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Local Food Journey

Field Notes: Summer Garlic and a Recipe for Pepper Packets

Posted by Erin McKinney on 08/02 at 04:18 PM

Garlic Bulbs from the Field. Photo Credit Erin McKinney.

It’s the middle of summer, and that means it’s time for garlic! From spring garlic to garlic scapes, and fresh garlic to stored bulbs… it’s one of our favorite year-round crops. And now is the time to hurry up and get it out of the ground and hang it to cure.

A digging fork is the perfect tool to safely loosen the soil around the bulb. We make piles of this storable, versatile vegetable, then bunch them by the dozen. We hang them on the beams of the barn so they get a lot of air flow, and then store them in a temperature controlled space until late winter.

We also size the bulbs up, saving the largest ones for our fall planting stock. The beds will be laid for next year’s crop before we know it, and ideally they’ll be setting roots by November.

The additional abundance of beans, eggplants, peppers, and zucchini during this time of year is timed perfectly for hot weather when everybody wants to grill out instead of standing around in a hot kitchen. Here’s a delicious recipe from Steve Spanelli for Yellow Bean, Pepper, and Potato Packets. It’s the perfect complement to any meal in the middle of summer!

Yellow Bean, Pepper and Potato Packet

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp malt vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 lb yellow beans, cut 2 inches long
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
4-6 new potatoes, sliced
Salt and pepper

Directions
Combine oil, Dijon, honey, vinegar, and garlic in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients and toss well. Preheat grill. Arrange vegetables on half a sheet of heavy duty foil. Fold foil over and tightly seal by folding the edges together. Grill over medium heat for about 15 minutes, rotating the packet to ensure even cooking.