L ifestyle /C ulture
The Great (E)Scape
F OO D
KERI WHITE | JE FOOD COLUMNIST
SCAPES ARE HITTING the
markets now: These spring garlic
sprouts are the tender-ish greens
that shoot out of garlic bulbs. They
look like long, curly scallions but
have a garlicky flavor.

Like scallions, they can be
used raw or cooked, and you
should use both the white bulb
and green stalk portions of the
vegetable; some of the very top
of the stalk can be tough and
reedy, so discard that.

Scapes deliver a milder zing
than mature garlic cloves, but
there’s plenty of flavor to go
around. Like mature cloves,
scapes will mellow when cooked.

I have used these recently
to jazz up scrambled eggs,
mixed them with carrots to
form a mirepoix-style coating
for slow-roasted salmon, and
snipped them into both a
green salad and red salsa. I
also mashed them into a baked
potato with Icelandic yogurt for
a light, healthy, flavorful supper.

Here are some other
delicious ways to use scapes:
• Puree them into pesto, stir
them into risotto or toss
them over pasta.

• Chop and mix them with
salt, oil and vinegar to
drizzle over steak or fish.

• Shove them inside a roasting
chicken to add flavor.

• Snip them into soups either
while simmering or as a
fresh and zippy garnish.

• Stir them into tuna salad or
chicken salad for a riff on
SHOP THE
HOUSE FROM
YOUR HOME.

HOUSEOFKOSHER.COM STORE HOURS
Shop online at
Houseofkosher.com or download our
FREE HOUSE OF
KOSHER APP
215.677.8100 9806 BUSTLETON AVE.

PHILADELPHIA, PA 19115
20 MAY 6, 2021
The main thing to know
about scapes is that, like
spring, they are only here for
a short time. So enjoy them
while you can!
Scape-coated salmon
Photos by Keri White
SCAPE-COATED SALMON
Serves 2
I used lingcod in this prepara-
tion and it worked beautifully,
but any fish filet would shine in
this recipe. Just be sure to adjust
cooking time based on the size
and thickness of the pieces.

2 lingcod filets
1 wedge lemon
1 tablespoon oil
2 scapes, green and white
parts, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Shop your groceries,
meat, fish, and fresh
takeout online and
we'll deliver your
order to your door.

Strictly Kosher
the traditional onion/celery
combo. • Jazz up homemade or store-
bought hummus with a
sprinkle of chopped scapes.

• Chop them finely and mix
them with sour cream or
plain yogurt with a spritz of
lemon and a sprinkle of salt
for an epic dip.

• Drape them on top of
avocado toast.

• Schmear them in your
cream cheese and lox over
a bagel.

Heat your oven to 275
degrees F. Spritz the fish with
lemon, and sprinkle it with salt
and pepper; set it aside.

In an ovenproof skillet, heat
the oil and sauté the carrots until
they are beginning to soften,
about 6 minutes. Add the scapes,
along with a little salt and pepper,
and sauté until they are wilted
and fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat.

Move the vegetables to the
sides of pan, place the fish filets
in the center and scoop the
carrot/scape mixture over the
fish to coat it. This will keep the
fish from drying out, while also
infusing flavor. Bake the fish
JEWISH EXPONENT
Scrambled egg-scape
for about 25 minutes until just omelet, frittata or a soufflé;
cooked through.

the scapes don’t care what’s
wrapped around them.

SCRAMBLED EGG-SCAPE
Serves 1
I bashed this together for a quick,
healthy, flavorful lunch. The
scapes elevated the basic scramble
to something quite special.

I am notoriously lazy about
dishes, so I tend to just crack
the eggs into the hot skillet and
scramble them with a spatula.

But more motivated and precise
cooks may wish to crack them
into a bowl and whisk them
until fluffy. Your dishes, your
call! And if you want to make
this a little fancier, make an
2-inch piece of scape,
chopped Spray of cooking oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 eggs
In a small skillet, heat the
oil and sauté the scapes until
they are wilted and fragrant,
about 3 minutes.

Add the salt, pepper and
eggs, and mix them in the pan
to distribute the scapes evenly.

Cook to the desired doneness,
about 3 minutes for a soft-ish
texture. Serve immediately. l
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



L ifestyle /C ulture
Philly Faces: Elijah Tomaszewski
little overlap in those parts of
my identity and kept my transi-
tion to myself, but nowadays
I enjoy connecting with other
trans Jews.

P H I LLY FACES
JESSE BERNSTEIN | JE STAFF
ELIJAH TOMASZEWSKI,
29, began his Tribe 12 fellow-
ship in January. Tomaszewski’s
project is a little different
than that of the typical Tribe
12 fellow; it doesn’t revolve
around mentorship for his new
business or nonprofit.

Instead, Tomaszewski is
being mentored through the
process of writing a series of
novels. Tomaszewski, who is trans,
lives in West Philadelphia.

He studied creative writing
at Susquehanna University
and Rosemont College, and
contributes to several local
literary magazines while he
works his day job. In between,
Tomaszewski, who also writes
poetry and essays, is trying
to craft stories about trans
characters, people with “the
sort of lives that I really didn’t
see in regular, contemporary
fiction,” he said.

“I went through several
years of not really wanting to
talk about it, or feeling like it
was too difficult to talk about,”
Tomaszewski said of his own
identity as a trans man. “But
as I’m opening up more and
more, I’m realizing that this is
what I want to contribute to the
literary world.”
What do you write about?
What are you interested in?
Right now I’m finishing
up a novel about a trans
Jewish father who returns to
his southern hometown after
a decade-long absence, but
overall, my intent is to write
characters who are trans,
Jewish, or both. My under-
standing is that outside of YA
(young adult) fiction, there
aren’t a lot of trans charac-
ters outside of the standard
nonfiction transition narra-
tive, and not many of them
are Jewish as well. I’m writing
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Ari Wexler, is trans and Jewish,
and has to choose between
being comfortable and taking
a leap of faith — something I
feel we can all identify with at
I’m finishing up a novel about a trans Jewish
father who returns to his southern hometown ...

but overall, my intent is to write characters who
are trans, Jewish, or both.

Elijah Tomaszewski
characters who have that whole
life experience — being trans
is a big, intersecting part of
these characters’ lives, but it’s
only a portion of what makes
them who they are. After I
graduated with my MFA and
began seriously writing fiction,
including my novel-in-prog-
ress, I realized that I was
writing the sort of characters
and narratives that I didn’t
often see while navigating the
literary world, and I found
fiction to be a slightly better
outlet for writing parts of
my own trans and/or Jewish
experience. That representa-
tion could be what it takes for
someone to feel a little less
alone. Photo by Yael Pachino
in my joy. And in a way, my
transition gave me a different
perspective on being Jewish. I
view my transition as an act of
creation — similar to how we
make bread from wheat, I used
what I was given to change my
life for the better. Initially I saw
What are you reading these
days? As a recommendation from
my mentor from the Tribe
12 fellowship, I just finished
reading a novel by Dov Zeller,
“The Right Thing To Do At
The Time,” which is described
as, “If Jane Austen and Sholem
Aleichem schemed in an
elevator, this might just be
their pitch.” The protagonist,
some point in our lives. When I
first was starting the fellowship
back in January, I was unsure
if my work would be a little too
niche for the literary market,
but this “Pride and Prejudice”
retelling made me confident
that audiences for my work are
definitely out there. l
jbernstein@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740
Those two identities —
existing as a trans person and
as a Jewish person — how
do they affect or reflect one
another? Does one complicate
your expression of the other?
They do occasionally compli-
cate each other, especially in
gendered environments where I
can’t rely on the social reflexes of
my upbringing, and the fact that
I didn’t have a Jewish identity
when I was young. Both are parts
of my lifelong journey, which can
sometimes mean awkwardness
and uncertainty, but no human
experience is exempt from these
feelings, and I’m lucky to have
supportive friends and family
who both comfort me and share
JEWISH EXPONENT
MAY 6, 2021
21