Green Garlic and Garlic Scape

My favourite show, Mexico One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless finally premiered its Season 8 in Buffalo and Toronto. I really don't know why it took so long, since in other PBS stations it's been playing since September!

Anyway, today's episode featured Green Garlic Mojo, which is basically "green garlic stalks" (pictured below) (lots of pictures of green garlic in this link).


Picture courtesy of Sophisticated Peasant
I had never seen green garlic stalks! They basically look like green onions, but apparently they are pure garlic. I was very intrigued by them.

I had heard of ramps before and I know we have them here in Toronto at the beginning of the summer. They are all the rage around here.

Not sure if we were talking of the same thing, I put a question to twitter. I now think that ramps and green garlic stalks are not the same because they have separate Wikipedia entries. Then again, someone mentioned that they are also called Garlic Scapes. According to Wikipedia: "Immature scapes are tender and edible. They are also known as "garlic spears", "stems", or "tops". Scapes generally have a milder taste than the cloves. They are often used in stir frying or braised like asparagus".

Looking for more information about green garlic and garlic scape I ran into 2 Sisters Garlic. Their Garlic and Garlic Scape recipes are highly recommended. They have recipes for Garlic Monkey Bread, Veggie and Chicken Pizza with Scapes, Summertime Herbed Chicken Pasta, Garlic Scape Carbonara, Garlic Scape Pesto, White Bean and Garlic Scape Dip, Simple Garlic Vinaigrette, Emeril's Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette, Sauteed Garlic Scapes, and Grilled Garlic Scapes. All the recipes feature garlic and green garlic (garlic scapes) prominently and look delicious!

Seven Years!

Yesterday was Garlicster's 7th bloggiversary. We've been bringing garlic happiness since October 27, 2004.

Happy Bloggiversary, Garlicster!

Vegan cauliflower and leek soup

I bought a cauliflower and as always didn't know how to cook it, I also had leftover leeks and celery. I made a cauliflower and leek soup, with a bit of celery. Of course there was garlic involved, as well as a can of white kidney beans. After boiling everything in vegetable broth for about 40 minutes (I added the beans at the end since they were already cooked), I blended everything with the hand blender. The texture was that of a veloute, and it was just delicious. Highly recommended.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp vegan margarine

1 head of cauliflower

1 leek

2 stalks of celery

1 clove of garlic

1/2 sweet onion

1 carton of vegetable broth

1 can of white kidney beans

Salt and pepper to taste

Taking the bite off raw garlic

Staci sent the following email:

Hello!

I came across your website while searching for a recipe. You may have the answer to my question in your blog, but I'm so tired tonight, I thought I'd just email you first. :)

So, my question is this (and you may not even have an answer!): do you know how to take the "bite" out of raw garlic? We took our kids to Legoland last year and stopped at a farmer's market, where we came across Majestic Garlic. THE best garlic dip ever! It's raw, vegan, gluten free....I tried to duplicate it after my supply ran out, but it was SO spicy!

Here are the ingredients:
fresh raw garlic
safflower oil
organic flax seed oil/omega 3
lemon juice
sea salt
(there are different varieties which include such things as sun dried tomato/jalepeno, cilantro, etc...)

It has a mayonnaise consistency.

The last time I tried, I just used my cheap food processor. I have since purchased a Blendtec. Do you think using a high quality blender would help emulsify and take the bite out?

Any hints? I am completely addicted to this stuff, but it's pretty pricey.

Thanks in advance for any tips you have!

Staci

I know how to do it with onion (rinse onion slices with hot water, then dip in ice water), but actually have never tried it with garlic.

Does anyone have any idea?
Please leave your comments and I'll publish them later on.

Thanks!!

Moroccan lentil and chickpea soup from 1000 Vegan Recipes

It is -30 outside, time for a nice warm soup. I looked at 1000 Vegan Recipes looking for something that looked warm, rich and delicious. I found the Moroccan lentil and chickpea soup as a good option. I went to Metro to get all the ingredients, they are pictured below.

Unfortunately none of the ingredients for the Harissa sauce was available. We decided to substitute with A Taste of Thai Garlic Chili Pepper Sauce, which has a good taste but is a bit sweet and not too vinegary.
The soup turned out delicious.

This is not a very good picture, but as you can see it is very tomatoe-ey, with a taste of garlic and ginger and some cumin. Delicious and totally recommended.

Escargot With Rosemary

This recipe was sent by Anastasia Koutalianos, author of From the Olive Grove: Mediterranean Cooking with Olive Oil.

In Greece, escargot are known as saligaria, and they can be found in dry shrubbery throughout the countryside. After picking our saligaria, we leave them in a covered basket with some flour and a few branches to start the cleansing process. But you can buy them in a can—don’t eat the ones from your garden!
Serve this appetizer with crusty bread and a glass of good red wine.

3 tbsp olive oil
2 cups sliced button mushrooms
3 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves
1 can of 24–36 escargot (without shell), rinsed well
3 tbsp dried rosemary (or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary)
½ tsp sea salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tbsp wine vinegar
¼ cup red (or white) wine
¼ tsp dried marjoram
½ tsp dried thyme
1 tsp flour

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan on medium to high. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté for 5–10 minutes, or until softened. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a new saucepan, heat olive oil on medium heat, add garlic and sauté on low until fragrant. Stir in escargot, rosemary, salt, pepper, and the cooked mushrooms.
Reduce heat to low, and add wine vinegar, wine, marjoram, thyme, and flour.
Simmer for 10–15 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Excerpt from From the Olive Grove cookbook. Printed with permission and published by Arsenal Pulp Press.

It sounds delicious and sooo garlicky!

She also has a few other recipes in her book, such as Faki (lentil soup,vegetarian), Fasolada (romano bean soup, vegetarian), Psarosoupa (fish chowder), Oxtail barley soup, Stifatho (Venison & Pearl Onion) Stew, Roasted leg of lamb (super-garlicky), Mousaka (Eggplant Lasagna), Pastitsio (Beef & Noodle Casserole), Shrimp with Feta (also super-garlicky), Gigandes (Giant Baked Lima Beans, vegetarian and garlicky!), and lots of other Greek style dishes.

Chilaquiles for new year's breakfast

This morning, I made chilaquiles accompanied by a side of sunny side up fried eggs and some refried beans. I covered the whole thing with sliced red onion and it was all delicious and vegetarian.
I admit this is not a very garlicky recipe, but I did use garlic when making the salsa for the chilaquiles. I used cilantro, white onion, fresh tomatoes, jalapenos and garlic, all liquified in the blender and then cooked in a bit of olive oil for about 15 minutes. I used Que Pasa unsalted organic tortilla chips for the chilaquiles, really good and non-greasy.