My son Nick brought me a pile of garlic scapes, which are the tough stalks of the garlic plant. He suggested we make a pesto out of it, which we have done and enjoyed with pasta and pizza. This is an example of the general principle that tasty pesto-like mixtures can be made with similar ingredients substituting for the basil, pine nuts and parmesan of the traditional pesto. This was adapted from a recipe in the New York Times

1 cup garlic scapes

¼ cup pumpkin seeds

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup grated romano cheese

¼ cup fresh basil

Process the ingredients in order in a food processor. The garlic scapes may take quite a while before they are reduced to a finely chopped mush. Complete this step before adding the other ingredients. Pulse each ingredient in turn until well combined. This can be used like traditional pesto and has a pleasant herbal garlic taste.