wedding weekend in Madison.

This past weekend I was in Madison, WI to celebrate my good friend, Kate's, wedding. It was a wonderful weekend of merriment amongst my dearest friends, as well as the happy couple's families. Kate's family is always so welcoming, and every meal at their home looks like it came straight from a magazine. Some highlights from this stay were a panzanella salad, portabella burgers with caramelized onions and Wisconsin cheddar, and flat-as-can-be crunchy chocolate chip cookies. So simple, so unbelievably delicious.

When in Madison my friends and I head straight for the Dane County Farmer's Market. It is an entity all in itself. Marketgoers peacefully and patiently make their way around the capital's square in a steady stream, as if on a conveyor belt. Customers can hop in and out of the stream, but the crowd is always moving. This visit I picked up some tayberry jam (tayberries are a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry), a vegan mountain cookie chock-full of oats, nuts, and chocolate, and a big bunch of scapes--the flowering portion of the head of garlic. The market was abounding with scapes, as were many of the flower arrangements garnishing the tables at the wedding. I was fascinated by the curly greenery so I picked up a bunch to bring home with me.

Today I pulled out the scapes and looked around for recipes that would highlight this new plant. In the end I decided to saute them up and add them to a fresh summer pasta dish. Cut up in the pasta, the scapes resembles skinny asparagus stalks, but tasted vastly different. From the garlic plant, the scapes had a faint garlic flavor with a gentle bite to them. I was not sure about cooking time so mine were still a bit tough. Make sure to cook them long enough to release the stalky-stringiness. I'll definitely be trying them again before the season ends!