These beautiful curly Q’s mark that summer is near. They may leave your breath a little to be desired while snuggling after you dinner but, trust me, it’s worth it.

What is a garlic scape? It is the start of what would become the stem and flower of garlic. If it did fully go to flower, it would look very similar to the chive flowers, but lighter in color.

What is its nutritional value? High in calcium and very high in vitamin C

How should it be stored? Refrigerator

The name kohlrabi comes from the German kohl, meaning cabbage, and rabi, or turnip, and that kind of sums it up.

How do I eat that alien vegetable?! Raw or cooked, grated or sliced, roasted or baked…

What is its nutritional value? 1 cup of kohlrabi contains a mere 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein, 19% of your daily potassium intake, 10% of B6, and 139% of your daily vitamin C intake! Between scapes and rabi, it’s like having oranges in Maine!

How do I store it? You guessed it, the crisper

So I hope that you are having as much fun eating your veggies as I am growing them!

Farmer: Yes, yes I am CRAZY busy right now and need to multiply myself by 5, but things are looking great and my workshares are pulling their weight and then some (they have been AWESOME!!!).

Simon: He is 0-2 this year with the porcupines…bummer

Dudley and Dora: Still no ducklings and Dora is bored, he misses Dudley

Cats: Rambunctious as ever and caught 2 mice

Strawberries: I picked the first five while weeding yesterday! Sorry, I ate them all.

Veggies: Looking awesome!!! Lost 4 tomato tops to an unknown rodent, but the trap is set…and I am running out of space to plant my transplants, but I think that is a good thing, we should be set for fall and winter harvest :)

This week’s loot: garlic scapes, lettuce, chard, tat soi, pac choi, kohl rabi, hakuri turnips

Next week: lettuce, beet greens, scapes, another green…strawberries?

Recipes:
GARLIC SCAPE AND ALMOND PESTOMakes about 1 cup
10 garlic scapes, finely chopped
1/3 to 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (to taste and texture)
1/3 cup slivered almonds (you could toast them lightly, if you’d like)
About 1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt
Put the scapes, 1/3 cup of the cheese, almonds and half the olive oil in the bowl of a food processor (or use a blender or a mortar and pestle). Whir to chop and blend all the ingredients and then add the remainder of the oil and, if you want, more cheese. If you like the texture, stop; if you’d like it a little thinner, add some more oil. Season with salt.
If you’re not going to use the pesto immediately, press a piece of plastic against the surface to keep it from oxidizing. The pesto can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of days or packed airtight and frozen for a couple of months, by which time tomatoes should be at their juiciest.

Garlic Scape Paste
I just chop and then place my scapes in the blender with olive oil and salt then put it in the fridge and scoop it out as the “oil” for any dish…I cooked my tat soi in it last night–yum!

ROASTED KOHLRABIHands-on time: 10 minutes Time to table: 45 minutes Serves 4 (smallish servings since roasted vegetables shrink so much)
1 1/2 pounds fresh kohlrabi, ends trimmed, thick green skin sliced off with a knife, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic (garlic is optional, to my taste)
Salt
Good vinegar
Set oven to 450F. Toss the diced kohlrabi with olive oil, garlic and salt in a bowl. (The kohlrabi can be tossed with oil and seasonings right on the pan but uses more oil.) Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and put into oven (it needn’t be fully preheated) and roast for 30 – 35 minutes, stirring every five minutes after about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with a good vinegar (probably at the table so the kohlrabi doesn’t get squishy).
Quick Kohlrabi Pickles2-4 small kohlrabi bulbs, trimmed, peeled, and cut into 1/2″ cubes
Good olive oil (optional)
Rice vinegar (not sweetened, available in Asian grocery stores and some well-stocked supermarkets. If you don’t have rice vinegar, you could substitute something rather mellow – white wine or sherry vinegar, or even white vinegar with just a pinch of sugar added)
Kosher Salt
Fresh Black Pepper
Place the kohlrabi chunks in the bowl of a lidded, airtight container. Drizzle with a touch of olive oil, a good splash of vinegar, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Replace the lid and shake well. Taste and adjust seasoning. Place in fridge, shaking occasionally. They are best after they have marinated for a few hours, and will last about a week, becoming more intensely flavored but still largely retaining their lovely texture.