New Farm: Sea (&) Scapes

Garlic scapes fresh picked and roasting

Late June was a time of harvesting some good fish from the sea out in Long Island Sound and some incredible garlic scapes from the garden. It was also a banner year for strawberries.

Ben boated this striper on a rare sunny day in June. We had record rainfall the last couple months...with enough nice days mixed in to get out on the water and in the garden.

Garlic scapes are a delicacy that have qualities of garlic, asparagas, scallion...they are actaully kind of unique. It can be made into a pesto as well. We have some more hard neck garlic coming this fall and will plant another bed for sure...if just for the scapes.

A raised bed with hard neck garlic planted last fall. Most of it is "Irish Red" - a red striped varietal. The plants throw up curly scapes this time of year. Hardneck garlic is another winner our friends up at Back Sheep Farm in New Hampshire turned us on to.

...The whole world became my garden!
But the sea which no one tends is also a garden
when the sun strikes it and the waves are wakened.
I have seen it and so have you
when it puts all flowers to shame.
... We knew that
along with the rest of it
for we were born by the sea,
knew its rose hedges to the very water's brink.
There the pink mallow grows and in their season strawberries...

from Asphodel by William Carlos Williams

We landed some nice Fluke at 6 Mile Reef about half way acroos the sound to the north fork of Long Island, NY. Each Fluke (a.k.a. Summer Flounder) yielded 4 nice filets . It was excellent filet-o-sole especially combined with the summer veggies coming up like Swiss Chard, Arugala and especially the Garlic Scapes.

Curt with a nice fluke.

Dad caught this 24" doormat.

Uncle Den got this keeper.

Bluefish too.

12 hours on the water and ready to head back to the garden...or the kicthen anyway. We had every kind of conditon out there...calm, chop, rough, rain, sun, thick fog, wind...it was great day in any case.

Meanwhile ...back at the farm....