Northeast Georgia Locallygrown Availability list for July 31

Good Evening Locavores,
This is the last day of July and what a month it has been. This month we saw the full range of summer produce available on the market, in spite of some extreme swings of weather.
We are lucky here in Northeast Georgia to have been blessed with enough rain to keep the summer crops growing. Much of the state south of us is in drought conditions that have really limited farm production there.
Today as I was sweating in the garden, Amy brought me some cold, cubed, Melon Head cantaloupe. Cantaloupe has never been better than that delicious,juicy, cold treat.
Garlic season is also in full swing now. Simplyhomegrown Farmers Market in Clayton (at the Covered Bridge Shopping Center)set the season off with their 4th Annual Garlic Festival. Fridays events in downtown Clayton included a garlic tasting and a garlic pie contest.
First place was won by Jane Tomlin of Tomlins BBQ in Dillard and Second place went to Chef John Bradley of the Beechwood Inn in Clayton. Slices of the pies were sold for a donation to the Northeast Georgia Food Bank and Chef Jamie Allred, Fortify Kitchen and Bar, baked a huge shepherds pie laced with garlic as well as round pies for the Food Bank fund raiser.
If you ever have been afraid of using too much garlic in recipes these pies would allay your fears.
Janes winning pie featured spinach and portabello mushrooms and most notably, over 30 cloves of garlic. The judges rated the garlic flavor of the pie as mild.
Check out the garlic and poultry available and it just might be time for you to bake that French classic ‘Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic’.
I will leave you with the following tip from the French for using garlic.
‘Sliced garlic is sweeter than chopped garlic which is sweeter than crushed garlic.’
Have a great week and enjoy fresh local food.