So when I got back from vacation expecting everything I lovingly planted to have wilted and died from what I can only describe as pizza oven heat, I was surprised to find pretty much all the veggies intact, but wow, did the garlics stand up and scream at me.
I know you're supposed to cut the tops of the garlic bulbs when they start to look like, well, what they look like above. But I did not know how tasty the tops could be sautéed in oil and butter. It was a side dish that my wife raved about for days later. Needless to say, I was very happy to have pleased her with something that she skeptically eyed when I first brought them in from the garden.
"What are those?" she said.
"Garlic scapes," I said.
"OKaaaaaaaayyyy," she said.
"I'm going to sautée them," I said cheerfully, but apparently not too convincingly.
"Is that all we're having?" she asked.
"Oh no, no" I said. I had a backup plan. Not to worry.
I had never sautéed scapes before so I looked up some nifty recipes, none of which I was too happy with. So, I improvised.
A little butter, a little olive oil, some shallots and of course garlic in a pan, add the scapes and hope for the best. A few minutes later, a miracle occurred. I plated them, poured us some wine (she's the white; I'm the red) and scarfed them up.
"Delicious," she said. "How did you know how to cook these?"
"Aww, c'mon," I said. "Easy."
And with that, a new summer side dish was discovered and my reputation remained intact.
A couple of weeks later, I harvested half of my garlic (the other half is still cooking in the ground) and lovingly adorned my shed with them, leaving behind the indescribable scent of drying garlic.
Life is good.