A Stinking Rose by Any Other Name...

   Garlic is one of those fundamental ingredients, a thing no cook can do without. I love the taste-from biting to sweet depending on how it's handled but never thought much about the kind of garlic I was using or where it came from. Then I started buying locally grown heirloom varieties and discovered how much better- and more varied- it can be. A few years ago the husband got interested in growing our own, in part because the neighborhood deer were devouring everything we planted and he'd heard this was one crop they didn't find appealing.

Thaxton's garlic, Taxel's photo

   He bought and planted a starter selection from Thaxton's, a certified organic garlic farm in Hudson. The results were so fantastic and the effort so satisfying that garlic has become his new enthusiasm and the mainstay of our backyard kitchen garden. Which is why we recently found ourselves in Fred and Chris Thaxton's aromatic garlic barn.
It was time for new seed stock. The choices- hard necks and soft necks, big heads and little ones, pure white skinned and some kissed with purple, in 12 distinctive varieties- were hung in bunches, long stems still attached, row after row on racks that stretched from floor to ceiling. The couple, who started growing garlic on their property 15 years ago for their own use and to share with family and friends, now tend to three acres of the stuff and operate a thriving business, delivering to area chef's, and selling at the Hudson Farmers Market, directly from the farm (by appointment only) and online. They guided us towards a mix that included a peppery Spanish Roja; Khabar that's hot when raw and goes mellow with cooking; the robust Extra Hardy German White; and Georgian Crystal, that Chris told us is excellent for roasting.
  She still teaches at Hudson High but Fred retired from his science teacher job at Cleveland Heights High School last year to give the venture his all. Business is booming. What started as hobby landed them on the pages of the New York Times in May (and brought the paper's food writer Julia Moskin to their house for a picnic dinner that Fred says it was one of the best nights of his life). He gives Chef Jonathon Sawyer, a longtime customer and fan, a lot of the credit for pushing them onto a national stage.  And Sawyer's doing it again by featuring Thaxton's Music garlic in a pasta dish he's serving at The Greenhouse Tavern through Oct 31 as part of the James Beard Foundation’s (JBF) Taste America® Local Dish Challenge. The restaurant will donate $1 from each dish sold to the JBF Taste America® Education Drive, which supports the foundation's educational programs.
 Now that I've got you thinking about garlic, its a good time to mention the Cleveland Garlic Festival, sponsored by the North Union Farmer's Market, happening this weekend, September 7 and 8, on Shaker Square. Lots of garlic laden foods to try, garlic products to buy, live music, chef competitions, and a chance to pick up some  "stinking roses"  from the Thaxton's.

Thaxton's garlic, Taxel's photo

 

More Dirt

Last week I wrote a post titled One Night [Farm] Stands about a couple of special fieldside dinners. Turns out there’s a veritable bumper crop of chefs going rural this summer. More meals cooked and served where animals are raised and produce is grown are scheduled for August, so I’m spreading the word.

Jim Denevan, founder of Outstanding in the Field, is the unofficial granddaddy of the forks-in-the-field concept. He started doing it in California in 1999 and later took the events on the road, partnering with acclaimed regional chefs around the country. The bus (there really is one) stops at Thaxton’s Organic Garlic, a picturesque 10-acre spread in Hudson on Friday, Aug. 5, 2011. Fred Thaxton, a science teacher at Cleveland Heights High School, and wife Lisa, in the same profession, started planting as a hobby in 2000. They now harvest a dozen varieties that are prized by local chefs and sold at area farmers markets. The menu is in the more-than-able hands of our own Jonathon Sawyer, of Greenhouse Tavern and Noodlecat fame, so no doubt the food will be extraordinary. garlic harvest at Thaxton family farm

But be prepared for some sticker shock: The price, $180 per person, is set by Denevan’s organization, not Sawyer. If this doesn’t scare you off, best to make your reservations immediately to be sure of getting a seat at the communal table.

Next up is an Emerging Chefs shindig on the evening of Friday, Aug. 19, with Kimberly McCune. She’s the founder/owner, with partner Scott Roitblat who’ll be cooking with her, of Vine and Dine, a company that offers catering and personal chef services with an emphasis on healthy, locally sourced products. They’re calling this casual family-style supper in Geauga County ReHival because McCune is introducing her very own microbrew, ReHive Ale. It will be produced by Buckeye Beer Engine and available to the public in September, which just happens to be national honey month. But guests at this “Return to Earth Dinner” on Meadowlane Farms in Newbury, five minutes from Chardon, will get first sips of these suds along with dishes made from ingredients gathered within a 50 mile radius of where you’ll be eating. Go to the website to purchase tickets ($69.57 each and get information about overnight accommodations.

Plated Landscapes, the on-the-farm dinner series created by Ben Bebenroth of Spice of Life Catering, has been going strong since 2006. These well-planned and perfectly executed multicourse feasts combine the trappings of fine dining with the laid-back beauty of natural settings. He has three scheduled for this month that aren’t sold out … yet: Saturday, Aug. 13, Muddy Fork Farm in Wooster; Friday, Aug. 19, Auburn Twin Oaks Winery in Auburn; and Friday, Aug. 26, Morgan Farm Stay in Ashland. To make reservations, get driving and ask questions about the menus, call 216-432-9090 or email jess@spiceoflifecaters.com with the subject "Plated Landscapes." Check out the online calendar to see what’s planned for September and October.

Muddy Fork Farm, Plated Landscapes, 2010