Shrimp and Garlic Scape Scampi

Shrimp seasoned with garlic scape pesto and parsley then tossed in a wine/butter/lemon sauce and served over pasta.  This is local seasonal eating. The high falutin' way.

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You're either here because you've got garlic scapes and want ideas for how to use them, or because you're looking for a different twist on the classic Shrimp Scampi. Either way, let's start with a little background info so that we're all on the same page.

What is a garlic scape?

Garlic grows in a bulb--like a tulip--and produces a flower. Unlike tulips, though, you don't want this flower--so you cut off the scapes while the flower part is still a tight bud. That's a garlic scape. Old Farmers [my Dad] say cutting off the bud forces enables the garlic plant to put all its energy into making a larger base or head or bulb. We're all about bigger bulbs of garlic, right?

Since garlic--again like tulips--ripens but once a year there's only one shot to get garlic scapes each year. If you don't grow your own garlic [and here's a DIY post on planting/harvesting/putting up a year's supply of garlic and pesto from one raised bed] you can find scapes at a farmer's market of from a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. It is rare to find them in a grocery store which is all the more reason to eat locally--they are a versatile veggie!

The requisite Food (Blogger) Origination Story

The first time I made Shrimp Scampi was in high school.  In an effort to save money I decided to make my boyfriend our pre-prom dinner at home. [We went to different high schools and attended two proms--though I have no memory of actually going to his prom . . . perhaps we just ate shrimp scampi at my house instead?].

I got the recipe on a piece of lab paper from Miss Tigani, my high school biology teacher. That scrap of paper hasn't been seen in decades, but the basics of scampi--garlic, butter, parsley, lemon, white wine--stayed with me.  I thought the milder taste of garlic scapes would go nicely for my family.

See, while I would love me some garlic shrimp from the white shrimp truck on the North Shore of Oahu, I know that the resulting 3 days of garlic oozing from my pores would not be appreciated by my spouse.  So I'll stay on the mainland and create this instead.

Pin this for later!

Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs

Use the Instant Pot to make spaghetti and meatballs the easy way--simple ingredients and only one pot to clean! This is a terrific recipe for campus cooking as it uses few ingredients and simple prep.

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Hi and welcome to the first post in a new series I've started called Instant Pot on Campus. This summer I'm teaching my son how to use an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker to make simple meals. Later I'll stuff an Instant Pot box* into the already overloaded car and send him off to school, confident that I've built a foundation for success in the kitchen. *Military spouse tip--save your boxes.

Each Instant Pot on Campus post will have the following categories:

• What to buy at the store
• What you need in the kitchen
• How to Level Up
• The Recipe
• What to do when something goes wrong

Please share this post with folks who are just starting out in the kitchen. Thank you!

Let's get to the first post in the series, Instant Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs!

What to buy at the store

You might as well buy the ingredients for a double batch, otherwise you're left with half a box of spaghetti in the cupboard and half a bag of meatballs in the freezer. Avoid the temptation to just dump the whole box of noodles in--you'll get a burn error message and probably won't end up with an edible meal.

• 1 pound box of spaghetti noodles (thin, thick, regular . . . your choice)
• 1 bag (24-32 ounces) of frozen meatballs
• 2 cans or jars (24 ounces each) of spaghetti sauce

Since you're going to use the whole can or jar of spaghetti sauce at one time, go with the can. It's usually a better deal--unless you don't have a can opener. Cheaper items are usually located on the lowest shelves in the grocery store since companies pay extra to have their products displayed at eye level (and their prices reflect that).

Salmon and Blackberries with Lemon Cream Sauce

Flakes of salmon and crunchy blackberries covered in a lemony cream sauce served on pasta.

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This lemony cream sauce is the perfect accompaniment to the juicy crunch of fresh blackberries and enhances the delicate flavor of the salmon. Serve over pasta with a side salad or green vegetable to make a colorful complete meal in about a half hour.


I'm breaking a bunch of rules with this recipe. First--fruit with fish? Okay. Been there, done that with my Salmon in the Company of Good Oranges recipe. Second--a cream sauce for fish? Well, why not? I mean, I like an Everything Bagel (focaccia recipe) with cream cheese and smoked salmon after all. Finally--I'm sharing a recipe using a produce item OUT OF SEASON?? Yes. Yes, I am. I'm in the middle of a spring snow storm and I need to think Happy Thoughts of warmer times. Working with these photos and remembering this memorable dish gives me hope that Spring--and eventually the summer berry season--will arrive.

Kale and Sausage Burrata Pasta with Caramelized Onions

A skillet meal of Italian sausage, fresh kale, and caramelized onions tossed with pasta shells and bound together with creamy burrata cheese.

One of my go-to ways to cook a pile of produce from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share is a stir fry. It's pretty fast to throw together once all the vegetables are prepped, and you can customize the flavors as simple or as complex as you like. I've shared a handful of stir fry recipes in the Recipe Index by Category on the right sidebar, but it's often just a quickly thrown together, very little planning, dish.

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This dish is the pasta equivalent of a stir fry. I started off like usually I do for a stir fry, by cooking the meat and vegetables in a skillet. Instead of firing up the rice cooker (or delegating that to a kid), I'd boiled some water in my pretty purple pot. Once the pasta, meat, and vegetables are cooked it's a simple matter to toss everything together with the burrata and you're ready to eat.

Baked Ravioli Valentines

Heart-shaped cheese-filled ravioli dipped in a tangy sauce and coated with seasoned breadcrumbs, then baked. Serve with sauce to dunk and you've got a kid friendly vegetarian Valentine's day meal.

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After sharing the contents of my fridge--as is--on my Instagram feed and Facebook page I figured I'd pan back from the tight Polish Pottery hearts photo to instead show the real state of one of my cookbook shelves.

For the past few years we've been eating this simple supper on Valentine's day. It's festive, but easy to get in the oven and it cooks quickly. I usually don't take photos--after all, I just picked up the package of ravioli at Costco and didn't make them myself--but I figured I'd share since the idea is a simple and good one. I got the idea from this recipe.

Farm Share Pasta Primavera

Fresh spring vegetables, lightly blanched and tossed with pasta in a creamy sauce. A simple, fast vegetarian dish to let the flavors of Spring shine.

Joining a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share typically means you make the choice to eat more seasonally. Being a seasonal eater means by the end of one season I'm anticipating the next. Being a seasonal eater with a food blog means I'm working 9 months to a year behind as we approach the end of a season. Perhaps I could turn the frown upside down and say I'm working ahead. I mean, yesterday I made 2 desserts that will appear in April and July, respectively.

As my spouse and I resume our evening walks I see signs of Spring all over--except for my garden, which is still looking like a not-quite-ready compost pile. [It makes me realize how impressed I am with the ingenuity of farmers. With hard work, hoop houses and row covers, they manage to get a jump on Mother Nature every year.] It will be a couple of months until the local vegetables are ready for me to share current recipe ideas.  Instead, I rely on notes [notes get misplaced, it's a spiral binder for me now] a notebook and a well-labeled photo library to bring ideas for what to do with your produce.

This recipe has been on the second* page of my current spiral notebook for 10 months. I made it in the early weeks of the farm share, when the fast-growing crops--like peas and radishes--are abundant in the box. This pasta reminded me of the satisfying and quickly assembled meals my vegetarian roommates and I would fix, then enjoy on the porch while the evenings were ever-lighter and the weather still cool enough that a warm bowl of pasta was appreciated. [You could totally eat this cold, I just prefer the flavors warm.]

For other recipes using broccoli, please see my Broccoli Recipes Collection, for other recipes using carrots, please see my Carrot Recipes Collection, for other recipes using peas, please see my Pea Recipes Collection, for other recipes using radishes, please see my Radish Recipes Collection. These are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient--since it's the easiest way to figure out what to fix in my opinion. If you want to pin your ideas, you're welcome to follow me on Pinterest.

Fast Pasta with Slow-roasted Tomatoes

Pasta sauce sourced locally from ingredients put up in summertime to be enjoyed during wintertime: slow-roasted tomatoes seasoned with hot turkey sausage served over ricotta-feta tossed fettuccine.

Permission and Encouragement in today's post.

Did you put up a bit of summer's bounty in your freezer or pantry last year? Perhaps you dabbled a bit in freezing some strawberry jam, pesto, or tomatoes? If so--have you started to use what you put up? If yes--I should have made a flow chart--good for you. If no--what are you waiting for? Now is the time! It's cold enough to crave hearty homey hot dishes but the lengthening days tease you with the promise of seasons to come.

If you didn't put up any of the bounty from your garden, your neighbor's garden, your Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share or farmer's market--no worries! Let this recipe plant itself like a parasite in the back of your brain so that, when the days become shorter and the tomato plants are laden with ripe tomatoes, you'll think about trying your hand at putting some up. Then, through the magic of Pinterest (link to my Pinterest page where my first board, Farm Fresh Feasts, is all the posts I've ever posted on the blog) you can find this recipe next winter and enjoy your own homegrown tomatoes. In the meantime, a can of good crushed tomatoes will do.

About a year ago I shared a recipe for Creamy Tomato Soup with Home-canned Tomatoes. It was one of my most popular recipes of 2014. In that posted I planted the seed about canning your own tomatoes. It worked in at least 2 folks that I know of, and I couldn't be more delighted. Your turn?

Today I'm going to share a recipe for pasta with a slow-roasted tomato sauce, and I'll nag you to roast some tomatoes in the Fall. Oh, I mean plant the seed [forget the parasite analogy now] that you should consider slow-roasted as a method of preservation. Slow-roasted tomatoes require an oven, a rimmed baking sheet, and a freezer. I am fortunate to have all 3, and according to the results of the Hunger Study 2014, most folks in my area have access to the same kitchen appliances. No excuses!

Consider slow-roasting some tomatoes this year. Head to Alanna's excellent tutorial for step-by-step info and photos. For other ideas on how to use slow-roasted or fresh or canned tomatoes, please see my Tomato Recipes Collection, part of my Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. I pin interesting tomato recipes to my Tomatoes Pinterest Board.

Antipasti Pasta Salad with Kale and Radish

Fresh Spring vegetables tossed with marinated preserved vegetables, fresh herbs, pasta and cheese for a cool and quick vegetarian supper

If it's an Italian faux pas to say "antipasti pasta" I apologize.  All blame belongs to me.  I'm pretty sure that pasta antipasti is clearly wrong, but I'm thinking 'before the pasta-pasta' is OK.  Point is that I'm using traditional antipasti ingredients, combined with fresh spring vegetables, to make a tasty supper. Call it a multitasking meal--you've got your antipasti and your pasta course in one.

You know, I did make a title image for Pinterest purposes.  May as well share it even though I changed the post title after I'd made it.  Dithering--not a good thing after 2 hard ciders!

This is a great 'it's too hot, I don't want to think about cooking dinner' dish, as well as a Fast From The Farm Share meal.  It uses kale, radishes, and green onions from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share as well as a swing by your grocery store's olive bar for the rest (no grocery store olive bar? The jarred items keep for a while and are worthwhile to purchase).  If you boil the pasta while you're fixing your morning beverage, you can be out of the kitchen in a flash.

When we moved here we bought a gas stove. [And a house to go with it. In that order.]  Getting the gas line installed took some doing--city permits and all that.  Using an electric skillet, a crock pot, an electric kettle, a toaster and a grill I fixed family meals for weeks.  I learned a cheater way of making pasta salads by buying the fastest cooking fresh pasta and using my kettle to boil the water then 'steep' the pasta for a few minutes.  It was an easy meal our first summer here, and something that keeps the kitchen cool even when the oven works just fine.

I'd been thinking about adding kale to a pasta salad for a while, and when I saw some marked-down olive bar containers I knew I'd go in an antipasti direction.  This would also be great in a more Mediterranean direction, later in the summer, if you got feta instead, and added fresh cucumbers and tomatoes when they are ripe.  The sun-dried tomatoes and marinated mozzarella make such a pretty bowl with the kale and radishes.  If you'd like, add some chopped cured meat or white beans for extra protein.

Pasta Salad with Grilled Fruit and Goat Cheese {Recipe from MELT}

A sweetly savory summer side dish or light vegetarian supper--pasta combined with grilled fruit, goat cheese, herbs and nuts. From MELT: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese

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I want to talk about barriers to successful grilling.

[Those of you with your grills hooked up to your natural gas line, skip ahead to the recipe. Lucky ducks. The rest of you, read on.]

See, for 9 of the past 10 years we have tried--key word--to be successful at grilling.  Our grill is the largest tiny portable one there is, and it has a nice loop to hold a tiny propane tank (the kind a restaurant might use for creme brûlée). Each time we wanted to grill out, we'd carry the grill out of the shed, set it up, preheat, put the food on the hot grill, and then . . . when it was time to turn the meat, the small propane tank was empty and the grill was cooling. When this scenario is played out often, it makes you want to just crank up the oven and heat up the house!

Last summer I decided to tackle our grilling barrier head on.  We got a standard size propane tank, one that has to be carried separately from our little grill. Finally I could trust that when I started the fire I'd be able to see the cooking through, and with that our grilling changed.  We do store our grill in the garage (because we've since moved to a house with a garage) so once it's hauled out and set up I like to grill anything handy and used the grilled items in future meals.  I've used this technique in my Grilled Veggie Ciabatta Pizza, but now I'd like to share a terrific picnic side dish or light summer supper:  Pasta Salad with Grilled Fruit and Goat Cheese.

At its heart this a recipe for macaroni and cheese, so it's no surprise that I got the recipe from MELT: The Art of Macaroni and Cheese (link to the author's website).  I received a copy of this terrific cookbook last fall and have made several recipes with it, including Macaroni and Cheese in a Pumpkin and Pumpkin Cranberry Maple Kugel.


One of the first recipes that caught my eye was an orzo salad with Humboldt Fog goat cheese and grilled peaches. Since I eat seasonally I figured I'd need to wait until peach season to try it--but first I found myself with some fresh figs at the same time  I found Humboldt Fog marked down at the fancy cheese counter.  Score! This tasted so yummy that the name--Humboldt Fog--stuck, so since then I'm always on the lookout for it in the marked down bin.

The next time I came across the cheese coincided with cored pineapple selling for the same price as whole pineapple.  I prefer not to pay for the parts that just go into the compost anyway, so I picked up a container of prepped pineapple. While we had the grill going for steaks, I whipped up the marinade and tossed the pineapple in to coat.  I was out of orzo, so I subbed in elbow macaroni.

This savory-sweet pasta salad is a refreshing addition to summer meals. We prefer it served freshly tossed or at room temperature (do not microwave to reheat the leftovers).

For more recipes using figs, please see my Fig Recipes Collection. For more recipes calling for fresh peaches, please see my Peach Recipes Collection. For more recipes using pineapple, please see my Pineapple Recipes Collection. These collections are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me eating from the farm share, the farmer's market, the garden, the neighbor's garden, and great deals on ugly produce at the grocery store.

I'm sharing more recipes on my Pinterest boards, follow me there. If you like a good peek behind the scenes like I do, follow me on Instagram. Need a good read? I'm sharing articles of interest on my Facebook page, follow me there. Want to know How to Use This Blog?

Mac and Cheese in a Pumpkin from MELT

Creamy macaroni and cheese with bits of Italian sausage baked in a pie pumpkin from the new cookbook MELT:  The Art of Macaroni and Cheese by Stephanie Stiavetti and Garrett McCord

I'm going to talk about this recipe first, then the cookbook where I got it.  Before I get too wordy, some notes:

MELT will be on sale on 22 October 2013.  You can preorder a copy from a variety of vendors, check here for a list of links (link to meltmacaroni.com website).

If you preorder a copy, or even if you don't, you can participate in a $500 Le Creuset cookware giveaway!  Click here for details on the giveaway (link to meltmacaroni.com website). 

I received a review copy* of MELT and chose to post my experience making this recipe from the book because it's tasty and uses seasonal vegetables from my CSA farm share.  I am not involved in the cookware giveaway (just passing the info along to you), I do not benefit from the links posted above, nor was I compensated for this post.  I do get to keep the cookbook, though, which rocks.

What's all the fuss about baking in pumpkins? 

When I see photos of things baked in pumpkins I tend to think it's a gimmick, more for the presentation aspect than the actual taste.  I mean, how often do you see photos of the food actually being served? [Yeah, I went there.  Seems only sporting to share reality.]  As it turns out, while the mac and cheese in this recipe is delicious, it's even better baked inside the pumpkin!  How do I know this?  The recipe calls for a 5 pound pumpkin and the largest one I'd gotten from my farm share was only 2 pounds.  So I baked the rest of the mac and cheese in a pretty Polish pottery bowl alongside the pumpkin.  The pumpkin adds a creamy sweet vegetable base to the mac and cheese which is truly amazing.

What if I don't have access to little pumpkins?

Since I've lived around the world where seasonal, traditional American plant items are pretty pricey (I'm talking pumpkins and Christmas trees) I've given this situation a bit of thought.  I would suggest using a can of pumpkin puree (not the pie filling, just the puree) and spreading a layer of canned pumpkin along the bottom and up the sides of a 2-3 quart casserole dish, then adding the filling, covering, and baking as directed below.  No access to canned pumpkin?  Roast whatever winter squash is local to you, and spread that inside a casserole dish, cover and bake.

Baked Swai with Pesto and Ricotta

A simple sauce of prepared pesto and ricotta cheese makes a moist and  flavorful coating for fish, pasta, or roasted vegetables

If you follow me on Facebook, you may have seen the photos of my first cheese-making efforts.  I got a gallon of milk marked down and made 2 balls of mozzarella with a cheese making kit I bought from Standing Stone Farms.  With the leftover whey (boy howdy there's a lot of whey) I made a bonus batch of ricotta cheese.

There was still a lot of whey leftover after making the ricotta and mozzarella, and I've been experimenting with it.  So far whey-soaked oven oatcake is a hit, and pizza crust using whey instead of water is also a winner.  Details to come.

Here's the thing, though--normally I'll use ricotta in something hearty, like my Quadruple Roasted Mock Lasagna.  This summer has been gloriously--and unusually--cool, but not cool enough for that.  I decided to use up the very last cubes of last fall's pestopalooza with the ricotta cheese, and play around.

All of the recipes I'm sharing today involve the oven or stovetop, but when it's really hot I think it'd be great to toss freshly grilled items (chicken thighs, fish fillets, eggplant or zucchini) with this ricotta-pesto mixture and keep your kitchen cool.  It would be delicious as the dressing in a pasta salad, with cherry tomatoes, onion, cucumber, and squash.  It's probably good on a cracker.  Since I thawed my put-up pesto to make these dishes, I'm positive this idea will work with winter fare (peeled, sliced, roasted sweet potatoes or delicata squash?).