Monday, September 23, 2013

The Odorous Bulb Fest

Avondale Sky Winery, 80 Avondale Cross Road, Newport Landing
Ever since reading Liz Primeau's book "In Pursuit of Garlic", An Intimate Look at the Divinely Odorous Bulb, I've been a little envious she attended the famous Gilroy Garlic Festival in California. "If only we had a garlic festival here in Nova Scotia". Well, my wish came true! Avondale Sky Winery hosted the first ever Avondale Garlic Fest this past Saturday and my goodness, it was wonderful. Being keeners, we were pretty well there just after it opened but already people were starting to enjoy the vendor offerings.

Contests included submitting favourite garlic recipes to be published in a cookbook, and competing for largest garlic bulb and largest clove. One farmer won that hands down using garlic she obtained through William Damn Seeds which I suspect is the variety 'Music". We were impressed!
The Winner of the largest garlic bulb and clove!
The prize a woven braid of garlic.
There were jewellery makers, organic food produce sellers, glass makers and painters but I am rather partial to the metal works from A Twist of Iron as we have one of their early fire pits in our own backyard. This time of year, as the evening nights cool, you are most likely to find us sitting around it, having a hot bowl of soup or a glass of wine. In spring and fall, we use ours a lot.
Firepits and seasonal decorations
Avon River Metalworks
The food area was packed solid so failed to get a photo. A highlight, with a reasonable wait time, was the food truck, Tin Pan Alley. If you follow this link, there is a menu for the event, served by a lot of local folks. No wonder this event is recognized as an "Incredible Edible Picnic Site". There are other picnics happening in Nova Scotia this time of year, so you could follow the link to find out if there is one near you.

Needless to say free wine sampling was a big hit. The winery was in fact a church, moved to the site from Walton, a nearby town. It is so beautiful, still mostly original inside with it's warm wood and carved font. Many people left with a wine purchase or a gift from the busy shop inside, a great place to visit at any time of year.

By the time we left, the parking lots were full, and cars were lined up right down to the main road. Try not to miss it next year. It was stinkin fun!

****Update...just found out my gf Naomi won for her recipe "Roasted Onion and Garlic soup" which will go into the book. Am so so pleased. High five N.

20 comments:

  1. Very interesting! We have a similar festival on the Isle of Wight, which has become famous for growing garlic alleged to be better than the French stuff! (oh yeah?)

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    1. Smile...better than the french stuff? I won't enter that debate but, I do think it is all about good draining soil and good cloves to start with..healthy and lush.

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  2. That looks like a great event! I'm not sure I would have liked the garlic ice-cream on that menu! Did you buy any bulbs to grow? The best time to plant the bulbs is October-December here, is it the same with you?
    Sarah x

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    1. I did buy one music bulb to grow ))). No to the garlic icecream...((( Yes the best time here to plant garlic is October..about 14th to 24th. This week actually!! Wish me luck. Thanks Sarah for commenting.

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  3. Looks like an absolutely gorgeous day and lots of fun items to check out. What a great idea. I planted Music last year and bought some again this year. Really nice large cloves for sure.

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    1. Thanks for your comment Marguerite. Music is a good strong garlic, one of the tops for Canada I think.

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  4. Brenda!!!! Hi! Loved the post. I remember the first time I saw a picture of your fire pit. It is pretty darned incredible. Roasted onion and Garlic Soup sounds so good right now, I can't get enough garlic. A friend made a tomato sauce for salmon on the weekend. It took 20 cloves of garlic. It was unbelievably delicious. Can't wait to see the recipe.

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    1. Erin..am loving your new blog! The recipe for Salmon sounds delicious although normally I don't like tomato with salmon but add some 20 cloves of garlic...yowsa!

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  5. I bet roasted onion and garlic soup is delicious. This sounds like a fabulous day out - so much to sample; and by the sound of it some wonderful shopping opportunities. I love finding out about these events around the world. Thank you for sharing this.

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    1. You are most welcome. Thanks for visiting. Am late replying (((

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  6. Interesting festival I think. Your blog too. Thank you for sharing. I invite you to visit my blog.
    Have a nice day
    Endah
    Indonesia

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  7. Hi from Halifax !
    Desperately seeking a source for quince trees for my Mum and myself. Could you share the source for your tree with us.
    Thank you, Aileen

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    1. I think my friend N. sourced hers at Blomidon Nursery in Wolfville. If you go to Tangled Garden in the same town they have a few quince trees there and perhaps the owner might share where she sourced her new ones. I don't have a quince tree...not yet that is ))))))!!! Thanks Aileen for visiting my blog

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  8. This looks fantastic Bren - I'd love to go to a garlic festival :)

    NB re your Haws watering can, sugru have been in touch as they already show how to repair one on their website. It looks a better way of doing things than my crude attempt and is how I'll approach making the repair inside the can, Here's the link if you want to have a look http://sugru.com/guides/how-to-repair-a-leaking-watering-can

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    1. Thanks for the link VP. Yes the video was really good but think I would like the sugru inside the jug and think that might work better.

      Come to the garlic festival....happening same time next year I think!!

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  9. The garlic festival does sound like stinkin good fun! I love the sound of some of the items on the menu. Pizza with bacon garlic and maple syrup- now that sounds interesting!

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    1. We went with the food truck offering, from Tin Pan Alley. They sold out by two! The garlic aioli was awesome! Why not time your next visit to NS when the festival is on.

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  10. Thank you for your comment on my blog. I'm so happy to meet you and looking forward to exploring here.

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    1. I was enriched by your wisedom Angella. Thank you for making my morning special and for visiting my blog.

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  11. Hi Brenda - I'm far away now in cheerful lovely but isolated Labrador. One of Sweet Patooties ancient aunts is a gardener - I hope to meet her this weekend. don't know if we'll put a garden in as we'll be back in NS for summers. But the writing is flourishing!

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