September 23, 2011
Hi All,
This week our garlic seed arrived! Garlic is one of our favorite things to grow; we often say if we could grow only
two things, it would be garlic and kale. Our love for growing garlic started while we were apprentices at Quail
Hill Farm, where the yearly garlic crop is held in utmost esteem. We took our love for this very special
vegetable/herb/magical allium with us to Amber Waves and began planting garlic of our own in the fall of 2009.
In the last two seasons we’ve harvested over 2,000 lbs of garlic and this year we’re planning to plant 300 lbs,
which should yield a 1,500 lb harvest in July of 2012. We’re striving for a sizeable harvest next year, since this
year’s stockpile t has been reduced to about 100 heads!
A head of garlic is formed by planting a single clove – the clove overwinters underground, cloning itself into an
entire bulb by the next summer. We set aside the largest heads of garlic to use as seed for the next season, this
year we were able to save 100 lbs of our own garlic seed (about 700 heads). We ordered an additional 200 pounds
of seed-quality garlic from Mountain View Farm in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Over the last couple seasons
hardneck garlic seed has been difficult to find due to the prevalence of seed contaminated with the garlic bloat
nematode, a microscopic pest that lives in the cloves and destroys the plant. The shortage of healthy garlic seed
has driven the price that is available is now incredibly expensive ($14/pound) but we got ordered 200 lbs of seed
from Mountain View Farm just before they ran out for the season at a great price, phew! Our next step is to break
apart the heads into individual cloves – a tedious but therapeutic task. We will also begin preparing the field for a
Halloween planting deadline with a healthy amount of compost.
This week’s recipe uses scallions, one of garlic’s cousins in the allium family. These delicious scallion pancakes
were made for us by a farm member early in the season, we hope you like them as much as we do. We’ve also
included a recipe for Delicata Squash and Gruyere Dip.
Enjoy!
Your Farmers,
Amanda & Katie
In your basket this week:
-Hardneck garlic
-Genovese Basil
-Parsley
-Italian Kale
-Lettuce
-Mini sweet bell peppers
-Mixed hot peppers
-Eggplant
-White Scallions (see recipe)
-Hakurei Turnips
-Ruby Streaks Mustard Greens
-Mizuna Salad Greens
-Tatsoi (Asian Spinach)
-Baby Bok Choy
-Delicata Winter Squash (see recipe)
-Pick your own cherry tomatoes
-Cut your own flowers
-2 Amagansett Baguettes
Coming Soon:
Beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts
Delicata Squash and Gruyere Dip Recipe
www.thekitchn.com
Faith Durand, November 2007
Delicata squash is an heirloom variety with a striped skin and buttery taste that surpasses acorn and
butternut in flavor. It's less watery, too, so blended with Gruy're cheese it comes out so smooth and
creamy that we couldn't stop eating it. We added a little milk to thin it and served with crostini or tortilla
chips. Try adding a little squash to your appetizer lineup - we managed to preserve one half of the shell
after roasting and scraping, and we served the puree piled up inside.
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Delicata Squash and Gruy're Dip
1 Delicata squash
About 1 cup of finely grated Gruy're cheese
1/2 cup milk or cream
Salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika or cayenne
Heat the oven to 350'F. Cut the squash in half and scrape out the seeds. Turn the shells upside
down in a pie pan, cover with foil and roast for about 45 minutes or until very soft. (You can also
steam them in the microwave.)
Scoop out the flesh while still warm and blend with the cheese, milk, and seasonings. Adjust
seasonings to taste, and warm up again in the oven or microwave if the cheese does not melt
completely.
Chinese Scallion Pancakes
http://appetiteforchina.com/recipes/chinese-scallion-pancakes-photo-photo-recipe/
(great step by step photos available at this link)
Ingredients:
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1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (cake flour also works, but lacks elasticity)
1 teaspoon yeast dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water + 1 teaspoon sugar to activate yeast
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup finely chopped scallions
1 teaspoon salt
Preparation:
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Sift flour into 2 equal portions into separate bowls. In the first bowl, slowly add the yeast-water,
mixing with a spatula, until a dough forms.
In the second bowl, sprinkle the salt into the flour. Slowly pour in 1/2 cup of the boiling hot
water while vigorously stirring (this "cooks" the dough.) Add more water and keep stirring until
a rough dough forms. (If you accidentally add too much water and the dough is too soft, add a
little more flour.) Mix in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Roll the doughs out on a lightly floured
surface and knead them together. Cover with a damp towel and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes.
On the same floured surface, roll out the risen dough. Form into a 1-inch thick log, and slice into
Ping Pong-ball sized segments. With a rolling pin, roll each segment out to 4" or 5" circles.
Lightly brush the top of each circle with vegetable oil. Sprinkle over with chopped scallions.
Roll up the circle, semi-tightly, making sure the scallions stay in place.
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Now, roll it again lengthwise until it forms a coiled ball.
Turn the spiral side face-up, then flatten again into a circle with the rolling pin. Place on a plate
and repeat with the remaining dough until you have a stack of scallion-studded spiral patties.
(Whatever you don’t cook immediately can be frozen for future use.)
Heat a flat-bottom skillet on medium high heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon cooking oil.
Working in batches, pan-fry the pancakes until golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
Serve warm
The most important part of the pancakes is the dipping sauce!
We use (these proportions are estimated – just keep mixing until it tastes right!):
 2 parts Soy Sauce
 1 part Vinegar (either Apple Cider or Rice)
 1 part Sesame Oil
 Fresh grated ginger
A variation on the vinegar is using lemon, which gives a really fresh/vibrant flavor. This Asian fusion
dressing is also delicious served with Amber Waves wheat berries and chopped greens.