Garlic-
Garlic grows in a bulb containing many separate cloves. The cloves are covered in a paper thin skin that is removed and discarded before use.
Garlic can be used both cooked and raw. It can be roasted or sauteed. If there is a green sprout in the center of your garlic clove, simply remove it and continue.
Garlic has a very strong odor due to sulfur compounds, but that is what makes it so good for us. Eating garlic with fresh parsley may reduce any mouth odor, or better yet, share garlic with the people around you and it won’t matter! A tip for removing the garlic smell from hands or cutting boards is a fresh lemon. Simply cut a lemon in half and rub it all over the area, then wash with soap and water as usual.
A fun and helpful tool to use in the kitchen is a garlic press, worth the investment, in our opinion.
There are many varieties of garlic, the most popular are white garlic, pink garlic, and giant or elephant garlic.
Garlic stores very well and likes the dark. It will remain plump on your counter top for a couple of months, but if you place it in the refrigerator it will keep for up to 7 months! (Jess keeps her bulbs in a cool dark area in news paper, unless it’s the summer garlic with long stems, in which case the stems are loosely braided and the garlic hung by the stems in the pantry closet. Bulbs are then snipped off as needed.)
Vitamin C, selenium, potassium, and calcium
Garlic has been valued as a health protector for thousands of years, and for good reason! Modern medicine has shown that garlic has a powerful effect at boosting the immune system, aids in cardiovascular health, and fighting cancer.
How to Roast Garlic Heads- Originally posted by Sarah – January 20, 2015
Cook it slowly til it’s brown and sweet…..
That’s right my Springdell friends, today we caramelize. Cut the whole head of garlic and make sure each clove is exposed, take off most of the papery outside at this time.
Drizzle led the garlic with olive oil and wrap that sucker up.
Put the wrapped garlic into a preheated 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes.
This is a little piece of heaven. You literally squeeze the garlic out and put it in just about anything. I have made roasted garlic dips,in even added it into the chili I made Sunday night.
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Spring Garlic is a different beast from the garlic above. These are the smaller garlic bulbs thinned out of the farmer’s row to make room for the hardiest bulbs to grow larger.
Got tomatoes? This one is great for that influx of ripe heirlooms! A homemade or store bought pie crust will be needed, but the rest is simply simple. You’ll need some time (a few hours) to allow the tomato slices to lose their liquid, so plan for some prep in the morning and things should be ready for baking by dinner time.
This one was shared by fellow Springdellian Dawn DeMeo a great one to use up the last of the seasonal corn, peppers, jalapeños and onion. The source is Cooks Illustrated, a fabulous local test kitchen. It’s a wonderful recipe as it’s very flexible in its ingredients, and easy to make your own. Check them out and try this one today!
Fire up the grill! Here’s a quick and tasty marinade, and a fabulous use for those jalapeños! If Tequila isn’t in your pantry, you’ll need just a nip’s worth to make this one. If working with frozen jalapeños, remember that they’ll be twice as hot as the fresh ones!
