Godzilla Says if you want to breathe fire ....Eat more Garlic.

Photo sent by Fritz

Hummus

Recipe sent by Jay


Yield
about 2 cups

Time
10 minutes (+ chick pea soaking and cooking)

Tools
food processor or potato masher and bowl

Ingredients
2 cup chick peas, soaked and cooked or canned, drained and rinsed
1 - 1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp tahini (sesame paste)
1/2 to 1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika

Directions
Place the cooked chick peas (it's ok if they're still warm) in the food processor along with the garlic, lemon juice, and water. Process for about a minute, until smooth. If too thick, add more water.

Stir in the tahini and spices, taste, and add more lemon juice/tahini/cumin/paprika as appropriate.

Spread the hummus into a shallow bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and garnish with lemon slices and minced parsley.

Serve chilled, with warm pita bread and/or fresh vegetables.

Update. Jay just sent this email:
I tried this last night and the original recipe called for double the
garlic and it was WAY too much. I included the cut back in what I sent
you. It should be perfect this way.

Thank you, it sounds delicious!

Garlic Garlic Garlic

Information sent by Fearless

Garlic can be peeled and simmered whole in water or in various dishes to bring about a milder flavor, or crushed after roasting it till soft for the strongest and best flavor. One can then puree it with a little olive oil or cream and add to the drippings of roasts, stews or soups. If made into a paste it can be added to mashed potatoes or mayonnaise and many sauteed vegetables. oregano, thyme, and marjoram are individually or togeather, usually good accompaniments.

Deglaze or add to pan drippings, vegetable or chicken stock or wine. Boil down to thicken and strain.

Chicken and fish are the biggest beneficiaries of garlic but as this garlicblog demonstrates there are multiple uses.

Tzatziki

Tzatziki is a greek dish (dip) and it can have from moderate to lots of garlic, here is the recipe (I just saw it on the Food Network).

In a mixing bowl, blend

1 cup strained plain yogurt (or Greek or Balkan yogourt from the store).
1 medium cucumber very finely grated and dehydrated by putting in strainer and pressing with paper towel, (you don't want the cucumber to be watery or the tzatziki won't turn out as planned).
2 garlic cloves very finely grated (or more),
1/4 tsp onion powder,
1 tbsp olive oil, and
The juice of half a lemon.

Blend until the mix is really smooth.

It is meant to be a dip for pitas. You can keep it in the fridge for a week or so.

Garlic basil vinegar and some uses

From Fearless

Heat to boil 2 cups of good red wine vinegar, add 6 crushed garlic cloves and a few dozen basil leaves.
Turn off heat, cool, store for a month then filter.

1. Sprinkle on salad

2. Marinade chicken;
1/2 c olive oil
3 tbl g/b vinegar
1 tbl tamarind paste {indian} can be found inexpensively in asian markets.
salt and pepper to taste

Combine and marinade 5 chicken breasts for at least 3 hours. Grill or bake. Serve with warm sauce.

Sauce
Heat for 5 minutes, until carmelized
1 red onion diced
3 garlic cloves diced
2 tbl olive oil
2 red peppers, seeded, grilled and diced
2 peaches, pitted, peeled and diced
1 tbl sugar

Deglaze with 1/3 c g/b vinegar then add
2 c tomato juice
1 tsp salt
5 drops tobasco sauce
simmer 15 minutes then puree all
use sparingly with chicken.

3. Use g/b vinegar when making gazpacho, pizza, etc.

Roasted Garlic Bruschetta

Jacque sent this email:

I'm an event planner and we entertain a lot in our home. This is the recipe that continues to be a favorite. It's easy and there's never any left at the end of the night. Everyone rants and raves about it...

Roasted Garlic Bruschetta

2 heads garlic, roasted and peeled

Extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

8 - 12 thick slices good quality, crusty bread



Mash the garlic with enough olive oil to make a thick paste and season with salt and pepper. Grill or broil the bread until toasted on both sides. Spread the garlic paste on one side, drizzle with additional olive oil if desired, and serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.


Have fun having people over for this one!


Jacque

Garden Fresh Gourmet Artichoke Garlic Salsa

The Salsa Review has this post written by Sugarmama:


Texture: Very fine
Flavor: Garlicy
Price: N/A
Where purchased: N/A
Refrigeration: Yes
Website: Garden Fresh Gourmet
Spiciness: 3
Grade: B-

The kind folks at Garden Fresh Gourment sent me a tub of Artichoke Garlic salsa to try, so I'm not sure where it is available for purchase. Being consistent with our recent garlic-themed posts, I think this is a great time to review the Artichoke Garlic Salsa.

I like artichokes and garlic a lot, but I found this salsa a bit overpowering with the garlic and underpowering with the artichokes. Artichokes do not have a strong flavor, so the scant pieces that were mixed in with the salsa served as more of a visual decoration than anything else.

The salsa has a flavorful taste to it. It certainly isn't a boring salsa, though it is mild and acceptable for anyone who has a sensitive stomach. However, I brushed my teeth and gargled with mouthwash three times after eating the salsa in a futile attempt to get the garlic aftertaste out of my mouth. If you're planning on being near people after you eat this salsa, don't eat it.

If you absolutely mad about garlic, I think you will enjoy this salsa. I am going to stick with my personal favorite produced by Garden Fresh, Jack's Special Medium.

Garlic Spray

Corina sent this email:

I happened across this website today and thought of garlicster! mmmm!
I wonder where we can find this in Canada?

http://www.garlicvalleyfarms.com/product2.html


I wonder too. I tried to look on their website but couldn't find anything about "where to find us" or "stores" or anything. Does anyone know?

Foreign garlic rubs from fearless

Donald says:

These garlic rubs i've not used yet and would appreciate any feedback

Cuban (adobo) , a garlic marinade found in some price conscious stores. good with beef, pork, lamb, fish, and shellfish. Size counts, so that a large pork leg may take 7 hours and shrimp may take 1 hour.
Blend:
5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 c lime juice
1/3 c orange juice


Brazilian garlic marinade:
chops for 2 hours, legs to 8 hours; for pork, lamb, beef and poultry. (3 lbs)
6 cloves garlic peeled and minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbl parsley or celentro
1 tbl rosemary
2 tsp hot sauce
1 tbl red wine vinegar
1/4 c minced onion
1/4 c white wine
3/4 c lime juice



Thank you, Donald. So does anyone have any feedback?

Aioli

Mister Anchovy writes:

visit: http://www.sarigordonliving.com/blog/2005/03/this-is-it.html peacebang sent me this link....looks tasty....

cheers

mister anchovy


Indeed it does look tasty, and I was looking for a recipe for aioli. Thanks!

Chicken wing recipe!

Recipe sent by Kristine:


My friends and family and I usually just refer to this recipe as 'THE FAMOUS DISAPPEARING CHICKEN WINGS' (you'll see why when you bring a nice platter of them to a party, or just make them for yourself)

-about a dozen whole chicken wings, cut at the joints, tips
discarded.

-about 1/2 cup flour

-1/4 cup each soy sauce (use silver swan if you can find it,
or another dark asian-made soy sauce, kikkoman is not
that great) and honey.

-1 green onion, chopped

-1/2 clove garlic, smashed (here's the deal, if you want them more garlicky you can add up to 1 clove of garlic per wing).

-pinch of pepper

1. Combine honey, soy sauce, garlic, pepper, and green onion into a big bowl or container (you'll be dipping the wings into this later)

2. Pat chicken pieces dry. dip in flour, shake off excess. fry in lots of hot oil (oil should cover wings almost halfway) over medium-hot heat until golden brown.

3. Immediately dip each fried wing into honey/soy sauce bowl, shake off excess, place on serving platter.

4. Serve with some nice white rice, pref. short-grained asian rice, and some vegetables. Roll your eyes upward in an expression of heavenly chicken wing glory.

Enjoy!

Note: you may find you prefer the sauce sweeter or less sweet. I usually use a little more honey than soy sauce.

How to keep garlic

So, after my bad experience last week, with my garlic sprouting and everything, here are some of the comments Garlicster readers sent with ideas and suggestions:

Roger said:
garlic should be stored in a paper bag.

eLisa wrote:
Well I don't really know about garlic in specific, but I do know about onions. You keep onions in a brown paper bag in the low humidity side of your crisper and they stay firm and do not sprout for a really long time. I use my onions within a month, so I don't know how much longer than that that they would keep. Perhaps garlic is similar? I just buy new garlic whenever mine gets soft or sprouts and never thought about trying to keep it in the frig cause I heard it was a no-no like you did. I am going to try the brown paper bag thing now that you've got me thinking about it!

Arthur:
If your garlic sprouted that quickly, then it was ready to sprout. I worked in the Caribbean and bought garlic by the case. Sometimes it would all sprout in a couple of weeks, other times I could keep it for months. The only advice that I can give you is to buy high quality bulbs, keep them cool and in the dark, and don't use any sprouts. I'm sure that a garlic farmer could give you much better advice.

Patrick sent this email:
I have tried various ways of keeping garlic and I still feel the best way is to store it in the fridge where it stays dark and cool. I keep it in one of the veg. draws with my onions(which I keep in a plastic bag) and this seems to keep the garlic fresh and it lasts the longest. Like you I have kept my garlic stored in the dark , but in a a cabinet and it too, started to blossum. I think the cool temp. is what helps keep it fresh the longest. Hope we hear about other ideas!

Fritz said:
I have seen small ceramic crocks that were sold as storage for garlic, claiming to keep it fresh longer. When I buy garlic it is alot like buying bananas. The state that the garlic is in at the time of purchase will tell me alot about how long it has till it is compromised. I try to find it in the best posssible state and then use it up as soon as possible.

Annie left this comment:
I keep fresh garlic flavorful by peeling the buds clean, then packing the cloves tightly in a small jar, then cover with olive oil...they stay firm. I keep them in the fridge, although have been meaning to try storing it in the pantry to see just how long it will keep.

Simple suggested:
I keep my garlic in a ceramic crock on the kitchen counter so it's always nearby. I can purchase 4-5 head and still come to the end of 3 weeks without it being compromised. Garlic needs to be in a dry, dark environment for best storage, but you should carefully choose only the best at the store to prolong your garlic's "shelf life."

Eric also said:
Not unlike the other garlic aficionados, we keep our garlic in a little ceramic crock with dime-sized holes all over its circumference. Whenever we maked chili, spaghetti or any other dish that we feel could use some, it's right there.

So what I think is the most popular method, is to keep the garlic in a sort of "cookie jar" ceramic container, screw the cap tightly and not let any light see the garlic. Also I guess that garlic I got last week was about to sprout anyway, I put that in the fridge, but next time I'll know what to do.
Thanks everyone for the great ideas!

Garlic poached eggs with croutons

Recipe sent by Fearless.


Different, but good:

1 tsp garlic powder
3 tbl veg. oil
18 bread cubes, fry, turning often, remove
or
buy store bought garlic croutons

Add to pan or create a new 1 cup of consomme with 1 cup of water or 2 cups of water and 2
beef cubes.
Poach eggs in barely bubbling broth, 3 minutes, covering occasionally with broth.
Remove to plate.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and paprika.
Add croutons and broth enough for personal taste.

Keeping garlic

So today I have a question for all Garlicster readers. Here's the deal:

Last week I bought a pack of 4 garlic heads, I used one whole head on the chicken I cooked (recipe to be posted soon), and left the other three heads in the mesh bag on the kitchen counter. Now my kitchen does not get a lot of natural light, but it's not totally dark. Last night, when I was getting ready to prepare a delicious garlic fetuccini I reached for the garlic and there were grown stems on two out of the three heads I had. Some of the cloves didn't germinate, but some did. I just cut the green part off the cloves and used those cloves for my spaghetti.
Now the question is: Does anyone know the correct way to keep garlic? These heads had been there for only one week and this happened. I read somewhere that you shouldn't keep garlic in the fridge, but that's just what I did after last night.

What is your best way of keeping fresh garlic? Have you had any experiences like mine (garlic germinating)?

Leave a comment or send me an email and I'll post it for discussion.

Steak marinade from fearless

Recipe sent by Donald.

1 inch thick steaks at least.
Marinate 8 hours or overnight. Don't overmarinate or use too thin a steak.
Wipe clean, discarde marinade, brush with oil.

Marinade:
1 1/2 tsp 5 spice pwdr.
1/3 c. teriyaki sauce
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 tbl. honey
1/2 tsp meat tenderizer
1 tbl. or more {any amt.} garlic pwdr.

Mix all, turn meat at least once, can be used also on chicken. You'll never use another marinade.