We just dug up our garlic and shallots this summer and they are magnificent. We are hanging them outside in our shed for a few weeks. You can dry them anywhere that’s shady with good air circulation.

Garlic and shallots are easy to grow. You can plant them at the same time in October, about a month and a half before the ground freezes. Plant them in a bed that gets a lot of sun. Use large bulbs and plant each individual clove deep enough so that it is fully covered pointy side up/root side down. You will forget about them and then they pop up in Spring so you’ll remember to weed the bed. In mid-summer when you see the leaves start to dry and look yellow, stop watering, wait a couple weeks and dig them out.

When we cook with spices and condiments that we personally grow, we viscerally and intuitively connect to nature, bypass the intellect, and tap into our souls.