Our packing shed at the farm is smelling fragrant these days with the scent of fresh garlic. We have now harvested all of our German Extra Hardy and Russian Red hardneck garlic. (See below for two delicious garlic recipes.)
Summer heat is bringing on the crops. We also have our first blueberries for sale this week, but the number is limited. (Remember that if they're sold out when you order, they won't appear on the list.) We still have lots of sugar snap peas for cool munching. And in the gardens our tomato plants are growing lush and have small green tomatoes on the branches. They love the high temperatures!
Here are the garlic recipes:
Garlic Butter
¼ cup butter
Crushed garlic, to taste (start with two medium cloves)
2 tsp. minced parsley (optional)
1 tsp. lemon juice (optional)
Work butter on a plate with knife or spoon until slightly soft, but not too soft. Work in crushed garlic, chopped parsley, and lemon juice. Pour off extra lemon juice; refrigerate till firm. Put a pat of garlic butter on top of hot food to serve.
Balsamic Roasted Garlic Spread
4 large heads garlic
4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp. fresh chopped rosemary
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2–3 tbsp. softened unsalted butter
Leave garlic bulbs intact, but rub excess paper skin from the outside. Cut about a half-inch off the tops of the heads. In a small bowl, combine oil, vinegar and rosemary. Put garlic and oil in a zip-close plastic bag. Let sit at room temperature for 8 hours, shaking occasionally.
Heat oven to 325°. Remove garlic from bag and place in baking dish, cut side up. Spoon oil mixture over heads. Cover tightly with foil and bake 1¼ hours. Uncover and baste; bake uncovered another 15 minutes.
Let garlic cool. Then squeeze flesh from cloves into a shallow bowl, along with juices. Mash with a fork and blend with softened butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Store covered in refrigerator up to 2 weeks. Serve gently warmed with crusty bread.
