Sunny times and garlic scrapes! This Sunday the market saw a marked increase in the colors and ingredients available to the foraging masses. The newest addition to the produce cornucopia are garlic scrapes. Garlic scrapes, pictured above in the middle, are the fresh tender sprouts of the Allium sativum plant. They have a more mild and less aggressive garlic flavor than the cloves themselves. You can grill, stir fry, pickle, blanch, roast, or do pretty much anything else to them. Treat them like asparagus that tastes like garlic. I love them, and like all great ingredients, your window for enjoyment is small. They should be around for about three weeks, so get them while the getting is good.

Next Step Produce had Bok Choi and other asian veggies that were vibrant green, in addition to having rainbow colored Swiss Chard and last, but not least, the best looking and cheapest garlic scrapes. Toigo Orchards have been bringing great looking hothouse tomatoes for the last couple weeks, but this week they were finally offering quality seconds. That means "second quality" tomatoes. These are tomatoes that are either too ripe or have a blemish. They are a quarter of the price of the regular tomatoes and are just as good. They are very well suited for gazpacho, tomato sauce, and sandwiches. If you want perfect appearance, they aren't for you, but if all you care about is flavor, they are a great buy.

Gardeners Gourmet has two more weeks of sweet pea shoots till they have to be left to grow into peas, so get them now. I love them in salads, sauted lightly into pastas, or on a burger. Their tarragon was looking especially green and although the price of a bunch of herbs has risen by 50 cents, the bunches are bigger, so it's a wash. Clare Seibert brought something called quark.  Think cream cheese meats ricotta, and she adds garlic.  It delicious.  I had quite the entourage at the market this week with my brother Zack and his girlfriend Claireas well as Alexandra and Sarah in tow. Zack started eating a chocolate croissant from Bonaparte Breads and immediately had powdered sugar all over his face. The large group of silly people made for an amusing morning.

Next week I'm giving a demo at the Dupont Market. I will be making baby BLT's sandwiches, gazpacho soup shots, and mini strawberry shortcakes. Please come and eat my food!! Plus I'll have a lot of recipes based on ingredients available at the market that day. So come already!

At the request of Clare Seibert, today I'll cover some garlic scrape recipes:

Pickled Garlic Scrapes

Ingredients

• 1 pound Garlic Scrapes, cut into 3 inch pieces
• 2 cups Vinegar
• 1/4 cup Sugar
• 2 Tbl Salt
• 1 Tbl Peppercorns

Methods

• Combine Vinegar, Sugar, Salt, and Peppercorns in a sauce pot and bring to a boil.
• Pour this over Garlic Scrapes.
• Let sit till room temperature.
• Cover and place in the fridge.
• Then you eat it, then you smile.

Grilled Garlic Scrapes

Ingredients

• 1 pound Garlic Scrapes
• 2 Tbl EVOO
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 Lemon

Methods

• Heat grill till over 500 degrees.
• Toss whole Garlic Scrapes with EVOO with Salt and Pepper.
• Grill for 8 minutes or so, till grill marked and tender.
• Then you eat it, then you smile.

Blanched Scrape Salad with Candied Shallots

Ingredients

• 1 pound Garlic Scrapes, blanched and cooled.
• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1/2 pound Shallots, whole and peeled

Methods

• Combine Sugar and Water.
• Bring to a boil.
• Pour over Shallots.
• Let cool.
• Slice Shallots.
• Toss with blanched Garlic Scrapes.
• Season with Salt and Pepper.
• Then you eat it, then you smile.