Garlic Scape Pesto & Ricotta Muffins #MuffinMonday

These savory muffins are flavored with garlic scape pesto & ricotta cheese. They bake up quickly for an easy bread to serve alongside pasta, chicken, or fish.

Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

Ever make a main dish and think at the last moment, "you know, some hot bread would be great with this"? That's one of the reasons I like muffins--they come together quickly (as in, thrown together while an entree is baking) and usually require just pantry ingredients. Simply pop them into the already hot oven and a few minutes later you've got yourself a hot bread to accompany your meal.  Take that, yeast breads!

I envisioned these muffins alongside a plate of lasagna, spaghetti & meatballs, or a crock pot pizza casserole where the pesto-ricotta combination can enhance the entree. They'd be terrific with my Pesto Ricotta Baked Swai recipe or my Chicken Spinach Artichoke Pesto Pasta recipe. When I made them I was just craving a savory quick bread I could slather in buttery spread and snarf down while standing in the kitchen with my wiener dog, Vincent, at my feet catching the crumbs. True story! These muffins assuaged the craving.

I was not interested in having a full pan of muffins to feed a larger group--I just wanted enough for our family--so I filled my muffin cups much fuller than usual. The resulting large muffins took a few more minutes to bake, but Vincent and I didn't mind. This recipe could be stretched into a dozen if you make them smaller than I did.

the wet ingredients

Seasonal eaters will delight in the inclusion of garlic scape pesto in this recipe. If you know what it is and you've got some--go for it. If you're not sure where in the grocery store you'd buy garlic scape pesto, let me give you a Top Tip: it's not there. Use a prepared pesto instead, and check out this Garlic Scape Recipe Round Up to learn more about the wonders of garlic scapes.

Garlic Scape and Goat Cheese Omelette

This vegetarian omelette is stuffed with garlic scapes, parsley, and creamy goat cheese for a fresh Spring flavor using what's growing right now.

Yes, the tomatoes are local--from my friend's CSA. The pancakes? From the freezer section of the grocery store. 

Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

Time for a reality check. I find eating locally and seasonally hardest right around now. Loads of produce is in its active growing phase, but there's precious little produce ready to harvest. I've exhausted the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve in the corner of my cold basement. There's a continually replenished supply of empty canning jars coming out of the dishwasher and hanging around the counter, awaiting transport downstairs. I'm starting to see space in the fruit and vegetable freezer, yet I'm sick of using the frozen produce I put up last year.

I want fresh. I want vibrant. I want green!

Enter this simple meal. Since we get local eggs year round from the farmer's market, an omelette is a great Go To entree no matter the time of day. It's a simple matter of popping out to the garden to pick some parsley and a garlic scape which adds a bit of crunch, color, and flavor to the filling. I finished it off with a bit of creamy goat cheese because--magical markdown stickers, yo.

What's a garlic scape, you ask? I'm glad to enlighten--it's the flowering portion of a head of garlic. Happily for all involved (as someone who's been growing her annual garlic supply for about a decade, I'll be both a producer and a consumer here) we producers and consumers of garlic would rather have a fat garlic bulb than another pretty allium flower in the garden bed. So we cut off the twisty flower stalk and guess what happens? The plant puts its energy into growing a bigger bulb. This is truly a win-win situation--we get mild garlic flavored scapes now, and more garlic to harvest later. Farmers can sell both the scapes and the harvested garlic. How awesome is that?

Grilled Vegetable Enchiladas

These vegetarian enchiladas are stuffed with eggplant, peppers, and summer squash. Make dinner prep quick by using prepared sauce and previously grilled vegetables. While it's baking you can toss a salad and a healthy dinner is done.

Follow me | Pinterest | Instagram | Facebook

It's all about balance. Last week I shared a recipe for Salsa Verde Pork Tacos. Today I'm going to swing over to the other end of the Foucault pendulum and share a vegetarian recipe for grilled vegetable enchiladas. If I were an organized, Type A, person I'd keep track of the meals our family actually eats [vs a meal plan which I may or may not keep up with . . . . squirrel!]. I would bet that our meals these days are close to 60-40 in favor of vegetarian meals. With a spouse who will only eat meat if it's from small, local farms, it's easier to prepare one or two large batches of meat-containing meals (soup/stew, casserole, or meatballs & spaghetti sauce) and let the kids eat leftovers when they aren't interested in the vegetarian option.

I feel compelled to use the beginning of a new paragraph to point out that this meal is not finished on the grill. It starts on the grill to be sure, but one of my 5 tips & tricks for feeding my family from the farm share is to put up the abundance during the season. Grilling and freezing vegetables is one way I feed my family locally-grown foods year round, and if you've got the freezer space it's another tool in your kitchen repertoire.

You know I couldn't let the run up to Cinco de Mayo go by without an enchilada recipe. I first tried homemade enchiladas at a baby shower in Illinois when I was new to the Air Force, and that opened my eyes to the realization that enchiladas are NOT just for restaurants. Once I got into making them, I realized that enchiladas are a terrific way to incorporate vegetables into my family's meals. I've got a Clickable Collage of Enchilada Recipes here.