Garlic

We harvested our garlic this past week. Garlic is planted in the fall usually around the end of October, over wintered under mulch, weeded in the spring and harvested around the 1st of July. Garlic planting is the last planting of the season and garlic harvest is the first big harvest of the next season. It always falls right in the time when we are transitioning from spring planting to summer harvest and the to-do list is extra long. But if the garlic stays in the ground too long it will begin to separate and rot. It needs a dry few days before harvest and full day of sun to get it out of the ground and into the barn to cure. I love the connection garlic gives us to the previous season, thinking of the planting in the cold with last year’s crew, connecting to the hot and humid day of harvest just after solstice. It is a cycle that keeps us grounded to season’s and it’s a day I am overwhelmed by and look forward to every year (provided the crop is good, of course).

Scenes: when the Cooking School intern, Karl brought us coffee on garlic planting day, harvest with the 2019 crew, the truck full of garlic.

The Share:

salad mix

head lettuce

beets

cabbage

napa cabbage

kale

kohlrabi

summer squash

cucumber

hakurei turnips

radishes

spring onions

fennel

radicchio

escarole

Recipe of the week:

Kohlrabi, Fennel and Blueberry Salad

Ingredients

1/2 cup sliced almonds 2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger 2 tablespoons minced shallot 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar 1 tablespoon mayonnaise 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup 1/4 cup grapeseed oil Salt and freshly ground pepper 1 1/4 pounds kohlrabi, peeled and very thinly sliced on a mandoline 1 fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced on a mandoline 2 ounces semifirm goat cheese, such as Evalon, Garrotxa or Manchester, shaved (1/2 cup) 1 cup blueberries or pitted, halved sweet cherries 2 tablespoons torn mint leaves

How to Make It

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the almonds on a pie plate and toast for about 7 minutes, until golden. Let cool.

Step 2

In a mini food processor or blender, combine the ginger, shallot, vinegar, mayonnaise, mustard, soy sauce and maple syrup and puree. With the blender on, add the grapeseed oil in a thin stream and blend until creamy. Season the dressing with salt and pepper.

Step 3

In a large bowl, toss the kohlrabi with the fennel, cheese, toasted almonds and dressing. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Add the blueberries and mint and toss gently. Serve right away.