An Average American Weeknight Supper

Actual telephone conversation:
Me: Sorry it's loud--I'm making dinner.
LA: What are you making?
Me: Broccoli and Brie risotto with chicken.
LA: Oh.  Sounds good.

LA pointed out that this isn't a normal conversation between average Americans.  I realized some years ago that a normal meal for me really isn't that normal.

I had some leftover pesto, plus cream in the fridge and a chicken breast in the freezer, so I thought dinner might be spaghetti with chicken and pesto cream sauce.  But, alas, no spaghetti, and it was raining, so walking up to the supermarket was out of the question.  I had lasagna noodles, but wasn't really feeling it.  And I'll be the first to admit that I'm all thumbs when it comes to making fresh pasta.  A quick inventory revealed arborio rice, frozen broccoli, and some left over Brie from God-knows-when.

I didn't grown up eating risotto.  I grew up on tater tot casseroles and Hamburger Helper.  My first encounter with risotto was in my own kitchen, when I tried a recipe for lemon and leek risotto, from a vegetarian cookbook I'd just purchased.  The risotto was very al dente, but the guests were polite enough to eat it all.  A short time later, I had risotto in a restaurant.  I was hooked.  I was also determined to become a risotto master.  I'm not even close, but risotto has still become one of my stand-bys.  I use it as a base for whatever is handy, and I have yet to be disappointed.  Whether or not it my risotto meets the authentic Italian standards may be up for debate, but it's definitely not average American.

Food for thought:  What kind of person tells her family members that her spouse has died when he really hasn't?  On that note, I'd like to give a shout out to Uncle Bill, who, despite reports to the contrary, didn't meet his maker a year ago.  Good to have you back, Uncle Bill!

That's a Lot of Garlic

I'm always eager to try a new food.  I'd stumbled across a couple of recipes for garlic scape pesto, and, never having heard of garlic scapes before, I knew I had to try it.  I love pesto and I love garlic.  What could go wrong?

The garlic scape is actually the stem of the garlic plant.  We most commonly eat the garlic bulb, but the stems are edible as well.  Garlic scapes look remarkably similar to the green part of scallions, and I actually got them confused with scallions on more than one occasion.  I'm sure I'd seen garlic scapes many times, only I assumed they were funny looking onions.

After reading the recipes, I decided to seek out the garlic scapes.  I didn't have to go very far--I found them at the farmers' market.  I duly paid the price for a bunch of the scapes, then put them in the refrigerator.  Each day I would look at them and think, "I need to make pesto today."  But I always had an excuse.  After several days, I finally had the now-or-never moment and made the pesto.

The pesto is very similar to normal basil pesto.  I used the garlic scapes, walnuts (they're what I had), grated Parmesan cheese, salt, and olive oil.  Very straightforward.  I put it all into the food processor and let it go until it was the right consistency.  I then ate it with some cooked pasta.

The verdict?  I thought I loved garlic, but apparently I don't LOVE garlic.  The pesto was very garlicky.  So much so that I couldn't even finish all the pasta.  I must've had garlic breath for three days.  It was garlicky and pesto-y, but I don't believe I'll be having it again.  Garlic scapes are one product of spring and summer that I won't be looking forward to next year.

If you think that there's no such thing as too much garlic and you'd like to try the pesto anyway, click here for the recipe that I (sort of) followed.