Haight of Flavor: May 2026

As summer nears, we are finally entering the abundant fruit season! If you shop at farmers markets or have been embarking on a seasonal eating journey, worry no more – a wealth of fruit is coming back to brighten our lives. In the meantime, let’s all delight in the transitional foods that are only really available (or at their flavor peak) during this last spring month.

(Divis Famer’s Market: Sundays from 9am - 1pm in the DMV parking lot on Fell/Oak - open year round

Loquat

Indigenous to southeast China, the loquat is a small and sweet fruit with yellow/orange skin, and it contains a large brown seed. When fresh, they are sweet and can be easily peeled (though the skin is edible too). Use them in a sweet treat or just eat them as they are!

Rhubarb

Botanically a vegetable, rhubarb was reclassified as a fruit to lower import tax rates, which is likely what led to its most common pairing with strawberries. Don’t let that fool you though – rhubarb is also delicious in savory dishes too, like soups, stews, and salsas!

Garlic scapes

There are two main groups of garlic – “soft” neck and “stiff” neck. Most commercially available garlic is soft neck, as it is less labor intensive and stores better. The less common stiff neck is thought to be closer to the wild garlic ancestor and has more flavor. In early spring, stiff neck garlic will send up flower stalks called “scapes”, and to keep the plant’s energy concentrated in making a garlic bulb rather than flowering, the scapes must be trimmed. These are what you can buy at the market! The garlic flavor is mild, almost like a blend of garlic and green onion, but the overall taste is quite strong. They can be used diversely – stir fried like green beans, roasted and added to a pasta dish, used as the “scallion” in a scallion pancake or as a pesto:

Garlic Scape Pesto

• 150 grams of garlic scapes (9 - 12 scapes – smaller scapes (younger) have a milder flavor)

• 44 grams (~⅓ cup) of nuts – pine nuts, walnuts, cashews, or sunflower seeds

• 40 grams (~⅓ cup) freshly grated parmesan cheese

• Half of a lemon, juiced

• Pinch of salt

• 70 - 100 grams (¼ - ⅓ cup) of olive oil

• ½ cup fresh basil (optional)

Trim garlic scapes so that only the curly green part remains. Chop scapes roughly to get them smaller, then put into a blender or food processor. Pulse a couple of times to break them down even further.

Add the nuts of your choosing and blend for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the container.

Add cheese, lemon juice, salt, and basil if you’re using it, and blend together. All ingredients should combine, but you don’t want to go so far that the texture becomes a mush. Scrape down the container again.

With the blender running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, continuing to process until all the ingredients are incorporated and the pesto has reached the desired consistency (this should take around 1 minute).

Store the pesto in a covered container in the fridge and enjoy within a week or freeze in bags. You can even use an ice cube tray to freeze pesto into smaller, more ready-to-use amounts. Enjoy!