Spice Island Cocktail

eat LOCAL buy local at these fall farmers markets

Noblesville Main Street Farmers’ Market

Join us for the oldest and largest farmers’ market in Hamilton County, with more than 80 vendors featuring local artisan products, produce and more! This is the last year the event will be located in the overfl ow lot of Riverview Health. Visit Facebook page or website for information on event days.

839 Conner St. Noblesville May 7–Oct. 15 Saturday 8am–noon Accepts: SNAP, WIC

Kokomo Downtown Farmers’ Market

The Kokomo Downtown Farmers’ Market is celebrating its 15th season of providing the best in locally grown, handpicked, homemade, farm-fresh goodness to our community. Live music and kids’ activities weekly!

At the intersection of Mulberry & Washington streets June 8–Sept. 21, Wednesday 4–7pm May 7–Oct. 8, Saturday 9am–1pm KokomoFarmersMarket.com Accepts: SNAP

JCC Farmers’ Market

Shop for fresh local produce, baked goods and dairy products at the JCC’s yearround farmers market, Indy’s only regularly scheduled farmers’ market on Sundays.

6701 Hoover Rd. Indianapolis Sunday 10am–1:30pm JCCIndy.org Accepts: SNAP

It’s time to move the nutmeg from spice cupboard to bar cart

SPICE ISLAND

This fragrant spice is fantastic in fall cocktails—especially as garnish—where it wafts in with every sip. For Baylee Pruitt, a bartender at Cardinal Spirits, the craft distillery and cocktail bar in Bloomington, a dusting of nutmeg is the ideal topping for her Spice Island cocktail, which crisply combines light rum and tart apples with other fall fl avors of cinnamon, raisin and brown sugar. Pass on the powdery, pre-grated stuff , she says, and buy whole nutmeg seeds instead—they’re right there in the spice aisle, or sometimes in the bulk area. Give the whole seed a few scrapes on a microplane grater right over the glass, softly dusting the entire surface of the cocktail

SPICE ISLAND

By Baylee Pruitt of Cardinal Spirits

Makes 1 cocktail

4 slices Pink Lady apple ½ ounce Raisin–Brown Sugar Simple Syrup (recipe follows)* 2 ounces light rum ½ ounce fresh lemon juice 1 dash cinnamon bitters 1 dash Angostura bitters Ice Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish Place apples and Raisin–Brown Sugar Simple Syrup in a shaker. Muddle. Add rum, lemon juice, both bitters and ice. Shake vigorously.

Double-strain into an Old Fashioned glass fi lled with ice. Grate fresh nutmeg on top of the cocktail to garnish. * To make Raisin–Brown Sugar Simple Syrup: In a saucepan, combine 1 cup brown sugar, ¾ cup water and / cup raisins. Heat until simmering, muddling the raisins as it cooks. Cool completely. Strain before using.

One of fall’s foremost fl avors

BY JO ELLEN MEYERS SHARP PHOTOGRAPHY BY CAROLE TOPALIAN GRAPHIC BY CARYN SCHEVING

Jo Ellen Meyers Sharp, who prefers shallots to garlic, is treasurer of Garden Writers Association and co-author of The Indiana Gardener’s Guide. She blogs at HoosierGardener.com. Say “fall bulb planting” and most people think tulips, daff odils and other spring-bloomers. If garlic is one of your favorite fl avors, add that to the list.

Th ere are two types of garlic: hardneck and softneck. Most of what we see in supermarkets is softneck (Allium sativum sativum), which is grown where winters are mild, such as Gilroy, California, which calls itself the Garlic Capital of the World. Softneck garlic can be stored up to a year. Because the necks are soft, this is the garlic people like to braid. It does not form scapes.

Some varieties of softneck garlic may be hardy in Central and Southern Indiana. But fall-planted hardneck garlic (Allium sativum ophioscorodon) is what’s recommended for Midwestern gardeners. Hardneck has a woody fl ower stalk and is best used within six to nine months after harvesting. Chefs and others say hardneck garlic’s fl avor is rich and complex.

Th en, there’s elephant garlic (Allium ampeloprasum), which is not a true garlic but is more closely related to leeks.

It’s best to not use garlic purchased in the produce section of the grocery store for planting. First, it’s softneck, and second, it may have been treated with a chemical to keep it from sprouting. It’s best to use bulbs sold as seed garlic. Some garden centers, farmers’ markets and online retailers off er seed garlic for fall planting. Th e bulb is broken into cloves, and each clove planted yields a new bulb for harvest. Once harvested, gardeners may save a bulb or two for replanting in fall.

When to Plant

In Central Indiana, garlic is planted mid-September to mid-October. Th e following spring, it sprouts tasty top growth, called scapes, and the bulb is harvested in early to midsummer.

Where to Plant

Select a sunny area that has well-drained, organically rich soil. Plant the cloves, pointy end up, about two inches deep and four inches apart. Cover the cloves with soil and water well. Th ere’s no need to mulch because hardneck garlic is fully winter hardy. However, a light mulch of chopped leaves or straw will help reduce weeds. Garlic is a poor competitor to weeds, so this fall and next spring and summer be sure to keep the area free of these nutrient-robbing plants.

When Scapes Emerge

Next spring, scapes will emerge from the soil and curl into beautiful green sculptures. When the scapes appear, apply an all-purpose granular organic fertilizer, such as Espoma or Jobe’s. If left on the plant, the scapes get woody and sap energy from the bulb, reducing its size. Most gardeners remove the scapes, cutting them off at the soil line. Use the scapes in recipes that highlight their mild, sweet fl avor. Eventually, new leaves will emerge and those can be left attached to the bulb.

In summer, when you notice a few of the lower leaves have turned brown, harvest the garlic. If you harvest too early, the bulbs will be small. If you harvest too late, the protective skin, called a tunic, may be missing, which shortens their storage life.

Pulling, Cleaning, Drying and Storing

Hardneck garlic frequently can be pulled from the ground. If it doesn’t come easily, gently loosen the soil with a garden fork or spade and lift the bulbs. Be careful not to bruise the bulbs as bruising shortens their storage life.

Gently brush or rinse the soil from the bulb. Place bulbs with stalks attached on a framed screen, crate or other surface that allows good air circulation. Th e air should be cool and the device out of direct sun.

It may take about two weeks for the garlic to dry. Once dry, remove the stalk and roots, and store in a cool (not freezing), dry area, such as a garage or basement.