Garlic Scapes - Why To Cut and How To Cook

At heart, I am a skeptical, lazy gardener. I question old-school farming practices, especially if they require me to work harder. I want evidence that I should do this or that to make my plants happy.

Every year I test a few traditional garden concepts, like removing tomato suckers, to find out whether they really benefit the plant's production. (I find no evidence that removing suckers is anything but suckers' work.) Two years ago, I used my garlic patch as a trial for the standard practice of removing the garlic scape to encourage bulb production.

Should You Cut Scapes?

Garlic scapes are the flower stalk of the garlic plant. The theory behind removing them is that by taking away the flower bud, the plant will put more energy into bulb production. Look below to see the difference between garlic with scapes removed on the right and those allowed to flower on left of plants grown in the same location and with same growing practices.

Clearly, scapes to inhibit bulb production. When removed, the garlic produces healthier, bigger bulbs. Because the scapes are edible, the gardener is rewarded for their work of removing the scape with a tasty food.

How To Eat Garlic Scapes

The garlic scape stalk is a dense cylinder of garlic-flavored goodness. At this time of year, I stop buying garlic and use chopped up fresh scapes for all my garlic needs. I add them to stir fry, soups, stocks, and pickles.

Garlic scapes are traditionally made into pesto by pureeing the scape with fresh herbs, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Garlic scape pesto can be used as a sauce for pasta, spread for sandwiches, or mixed with sour cream for a dip.

Store scapes in the fridge for up to two weeks. Alternatively, put freshly-cut ends in a container of water and keep at room temperature for a few days where you can enjoy the shapes. As a last resort, give one to your child to use as a magic wand or a sword! Lil, seen here a few years ago, love to play with scapes.

If you don't grow your own garlic but want to experiment with scapes, visit your local farmers' market. Farmers are only too happy to sell their edible plant pickings. Come see me at the Swainway/Northridge booth at Clintonville this weekend for organic Ohio scapes.

Got Roots? Columbus Home Ec Does!

The theme of February's Home Ec gathering was Got Roots? The tasting table in Columbus this month included a delightful variety of roots and preparations, showing off just how adaptable this vegetable family is.

We were treated to home-grown sunchokes aka Jerusalem artichokes from Como Yarden, served roasted with other roots in a home-grown pepper spice. I pickled the last of Swainway Urban Farm's sweet carrots harvested from snow-covered low tunnels. The roots section of my seed box for this year's garden is large because so many kinds can grow year-round with season extension techniques.

Kate once again included a foraged ingredient in her contribution. She found dead nettle greens to incorporate into homemade potato ravioli. Foraging is another way to eat fresh local food year-round!

Roots brought out the creative side in several cooks. Nick made Square Roots, punny square tarts topped with shaved beets and carrots. Zane and Hannah made radish salt and a carved fish to dip in it. Liz took beets in an entirely new direction for me by roasting them with honey, soy sauce, and sesame seeds.

Zane also contributed carrot syrup made by roasting, pureeing, and straining carrots. We tasted it in soda water and cocktails. Though ReHab was unable to make Zane's 'Orange Lady', he recommends shaking the syrup (1/2 oz) with egg white, gin (2 oz), and lemon juice (1/2 oz) at home.

Skip over to Well Preserved to see how our cohorts in Toronto showed their roots.

Home Ec is a fun, creative way to conclude a month of cooking. Won't you join us in March? We'll gather at ReHab Tavern at 8 pm on March 25 with a theme to be announced in a week on Kate's blog, Kate On The Way.

Bison Jerky - A High Protein Snack {Recipe}

Jerky. This unattractive but nutritionally dense snack is something my family often neglects for months at a time. Then we'll remember and binge on homemade meat treats again.

Jerky appeals to the current paleo, low-carb, and low-fat diets. It's also free of most allergens and simple to make without extra equipment; we made it for many years in the oven before adopting the neglected dehydrator living in my parents' basement. Like many good things, jerky takes some time but not much active interaction. You simply cut the meat, marinate overnight, and dry the next day.

Lower fat meats work best for jerky. Turkey jerky, made from a whole turkey breast, is one of our favorites. This time around we used bison from Ohio Bison Farm for a beefy flavor.

Cutting the meat is the most skill-intensive step. The goal is evenly thin pieces that will dry in the same amount of time. Be patient and unafraid to use a meat tenderizer if necessary.

Whether you cut with or against the grain is up to you. Cutting with will result in a chewier product, against is more tender but may fall apart in a finely grained cut of meat.

The marinade does contribute to preservation but is not critical. You can make totally unseasoned jerky if you wish. We find that a balance of acid from vinegar or lemon juice, salt, a small bit of oil, and spices makes the best flavor. The two recipes below are ones we honed after a decade of experimentation. Feel free to tweak them to your tastes or ingredient availability.

Dehydration provides the preservative effect. The USDA recommends starting the drying process by heating the meat to 160 degrees F and then dehydrating at 140 degrees or the lowest temperature your oven will allow. Our dehydrator has a maximum temperature of 145 degrees F which is what we've always used.

Store jerky in a glass jar or other air-tight container in a cool dry place like a kitchen cupboard for up to two months. You may also freeze jerky.

The whole family will be at the Clintonville Farmers' Market this Saturday, January 26, from 10:30 - 12:30 drying and sampling jerky. Stop in to shop for local foods and talk to us!

Bison Jerky Makes about 30 large pieces to fill quart jar Time: 2 days, 30 minutes active

1 pound bison roast per marinade recipe below; our four layer dehydrator can fit 2 pounds

Teriyaki 1/3 cup soy sauce (use wheat-free for a gluten-free product) 3 tablespoons rice vinegar 2 teaspoons honey or granulated sugar 2 tablespoons water 10 grinds black pepper 1 teaspoon ground dried ginger 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 tablespoon olive oil dash Sriracha (optional)

OR

Down East 2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon olive oil 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1. Slice bison roast into very thin (1/8 inch) pieces. Pound uneven pieces thin with a meat tenderizer. 2. Mix all ingredients for one of the marinades and place in non-reactive glass or plastic pan. 3. Add jerky to pan, mix and cover. Marinate in refrigerator 24 hours. Stir once during this resting period. 4. Place meat in a single layer in a dehydrator or on cooling racks settled on cookie sheets. Dry at 145 degrees F or in a very low oven (as low as yours goes, or 200 degrees F with the door ajar) for 5-8 hours or until jerky is dry throughout and yields no moisture when broken in two. 5. Allow to cool. Store in an airtight container for up to two months.

Five Reasons to Join a CSA & Four Recommendations {Friday Five}

I appear to be cursed by evil computer spirits - my brand new laptop, to replace a laptop that died in November, stopped functioning this week. I was prepared to write about our first venison, food not lawns, and winter chickens this week. Instead, because I am sharing time on the family computer, you get a (relatively) quick and dirty post. Be back soon...I hope?

The CSA (Community Support Agriculture) model is one that most people shopping the farmers' are familiar with: for an annual price paid to the farmer, you pick up a weekly share of the harvest. Though it may seem early to think about summer tomatoes, farmers are pouring over seed catalogs and CSAs are already filling.

Five Reasons to Join a CSA

1) CSA shares include the cream of the crop. Farmers truly want to satisfy their customers and usually choose the best produce for their loyal CSA customers. You'll get the freshest picked, highest quality selection every week.

2) No worries about selling out or cash. Thanks to growing demand for local foods, many farmers sell out of their most popular items. A CSA guarantees you the primo vegetables without concern about the timing of pickup or having enough cash to make your purchases. Sleep in - your CSA share will be available.

3) Healthier eating. It's harder to throw away a vegetable that's languished when you've seen the farmers' well-worn hands and noticed their sleepy eyes. You feel obliged to eat or preserve the food more than when you buy anonymously-raised produce at the grocery. Usually, this results in incorporating more vegetables into your diet, which is always beneficial.

4) The varied selection is a culinary challenge. Because CSA farmers know they must have something to share every week, they plant a wide variety of crops. If there wasn't enough rain in a given week for fat peas, the share will include daikon radishes. For a curious eater or experienced cook, this mystery bag of ingredients is a way to expand your cooking methods and palate, all while appreciating the challenges nature throws at farmers. There are no meal planning ruts for CSA shareholders because every week contains a new variety of vegetables.

5) A CSA purchase provides valuable stability to an otherwise manic business. The farmers I know are truly working for a love of earth and good food, not a love of money. The cost of land, equipment, labor, soil, and seeds is barely enough to allow for a modest income, and what does come in is usually highly seasonal. Operating a CSA allows farmers to earn income when they most need it in the beginning of the season for start-up costs and provides a guarantee that some or most of their produce will go to willing customers.

Central Ohio 2013 CSA Recommendations

Sippel Family Farm - I bought produce from Ben and Lisa all summer last year and their food is top notch. All grown on their farm, the vegetables and fruit (apples!) are produced without synthetic chemicals through smart seed selection, crop rotation, use of compost, and meticulous labor. They offer a full share for $680 (can be split into five payments) and pickup locations in Clintonville, Worthington, Westerville or the farm. You can see a bit of the farm in my Kokoborrego Cheese Tour.

 Bird's Haven Farms - Located in Granville, Ohio, Bird's Haven is run by a family of well-educated young farmers backed by the experience of their parents. Bryn and Lee, brother and sister, grow everything they sell (ask farmers about this - some supplement with auction produce) using sustainable practices like high tunnels, hand-weeding, compost, and physical weed suppression. Their CSA offers a stunning array of options from a small 11-week share of produce for $208.55 to a 'little bit more' full 21-week share for $550.96 with coffee, bread, eggs, cheese, meat, and grains optional add-on from other local businesses. Pickups are available in Granville, Bexley, Westerville, New Albany, or The Limited offices. Last year I picked the best strawberries of the season at Bird's Haven and am still hoarding their berries I froze.

Sunny Meadows Flower Farm - In a twist of the CSA concept, Sunny Meadows offers a frequent buyer card. For $120, you get 11 $12 bouquets good at any market. This flexible system offers the same stability to growers Gretel and Steve but with more wiggle room for those who don't want to commit to a weekly pickup. Their beautiful, heirloom-variety flowers are grown sustainably in south central Ohio. They're offering a gift bag of Gretel's soap and herbal tea to those who purchase before markets open in April!

Swainway Urban Farm - This list would be incomplete without the farm I work with. We offer organic mushrooms and microgreens year-round with select field vegetables grown in Clintonville. Our winter CSA is already in full swing and not accepting new subscribers. We are working on a summer offering that will appeal to those who like to sleep in on Saturday mornings, as our mushrooms usually sell out within the first two hours. Here's my Swainway tour from 2011.

Have I convinced you to shop around for CSAs? Or are you already a subscriber?

Swiss With No Holes - How Cheese is Made At Pearl Valley {Factory Tour}

Do you love knowing what goes on behind the scenes? I do. Factory tours and 'How It's Made' type shows bring out the geek in me, especially when they relate to food. Naturally, I was eager to take the tour of Pearl Valley Cheese Company during my recent Ohio Dairy Adventure. I wanted to see how a 'big' cheese maker compared to the much smaller Laurel Valley, Kokoborrego, and Great Hill creameries I visited in the past.

Chuck Ellis, a fourth generation cheese maker, shared about his creamery. In 1928, Swiss immigrant Ernest Stalder blew a whistle daily to let local cow farmers know that he was beginning to make cheese and needed their milk. He produced one 200 pound wheel of Swiss cheese each day and returned the whey to the farmers to feed animals.

Pearl Valley Cheese Company grew over the years and now makes 25,000 pounds of cheese in eleven varieties daily. The company buys milk from eighty farms. Ten pounds of milk is required to make one pound of cheese which means Pearl Valley processes about a million pounds of milk every four days!

Milk arrives by truck and is tested for pathogens and antibiotics before filling large silos. A glycol cooling solution circulates the tank so the milk stays cool. From the silos, milk travels to a pasteurizer which heats the products to 168 degrees F for 16 seconds before being rapidly cooled and separated. The seperator allows cheese makers to regulate the fat in the cheese.

Next, milk for each batch of cheese is pumped into a computer-controlled vat. Temperature, time, stirring speeds and amount of rennet and culture are all monitored and recorded by the computer. Colby-type cheese spend approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes in the cooking vat; Swiss-type cheeses take three hours.

Whey is seperated from the curds in cloth-lined tubs. They are pressed and allowed to sit overnight. Then, the blocks are placed in a salt brine and stay there to absorb the salt for a few hours to overnight, depending on the type of cheese.

The blocks are packaged and cooled for one week. Finally, they head to the room temperature aging room for approximately a month. There, the holes in the Swiss cheese develop as bacterial cultures transform the flavor of the cheese and off-gas bubbles of carbon dioxide which form the 'eyes' of the cheese. Swiss cheese is graded by the size of the eyes, with Grade A having eyes of one quarter to three quarters of an inch. When the cheese is deemed finished, it is packaged and stored at refrigerator temperatures.

Chuck remarked that "Swiss is tough to make." There are only 42 creameries making Swiss in the country; nine are in Ohio.

Sustainable Cheese-making

Pearl Valley Cheese Company operates with an eye (Swiss cheese joke!) towards reducing their environmental impact. In the process of treating their waste water, they generate biogas that is used to heat boilers in the factory. They reduce waste (and generate income) by selling all by-products including whey which is made into whey protein concentrate and lactose for energy production. Solid by-products are used as fertilizer on cow-feed fields.

At the same time, Pearl Valley uses electronic tracking to label and monitor all batches of all cheeses so they can be traced back to each milk load. If there were ever a quality or health issue, they could pinpoint the error.

Tasting Pearl Valley Cheese

Look for Pearl Valley's new red, white, and blue label featuring Swiss mountains to buy their cheese from a local grocer. It is not particularly easy to find in Central Ohio, as 50% of the Pearl Valley cheese is privately labeled. Fortunately, you can purchase online or visit their factory in Fresno, Ohio, an hour and a half from Columbus. I recommend the Aged Swiss for those who like bold flavors and the Colby for those who are more inclined toward mild cheeses.

Pearl Valley Cheese Company 54775 Township Road 90 Fresno, OH 43824 (740) 545-6002

Disclosure: The American Dairy Association Mideast provided lodging, meals, and tour arrangements for the Ohio Dairy Tour.

Whole Roasted Squash {Technique}

Sometimes my life is forever changed by the simplest updates in cooking technique. Such a moment happened a few weeks ago when we went to a friend's cabin.

Lacey had a pie pumpkin and roasted it so simply. She yanked off the top, popped it in the oven, and cooked. No pounding with a cleaver, no smashing on the sidewalk (look at Lil so little in that video!), no scraping out the insides. Because the squash steams itself from the inside, it takes just as long as halving and roasting, approximately 45 minutes per small squash.

The flesh never ends up burnt as it occasionally does when I roast halves too long without enough water. The finished squash, which is done when the skin yields to the pressure of your finger, is not only easier to open and scoop, but the seeds are pre-steamed. When I roasted the seeds in the oven, the resultant seeds are crispy outside but tender inside, perfect for snacking.

This is the best technique. I can't believe I've been roasting squash for so long in any other way. Do what I say, not what I do - cook your squashes whole from now on!

Sassafras Bakery's Delectable Crumble Topping

Lately I have been in a pie rut. My crusts have been tougher than I like and I suspected it had something to do with my switch to making pie crust with 100% butter fat. Compared to shortening, butter is arguably more healthy (because it contains healthy acids and vitamins) and easy to buy or make from local cream. I also much prefer the flavor of a butter crust to anything else. I could switch to lard and have made and used lard on occasion, but it isn't something I have on hand all the time.

I finally solved the butter crust riddle when I tested my theory that a thicker crust would correct butter fat's tendency toward toughness. The cranberry apple pie pictured above has a double crust recipe rolled thickly. The resulting crust is tender yet holds up to a fairly wet filling. It was neither mushy nor unyielding to a knife.

What placed my pie in the realm of perfection, however, is all in the topping. AJ of Sassafras Bakery generously shared her recipe with me on Twitter. Once I tested it, I asked for permission to publish for you and she agreed. Meet AJ and learn more secrets at her Buttercream-Decorated Sugar Cookies class December 1 and/or Art of Pie class December 8 at Franklin Park Conservatory.

I made AJ's crumble with Hawaiian macadamia nuts and smothered it on top of cranberries and apples because those are the ingredients I had on hand. I know I'll try it with other nuts and fruits as the seasons turn - I can almost taste a pear pie with pecan crumble topping and peach with walnut. Play with this recipe and let me know what combinations you love! Sassafras Bakery's Delectable Crumble Topping Makes: Topping for 1 9-inch pie Time: 10 minutes preparation, 30-45 minutes cooking

2/3 cup raw nuts (macadamia, walnuts, pecans suggested) 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter 1/2 cup white granulated sugar 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup all-purpose flour

1. In a small saute pan, roast nuts over medium heat. Stir frequently and watch/smell carefully. As soon as nuts are slightly browned and smelling nutty, remove from heat. 2. Meanwhile, melt butter over low heat in a small sauce pan. 3. When butter is melted, add remaining ingredients and stir. Remove from heat. 4. Add nuts and stir to combine. 5. Spoon or use hands to place topping over a single-crust fruit-filled pie. You may not have complete coverage and that's ok. 6. Place a round of aluminium foil just smaller than the top of the pie on top to prevent burning. Remove foil five to ten minutes before cooking is complete to brown the top. 7. Allow to cool at least one hour before slicing.

Why Meet Your Meat?

A few months back, an Internet friend of a friend said she had a couple unclaimed pigs in a litter she was pasture raising on her farm. Via Facebook, I asked a few questions, made a few offers, and confirmed plans to slaughter the pig ourselves.

Just as casually, I set up a time to meet my meat, a Large Black hog. I owed the farmer some homemade bacon and pancetta bartered for a deposit on the growing pig and wanted to see her homestead. It was a simple friendly visit, one of many farm trips I've made, with deeper implications.

I believe that everyone who eats meat ought to visit a farm where their poultry, beef, pork, or lamb comes from at least once. Here's why:

Realize Your Place In The Web of Life

Americans can buy butchered, trimmed, plastic-wrapped cuts from the meat counter that are as easy to cook as a vegetable. Simpler still, pre-cooked rotisserie chickens and frozen products only require a little reheating to serve. Restaurant dishes usually have no bones, scales, or other indication that the protein once belonged to a living thing.

This is all a fine, convenient thing, but it allows many people to be completely disconnected from the reality of eating meat. Eating meat - just like eating vegetables - requires that a living thing dies.

While some make the distinction between animals as sentient beings and plants as not, others argue that plants have feelings too. It cannot be debated that humans must eat something to survive.

Our place in the world is such that we can make choices about what we eat. Some tasty things, like pigs, pumpkins or lambs are cute. Thinking about an adorable hog dying for our morning bacon is difficult for some, but it must be faced. Death begets life.

Ensure That Conditions Match Your Values

Farmers who raise meat animals have many options available in the feeding, sheltering, pasturing, and slaughtering of their animals. Consumers have many options about these same conditions. Home cooks should be able to ask the farmer or butcher about farm conditions at the point of sale. Producers should answer honestly and always do in my experience.

But seeing is believing. Watching pigs denude an area in a matter of minutes to make a wallow clued me in to their destructive potential. Witnessing chickens stand in the rain rather than run for shelter makes me realize how dependent they are on humans. Seeing an animal suffering from mastitis makes me feel thankful for the availability of antibiotics.

A trip to a farm shouldn't be an excuse to 'check up' on a farmer but to truly understand the benefits and consequences of different agricultural choices. If something you see doesn't jive with your values, ask about it and don't be afraid to change your eating habits.

Appreciate the Farmer

I have never visited a farmer who was not passionate and proud of her job. And in the midst of showing off their farm, the farmer is constantly working - carrying water to hogs while talking about their breed, hauling feed while telling me about the source of the grain, or explaining what the half-built coop will look like when it's finished.

We all hear that farming is hard work. When you witness the morning milking, daily feeding, breeding and birthing, managing fences, and time spent harvesting, the toil becomes more tangible. You see that farming is hours on the clock and exhausting wear on the body.

I return home from meeting my meat with a feeling of abundant appreciation. I eat a meal knowing the labor spent converting sunlight into delicious calories. I give true thanks for the lives interconnected by the animal's diet, the farmer's effort, and my choice to consume ethically-raised meat when I can.

What do you think? Have you ever looked your meat in the eye?