Carole's Concoctions

Ahhhhh...it's friday and thoughts of the weekend are beginning to seep into my psyche.  Will there be enough hours to finally weed and plant my vegetable garden, get in some much needed exercise and plan a father's day celebration for Jim with his three kids.  My Dad, however, will get all my love and well wishes delivered to him through the airwaves and, of course, the phone!! His gift from me was the trip to Shelburne Farms, VT for the cheesemaking extravaganza we attended last weekend.

So what will I be concocting?  Well, it's garlic scape and strawberry season so it would be fitting have both items on the menu. As for the main course, I am thinking barbecue ribs....I'll be attempting something out of Jason Day and Aaron Chronister's book, BBQ Makes Everything Taste Better .

Here's a great recipe that I tore out of the New York Times a couple of years ago for
White Bean and Garlic Scape Dip:

3-4 garlic scapes (but I use twice as many!!)

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained

1/4 cup olive oil

ground pepper to taste

I like adding a few drops of tabasco!!

Add sliced scapes, salt, pepper and lemon juice in a food processor and process until finely chopped, then add cannelini beans and process to a rough puree.  With motor running drizzle in the olive oil.  (The recipe calls for some water but I leave it out. It suggests 2-3 Tbsp to make the mixture the consistency of a dip. I like more of a spread!) 

And, for the strawberries - how about some ice cream.  You'll need and ice cream maker. (I have a cuisinart and don't forget to put the ice cream bowl in the freezer for 12 hours or so.)

Strawberry Ice Cream:

1-2 pints of strawberries, stemmed and sliced

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup sugar - I use organic

1 cup whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine strawberries, 1/3 cup sugar and lemon juice and let "macerate" for 2 hours. Mix milk and 2/3 cup sugar with a hand blender until dissolved and add with the vanilla and heavy cream and liquid from macerated strawberries into the ice cream freezer bowl and turn on ice cream maker and churn for 25 minutes.  Then add strawberries for 5 more minutes, place in freezer-safe container and let set up in freezer for an hour or so or eat immediately for a soft-serve consistency.