Garlic By the Bundel

This week we had our very first garlic harvest! All told we harvested over 300 heads of garlic that are now safely drying and getting ready to be used in dozens of dishes. One of they best loved garlic- centric dishes in my house is cheesy roasted garlic bread. To roast garlic just cut the very top of the bulb off leaving all of the paper on. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in an oven heated to 400 degrees.

Garlic is different then many of the other veggies on the farm because it is grown as a bi-annual. Garlic needs a certain amount of chill hours to grow and is planted in fall like daffodil bulbs. After planting a thick layer of straw or mulch is put down to help protect the recently planted garlic from the harsh winter weather. I was first introduced to garlic harvest and planting when I was about ten years old at the farm where my family had a CSA share. Ever since it has remained one of my favorite jobs on the farm.

Garlic needs severel weeks to dry before it is ready for kitchen use. This helps it have a longer shelf life and more intense flavor. So keep an eye out and we will have garlic in the CSA shares in a couple weeks.

In this weeks pick up you will be getting both parsley and sage! Both parsley and sage are familiar flavors in the kitchen and have many uses. One of my favorite ways to use them is to add them to crispy home fries. Chop them up and add them right at the end of the cooking time to add a whole extra layer of flavor.

See you all on Friday!

-Farmer Sharon

This weeks pick up:

Kale, Choice of Collards or Swiss Chard, Tatsoi, Scallions, Parsley, Sage, Edible Flowers