The Upper Peninsula is always a bit behind the times compared to the rest of the country. Just turn on the radio or walk into one of the restaurants along Highway 2 and you’ll think you stepped back into the 1980s. (I’m pretty sure the plastic flower centerpieces dotting Yooper restaurant tables are still there from the 1960s.)

The weather here is also behind the rest of the country, which means our garden is behind most folks’ gardens. So, I’m remiss in reminding garlic growers to pick their scapes — those curly little stems that grow out of the leaves. Don’t let that flower bloom. The garlic bulb needs that energy to grow. Pick ’em when you see ’em and cook with ’em. They are an absolute delicacy available only to garlic growers (and at farmers markets with resourceful vendors). Their flavor can be zippy, but is more fresh and mild than rotting, old, store-bought garlic. So the “stink” doesn’t stick.

Saute them and use them like garlic or make this fantastic garlic scape pesto and use it on pasta or as a sandwich spread or condiment. Since my hubby calls me the “condiment queen” I plan on freezing this stuff so I can have it year-round.

These amounts are estimates, adjust accordingly based on your harvest:

• 1/3 Lb garlic scape stems
• 3 Tbs lemon or lime juice
• 1 cup parmesan
• 1/3 olive oil — or whatever it takes to get a smooth texture
• salt to taste

Mix it in the food processor or blender. So. Damn. Good. I feel kind of bad for you folks that will never be able to try garlic scape pesto.

Sauteed’ garlic scapes and garlic scape pesto was the perfect compliment to the walleye cheeks given to us by a fishermen friend. He compared the cheeks to scallops, but I’d say they are more like chicken nuggets. Maybe I over cooked them? They didn’t taste fishy, which is a big plus in my option. Served them over spinach from our garden and we had a totally local gourmet meal.

Thanks to my farmers’ market connections, I’m getting the inside scoop on Yooper cuisine. It isn’t fancy and it sometimes sounds weird, but it is local, it hasn’t been packaged and shipped half-way around the world and it makes a meal into an adventure.