Garlic, Burdock, Jerusalem Artichokes, Secret to Happiness

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Date: October 23rd 2009

It’s been raining for about12 hours solid now, over an inch, and more to come.

But we did get a brief, glorious Indian Summer earlier this week. “Indian summer” seems to mean different things in different parts of the country, but ‘round these parts, it means the warm summer-like days that come after a frost when the sky is bright, the sun strong, the maples ablaze, and even the hickories more golden than brown in the suddenly leafwhelmed world.

This past week was not only peak color for the trees surrounding the fields, but also peak viewing season for the Orionoids. It seems more people know about August’s Perseid showers (seeming to originate from Perseus), than October’s Orionoids (seeming to radiate from Orion the Hunter). Maybe it’s that Orionoid sounds too much like paranoid, or android, or adenoid . . . all unpleasant. But the Orionid meteors are the debris left behind by Halley’s Comet, which seems reason enough to take a moment to find a dark spot and watch the night sky blaze above the blazing trees below.

The few days of Indian Summer were a blessing for garlic lovers. They dried the wet earth enough for Henry to finally start planting the garlic for next year. Yesterday afternoon he got in about 7 200-foot beds – maybe a quarter of the total he’d saved back to plant. It was a lovely warm day, and the earth so soft and black and inviting, that I remembered Zoe saying she had written about dirt for her “This I Believe” assignment at school. So I asked her to send it to me, and I think I’ll include it in its entirely next week--but here’s a little something to whet your appetite:

I believe that dirt is the secret to happiness. There is a liberating, freeing feeling when you bury your hands in dirt. It is difficult to explain, but the musky, fruity smell of the soil combined with the unique texture of the Earth makes you feel connected to Nature. When you close your eyes and feel the dirt teeming with life, it makes you feel so alive . . . . .

by Aozora Brockman

The forecast was for 60% chance of rain last night, and 100% today. Luckily, it didn’t start raining until morning, and even then it was light and on again off again. So Henry and the helpers were on when the rain was off, and vice versa. We don't know if we'll get another window of opportunity to plant this wet year, so Henry even called Hiroko away from the many fabulous dishes she was preparing (as she does every Thursday, for the big lunch she provides for everyone every Friday), and all worked to plant, plant, plant. In the end, the rain won out. But not before we got in all of the New York White, all of the German Extra Hardy, and some of the Kettle River Basin. About half of the seed garlic is now in the ground, but the soil is soaked again, and who knows if we’ll get the other half planted or not.

Fall Greens

Because it was so wet this summer, Henry didn’t get nearly the amount of fall greens planted as he usually does. This means you’re not going to see the number or size of fall greens you’ve become accustomed to. Most of the Asian greens are small, so Henry is bunching them. And small bunched ones are just as good as big unbunched ones. And besides, says Henry, "You’re not going to see full-size heads, so buy the bunches!"

Squash/Pumpkins

This has been an amazingly delicious year for winter squash, but all good things come to an end. This will almost certainly be the last week for the Red Kuri, which have made a vegetarian--or more precisely, a squashitarian--out of a certain die-hard carnivore I know quite well. We are also running low on the spaghetti squash, Winter Luxury pie pumpkin, and kabocha. So if you see something you want, or will want a week or two from now, buy it now.

The SUNCHOKES (Jerusalem Artichokes) have done fabulously well this year. Look for both the white and red varieties this week.

Sunchokes are the underground tuber of a Native American plant in the Sunflower family, and so have nothing to do with Jerusalem, and are unrelated to artichokes. But they are delicious, and can be roasted, sauteed, fried, even mashed

But the big nutrition story about sunchokes these days is that they contain very high levels of inulin. Not to be confused with insulin, the protein hormone that controls glucose absorption, inulin is a carbohydrate that breaks down to fructose. Fructose is not used to treat diabetes directly, but it is considered a better sugar for most diabetics because it must be converted to glucose before being absorbed by cells.

Sautéed Sunchokes

1 pound sunchokes

salt to taste

3 Tb olive oil

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

freshly ground black pepper

1 Tb parsley, finely chopped

1. Scrub or peel the sunchokes as you bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add salt and then the sunchokes. Allow the water to return to a rolling boil and then take out the sunchokes. When they are cool enough to handle, slice thinly.

2. Put the olive oil and garlic in a skillet and cook until the garlic just begins to color. Add the sunchokes, coating them with oil. Add the salt, pepper and parsley and stir to coat well. Cook until the sunchokes feel very tender. Serve.

Wine-Glazed Jerusalem Artichokes with Rosemary

2 Tb olive oil

1 pound Jerusalem artichokes, sliced into rounds

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

2 tsp chopped rosemary

1/2 cup dry white wine

Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Add the Jerusalem artichokes and garlic and saute for about 1 - 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the rosemary and wine, and continue to cook over high heat until the wine is reduced to a few table-spoons. Add 1 Tb water, cover, and cook for a minute more or until tender-crisp. Boil the excess liquid, if any, down to a glaze. Serve.

BURDOCK is a somewhat scary-looking root, but you should not be frightened. We have heard from experts from Siberia and Japan that Henry’s is the best-tasting burdock they’ve ever had. It is easy to chunk it into soups, stews, or combine with other roasted root vegetables. Or make the classic Japanese burdock dish kimpira gobo, which is simply stir-fried burdock with carrots, or burdock and carrot tempura.

Kimpira Gobo (Stir-fried Burdock and Carrots)
2 sticks burdock (about ½ pound)
3 Japanese togarashii, Thai hot, or another hot pepper
Carrots, 1/3 to ½ the amount of burdock
1 Tablespoon sesame seed oil
1–2 Tablespoon olive oil
2 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon mirin (optional)
3–4 Tablespoon soy sauce

1. Wash burdock and remove skin by rubbing with the back of a knife or with a vegetable scrubber. Cut into matchstick-size pieces and soak the pieces in cold water to prevent discoloration. Replace water two or three times or until the water remains clear, and then drain the burdock. Peel carrots and cut in pieces the same size and shape as the burdock.

2. Slice hot peppers, and after removing their seeds, cut the peppers into thick rings.

3. Combine olive oil and sesame oil in a frying pan and heat. Add burdock and carrot and stir-fry over high heat until carrots are cooked through. Reduce heat and add sugar, mirin, soy sauce, and hot pepper flakes to taste. Stir to mix. Continue to stir over heat until the liquid nearly all evaporates. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top and serve.

Burdock Tempura (Fried Burdock)

1 medium burdock root

3-4 large carrots

1 egg

1 cup ice water

1 cup flour

½ tsp salt

Scrape the skin off the burdock and carrots, and cut into similar sized matchsticks. Let the cut vegetables dry so that the batter will adhere.

Make the tempura batter by first beating the egg in a bowl. Then add the ice water, and then the flour and salt. Mix very lightly.

Heat vegetable oil in a deep pan to 340-350F degree. Pick up a small cluster of the burdock and carrots with chopsticks and lightly dip in the batter. Place cluster into the hot oil and fry until cooked – 3-4 minutes. Drain tempura on a rack or on paper towels.

Serve immediately with a light tempura dipping sauce and grated daikon as a condiment.

There are only 2 more Saturday Markets after this one . . . and then the special pre-Thanksgiving Market at Immanuel Lutheran Church. So see you this Sat, rain or shine!

Teresa’s Fruit and Herb News

Quick List for The Week of Oct. 24

We will not be at the Oct. 31 market, but we WILL be at the Nov. 7 market and the Pre-Thanksgiving Market on Nov. 21.
Last of the pears this week
We thought last week would be it for the hedge apples, but we found another tree at the back edge of the upper field on my Dad’s land, so we will bring up another few crates of hedge apples. These are much smaller (but really nice), so will only cost $1 each or 6 for $5.
Frozen aronia berries—Get a few extra to put in your freezer.
Fresh Herbs-mint, sage, oregano, parsley and a few more.
Dry herbs-check your cupboards and stock up for winter
Herb Teas-Get enough for winter before I run out of your favorite varieties. Great for gifts too!
Dry Flower Bouquets-Gorgeous!
Goat Milk Soaps
Turkey announcement: For those of you who ordered turkeys, the delivery will be at the Pre-Thanksgiving market on Nov. 21. I will send you a reminder with more information via email closer to the actual date.

See you all soon!

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Food and Farm Notes: A weekly peek at what's happening on Henry's Farm and what's coming to market, and what to do with it (with a side helping of poetry, science, philosophy, and what have you) For more information: http://www.terrabrockman.com/Henrys_Farm/welcometohenry%27s.html