learning what combines well together, and it is easier than I thought it would be.
-Alisa