Tag: Farmer’s Market

From Isolation to Belonging

It’s become easy to isolate yourself with the ever present cell phones, facebook and many of us living miles away from our families. We tend to go about our business; work and keeping up with our own chores, forgetting about our deep need for connection.

When this need to belong to a greater community than just ourselves became overwhelming, we found the 18th Street Farmer’s Market.

Below is an excerpt from Julia’s new book, “The Long Road to Market”, the story of how the women of Five Feline Farm moved from isolation to belonging.

The seclusion of country life can be a curse as well as a blessing. We moved into the new home at the beginnning of September, headed into the fall and then winter in a new place. The nearest neighbor is over a quarter mile away and someone we have never met. We are nine miles from town. It is not a great distance yet a long trek in the dark days of winter with snow piling up. We found our self-sufficiency skills would be tested in ways we were not expecting.

Slowly neighbors started dropping over to introduce themselves. They were surely curious about these two women who built such an enormous house. We struggled to remember who was who and how they all fit together. Many had been living in the area for a long time, some for all their lives. We were the new kids and didn’t have relatives or connections here. Until we could figure out who to trust in the new neighborhood, we retreated into our own world, working feverishly to reclaim the land from years of neglect.

So, for the most part, we were on our own with some help from our families. All of our spare time was consumed with various projects around the farm to make our dream a reality. It was a relief to be away from the loudness of 20,000 people vying for their place in the world all at the same time. When we could, we planned our shopping to get as much as possible in one trip, making it commonplace to pick up necessities before or after work.

It was glorious to be removed from town life, yet after a period of time lonely. We yearned for connection and belonging to a community.

The Long Road to Market is available in both print and digital formats by clicking here.

022-Market Food

Do you ever wonder what to do with all of that delicious food you find at the Farmer’s Market? Today we describe one meal we had featuring the same things we took to the Market, plus how to harvest and store garlic.

Don’t forget to check out our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages where you will find more about what we are doing on the Farm.

Garlic Scapes

What Are Garlic Scapes?

Garlic scapes are the tender end of the shoot in hard neck garlic varieties. As the plant grows in springtime, it sends up a shoot that is tender at first and later turns into bulbils. Those tiny bits of garlic are also edible. The scape is this white end and the first 5-6 inches of tender shoot. 

Harvest

When the shoot has a whitish end that looks like a bloom is starting to form, the scape is ready. The green part may be curled back on itself. Snap off the shoot approximately 4-6 inches below the end just as you would asparagus. The plant will snap off at it’s tender point. 

Use

Scapes taste like garlic. The flavor is lighter than garlic cloves but still clearly garlic. Dice and stir into any dish where you would use garlic. Scapes may be sautéed as is, chopped as a garnish for lettuce salad, used to flavor pasta salad, fried with potatoes or any number of dishes where garlic is a complement. Garlic scapes may also be pickled.
This past week we tried scapes in an asian inspired dish.

Beef Curry over Coconut Rice noodles.

6 ounces filet, trimmed of visible fat and cut into thin strips

5 garlic scapes, washed and chopped into a fine dice

1 inch piece of fresh ginger root, finely diced

1/2 can coconut milk

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 package rice noodles, prepared according to package directions

2 cups chopped cabbage

2 Tbsp olive oil

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

curry seasoning to taste

Sauté the filet, garlic and ginger until beef starts to lose pink color. Add chopped cabbage, black pepper and cook until tender crisp. Add soy sauce and curry seasoning. Stir until heated through. Meanwhile, in a saucepan heat the coconut milk, add chopped rice noodles, stirring until heated through. 

Serve beef and cabbage mixture over noodles. Add Sriracha sauce if desired. 

The use of garlic scapes is limited only by your imagination. As an added bonus, snapping off the scapes will divert the plant’s energy into bulb development. So not only does the gardener get a fresh taste of garlic in the spring, the fall harvest will be improved.

If you have garlic, give scapes a try. If you don’t have your own and you are in the Charleston area, stop by the 18th Street Farmer’s Market this Saturday and pick up some from us.