The end of summer usually means the end of fresh garlic, but we do have a few heads left from our bumper crop. We will sell it until it’s all gone — probably for another two weeks. Please drop by and pick up some garlic before the harvest is all gone. (Next year’s garlic crop arrives on July 1.) Our locally-grown garlic is hard-neck red German variety. The majority of the garlic available in the supermarkets is grown in China.

If you are so inspired, our homegrown garlic can be planted in your own garden (on October 12) and harvested on July 4, 2010. One clove will yield one head of delicious, fresh, juicy hard-neck garlic.

Don’t know what to do with extra garlic? Here’s a recipe I’ve been making for 25 years:

Crab-Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Cheesecake

• 1 head of garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil or as needed
• 1 pound crabmeat, picked over for any shell particles
• 1 pound cream cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt, pepper, cayenne to taste
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs

Peel the garlic and place in a ramekin. Cover with olive oil. Bake at 325 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until very tender. Drain the cloves and mash well. Save the olive oil for another use (such as sopping up with crusty bread).

Beat together the cream cheese and eggs until very creamy in texture. Beat in the cream Fold in the crabmeat, garlic, and season well with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Pour into a baking dish and top with the cheese and breadcrumbs mixed together. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Serve warm with crackers or cut into wedges to top a salad.