Garlic

We use garlic – lots and lots and lots of garlic. We roast it (see Mashed Potatoes with Roasted Garlic, below), put it in salsa (Salsa blog), pico de gallo (Salsa blog), spaghetti sauce (Tomato blog – Part Two), tagliarini (Tomato blog), pesto (coming soon), lasagna, practically anything with tomatoes, lots of vegetable dishes, homemade pizza (coming soon), and I could go on and on….

Garlic is high in antioxidants and has lots of wonderful vitamins and minerals. It may have the ability to lower blood pressure, and has shown promise in cancer research.

If you want fresh garlic in the summer, you have to plant in the fall. It’s like planting daffodils or tulips or anything with a bulb. Why plant garlic? Because there’s only about 1 variety you can buy in the store and there are dozens of varieties out there, each with its own distinctive flavor. Plus, once you grow garlic, you can save your favorites to plant every year.

I’m going to get the book: Growing Great Garlic: The Definitive Guide for Organic Gardeners and Small Farmers by Ron England. I really want to try some different varieties and see how they change different recipes.

We planted our garlic today, but there was a problem – not enough! So I quickly ordered some more bulbs because most companies run out of seed garlic fairly early. We decided to scrap our strawberry bed in favor of garlic; so when our garlic comes, we still have another bed to plant.

Garlic is super-easy to plant. Have a raised bed – they like the soft soil – add lots of compost, make sure you have a water source, and voila! You are ready to plant garlic. Plant in the fall when the nights get cold and frosty. You want them to put their energy into root production, not top production.

Separate the heads into cloves – just like you would if you were going to cook.

Push them down into the soil about 1-2” and cover with soil. Then cover with some kind of mulch – grass clippings, hay, straw or leaves. We use straw because we keep straw bales around our compost bin.

That’s it. Next spring, when the weather warms up, remove the mulch. Keep the weeds down by mulching with grass clippings, and give the garlic lots of water through the summer just until they mature.

If you plant stiffneck varieties, you will need to top them in early summer. A hard round stem called a scape will grow from the middle and sort of curl around. Cut off this scape and use them in stir-fry or in anything you would normally use with garlic. They have a nice, very mild garlic flavor.

Harvest your garlic in the summer when the bottom leaves are beginning to yellow and before more than one or two leaves turn brown – June through August depending on the variety. Be careful when you dig or pull the garlic bulbs so you don’t bruise them.

Dry them out of the sun in a warm place with good air circulation. Then you can braid them like onions or store them on a screen in a cool, dry place.

We picked a bulb or two before they were all the way ready and used the garlic in pico de gallo or other summer recipes. Then I used the bulbs in all the above mentioned recipes – salsa, marinara, and everyday cooking. And we’re already out of garlic. Already. So I have to plant twice as many this fall.

Here are some other ideas and I’m sure you have lots of your own.

This is a great summer salad if you have baby spinach, or a great salad any time. We use it for holiday meals when we need another vegetable dish.

Wilted Baby Spinach With Raisins and Pine Nuts

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/3 cup golden raisins

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

2 pounds triple-washed baby spinach

Salt and freshly ground black pepper  

In a skillet over medium heat, place the pine nuts. Stir and toss until lightly golden, 30 to 60 seconds. Remove from the pan and reserve. Pour boiling water over the raisins and drain immediately. Set aside.

In a large skillet, warm the oil. Add the garlic and spinach and toss with tongs until the garlic is mixed in with the spinach and the spinach just begins to wilt. Add the raisins and pine nuts and toss well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

MASHED POTATOES WITH ROASTED GARLIC

2 whole garlic heads         

2 lbs. cubed peeled Yukon gold potatoes     

1 chopped onion     

2 tbs. plain yogurt

1 tsp. dried rosemary, chopped

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

Slice off tops of garlic and remove some of white papery skin. Wrap each head separately in foil. Bake at 350° for 1 hour. Cool 10 minutes. Squeeze to extract pulp. Discard skins. Place potato and onion in saucepan, cover with water and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes till potatoes are tender. Drain, reserving ¼ c. cooking water. Combine garlic, potato mixture, ¼ c. reserved liquid and remaining ingredients, mash with masher. About 8 servings.

Make this next one in midsummer when you have new potatoes and green onions.

GARLICKY ROASTED POTATO SALAD

3 lbs. medium red potatoes, quartered  

1 tbs. oil        

1 tbs. ground mustard        

2 tsp. crushed coriander seeds       

6 garlic cloves, halved

½ c. chopped fresh parsley

½ c. plain yogurt

1/3 c. thinly sliced green onions     

½ tsp. salt      

¼ tsp. black pepper 

Combine first 5 ingredients, tossing to coat. Place potato mixture on baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or till tender, stirring occasionally. Cool to room temperature. Combine rest of ingredients. Add cooled potatoes, and toss gently. Serve at room temperature. 8 servings. 

GARLIC ROASTED POTATOES

1 tbs. oil       

5 minced garlic cloves   

2 tsp. cumin   

¼ tsp. ground red pepper

1 ½ lbs. red potatoes, cut into 1 ½“ pieces

½ tsp. salt 

Heat oil in skillet; add garlic; cook till golden (30 seconds), stirring constantly. Add cumin and red pepper. Add potatoes and salt; toss. Place mixture in roasting pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or till tender. 4  servings. 

We love this chili recipe – it makes a lot and has a wonderful flavor. This time I made it with dried beans from the garden instead of black beans. 

MELLOW BLACK BEAN CHILI

1/4 c. olive oil        

4 large onions, sliced         

4 minced cloves garlic        

3 stalks celery, chopped    

1 tbs. cumin         

1 lb. black beans, rinsed and sorted

1 can diced green chilies, or fresh garden chilies, roasted    

8 c. chicken broth

¼ c. lemon juice

1 ½ lbs. Polish sausage

Sour cream

Salsa 

Note: if you use other dried beans, rinse them. Put them in a pot, cover with water to about twice as high as the beans. Cover. Bring to boil. Boil 2 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover and let sit at least one hour.

Sauté onions, garlic, and celery in oil till very limp.

Add cumin. Stir in beans, chilies, and broth.

Bring to a boil and simmer 2 1/2 hours till beans are tender. You can tell they are done if you take some out, blow on them, and the skins peel back.

Stir in lemon juice. In a blender or food processor, whirl half the soup.

Return to pan. Stir in sausage. Simmer 10 minutes. About 4 qts. or 8 servings.

This next makes a fabulous summertime soup when you have fresh summer squash.

MINESTRONE SOUP – Amy Harmon

Chop and sauté in olive oil:

1 onion         

2-3 stalks celery

2-3 cloves garlic

Brown 1 lb. ground meat. Season to taste with garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.

Place all in soup pot with:

1 can kidney beans (drained)  

1 can garbanzo beans (drained)       

1 can northern beans (drained)     

Diced tomatoes           

Basil                   

1 tsp. cumin    

1 diced summer squash

1 diced zucchini

2 grated carrots       

1 can (46 oz) spicy V-8 juice  

Oregano            

Simmer for 10 minutes. Add favorite cooked pasta, heat and serve.

I still could go on and on about garlic, but you get the idea.