We were heading north, far north, but first we had to pass by the concrete and glass buildings of high tech giants and biological pharma before merging onto the interstate. At this time of day there was only a smattering of souls awake.

We were headed to the fields and the drying huts to capture the first light beams of the sun as it gently washed across this year’s garlic crop.

We settled in for the long drive. No passport needed, even though once we left the confines of the city it truly felt like a different country and in short order, it seemed like the land had leveled out into rolling mounds of farmland.

We crested a short rise and “uh oh”! Fog, and lots of it, lay across the horizon in the distance ahead. The early sunrise light was now a bust. No sun was going to peek over the horizon this morning. We thought about “calling it” but farmer Mark was meeting us and so we soldiered on.

We took the eastbound exit to the right and headed into the fields. It was not far before we turned off that route, as well.

The dull, high-speed roar of the tires on pavement was replaced by the quiet, slow crunch of the gravel road. It was a short moment before we turned into the lot, drove past the darkened farm stand and around to the back.

Shutting off the engine created the sound of silence, the sound of nothing was voluminous.

We sat in the fog in the truck debating if the sun would peek out, and if it did, when and if it would hit the huts in the right way. We pulled out our “apps” that plot the sun path, considered sunset and where it would fall, and that it was a mere 16 hours away...concluding quickly that waiting wasn’t going to work.

It wasn’t long before claustrophobia set in and I leapt out of the confines of my seat into the cool morning air. The fog was lifting and the sun had brightened our surroundings. By now the sun had surely crested the horizon and somewhere someone was looking at magical beams of light. Just not us.

Thankfully, Mark appeared just about then and we started talking about everything immediately. From the lack of sun, to the state of each other's businesses, to the state of the world (in relationship to farming, of course) we kibitzed.

And then we headed back to see the garlic in the huts. The huts are frames that are covered in plastic, greenhouses if you will, and act like giant photo tents. It was the light we were given and it would work.



The newly harvested garlic was laid out on screens to cure. The roots and the greens are left on for energy and nutrients which the bulbs would continue to pull from. The greens also help to keep fungi and other unwanted elements at bay.

This was just a few short weeks ago and now all the garlic is ready to ship. As always, the seed crop we get (largest bulbs available to us) is extremely limited. This year’s yield is larger than normal, though the bulbs are smaller.

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This recipe is just a little bit more involved than just boiling pasta. Preparation and cooking is done in just a little more time than it takes to boil water and cook the pasta. This is a great way to celebrate garlic!

See the Pasta with Garlic and Olives Recipe here!

The Rocambole variety boasts large fruit, with about 8-10 big cloves and no smaller internal cloves. This German Red hardneck garlic is superbly fragrant, as well as flavorful, it offers that satisfying real garlic bite. The cloves are easy to peel, with an ivory base color and many lavender stripes and streaks.

Shop now for German Red Organic Garlic!

These large green Italian olives are from Cerignola, Italy and have recently been crazy super popular!

They are big and beautiful!

If you have a small mouth you might have to bite a little off at a time.

The pit itself is as big as some olives are. The saltiness of the brine and soft firm flesh are delicious and satisfying, so much that one olive, plus sucking on the pit, lasts longer and is more satisfying than a bag of potato chips!

This is one of my all-time favorite olives. The big, mouth-filling olive is firm, with a great crunch, lots of meat to eat, and just the right brine; they are soooo gooood! Get some giant green olives now!

Olives are old. Cultivated olive trees spread from Asia Minor to the Mediterranean basin 6000 years ago and predate written language.

Many of us grew up knowing olives by color or by being either pitted or stuffed. And we knew them as this delicious soft vegetable placed on salads or pizza.

As our culinary knowledge expanded we learned that olives, by the time they arrive in the palm of our hands, come in many colors.

These colors are based in part, on when they are plucked from the tree: green is sooner, black is later, or riper. Riper is not better, just different. There is no such thing as a green olive tree - or a black one for that matter. Like humans, olives all start the same, same structure, they just look different when they ripen, and depending on the brining, taste different, too.

And then there is variety. The big four - green, black, pitted, and stuffed, are not varieties. In fact, there are over 2000 varieties of olives grown in warm climates around the world.

We have learned that the mighty olive is a drupe, a fruit (not a vegetable) with a single pit like a peach, or a cherry.

Unlike their sweet brethren, olives contain a compound called oleuropein. This is the bitterness that fills the olive. Olives off the tree are not filled with joy, instead they are filled with bitterness from the oleuropein. To achieve the desirable love you know, you have to cure them. A fermentation of sorts.

Curing removes the yucky taste of oleuropein and phenols from the olives, resulting in quite a tasty treat!

Understanding the curing process may result in knowing which olives you prefer. The curing of olives can happen in the sun, in salt, in lye, water or brine. Lye is the fastest and water takes the longest, and brine-curing can take up to a year.

In the end, olives should never be mushy; soft can be okay, firm is good, and color will vary. Stuffed olives are delish and have a dedicated shaken and stirred following.

Shop now for Fratepietro Bella de Cerignola Green Olives in Brine!

One of my favorite ways to eat up some of those large beefsteak-like tomatoes coming from your garden. Always a hit.

See the Baked Tomatoes with Salmon, Garlic & Capers Recipe here!

To the nose, it smells just like a three citrus jam or marmalade. Just a little bit softer and the whiff finishes with a really wonderful citrus smell.

The top flat gel-like surface is broken easily with a spoon. Below the surface it is still firm.

At first taste, the jelly-like substance disappears quickly in a rush leaving behind a wonderful citrus flavor that is not too sweet and has little bits of peel.

These little bits give you something to chew on. They’re not big and they dissolve and disappear quickly. This sampling is direct from the spoon and I can only imagine the tasty bits would be perfect on a piece of toast or a lovely croissant.

The three citrus' combine nicely without one or the other being more distinct, yet the flavor has this wonderful nuanced complexity.

This smooth jam is easily spreadable without the speed bumps of big chunks on the way.

I love citrus jams and marmalades and this is a really, really good one.

Quite flavorful and with every little spoonful I take, it is interesting, enchanting, and really quite delicious.

One could easily just eat the entire jar of citrus with a spoon without toast, pastry, pancakes, omelettes, even hotdogs, it’s that good.

Shop now for La Trinquelinette Three Citrus Jam!

Though we automatically pop these particular prunes into our mouths right away because they are such a treat, prunes are a special way to naturally sweeten your recipes.

Prunes do especially well with pork in savory dishes. Even simple ones, like bacon-wrapped sausages with prunes, are super easy to make and celebrate the prune.

California is the source of most of the prunes in this country, but France is the home of the most splendid prune of all – Pruneaux D’Agen from Agen, France.

When you try one of these pitted, sun dried plums for the first time, you realize that not all prunes are the same. Those dried, wrinkly, chewy ones you grew up with are nothing like these, which are a totally different eating experience.

I’ve been very lucky in my time in the food business to try a lot of food and, in a previous life, to have traveled around the world, and there are many foods that are interesting, exciting, delicious and special. But when it comes to food and travel, Agen, France is at the top of my bucket list (do people still have bucket lists?) to visit for the prune harvest. I don’t have many things on my lists, but these prunes have a top spot!

With their micro-thin skins, they are absolutely melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and just as good for snacking as they are for either sweet or savory dishes, like Bruce Aidells' and Denis Kelly's Braised Pork with Port and Prunes, or rich North African-style tagines, which incorporate warm spices like cinnamon or allspice with prunes and meat, or often lamb.

What's so special these about Agen prunes?!

They come from plums that are a hybrid of a local fruit and the exotic damask plum, first brought to France from Syria in the 12th century. The plums are shaken from the trees, dried first in the sun and then finished in a barely warm oven. The result is a large, plump prune with a deep spicy aroma and rich, lovely flavor—a summer harvest that's ready to be enjoyed all winter long!

Shop now for Favols Pitted Agen Prunes!

Open a jar and smell the salt! It is not at all what you would expect!

The smell is a wonderful food for your nose! It is quite remarkable as you can smell three distinct notes. Like a wave, the fresh rosemary rises up and curls over revealing the sage and garlic.

Take a “pinch” to taste in your mouth. Let the salt melt away with the sage, rosemary and then time allows all the flavors to come through and linger as you suck your cheeks in. It might not be spoon ready, but for sure it is pinch ready!

This salt, from award winning wine maker Vignalta, uses all fresh rosemary, sage and garlic that is then ground together with the Sicilian sea salt. This imbeds the herbs into each grain of salt giving you excellent flavor and allows you to salt like you normally would.

Those that have used this herbed sea salt swear by it. This salt mix imparts its flavors on a baked chicken nicely. Used lightly with a pristine rockfish or simply toss on your next baked potato. It’s easy.

Shop now for Vignalta Sale Alle Erbe delle Marlunghe - Herbed Sea Salt!