I told her, it's ok if I don't care for beets, because I do like ginger, and it was a miracle food before beets were, even though I suspect they've both been around for about the same amount of time in human history. But you know, it isn't officially miracle food until some researcher says so.
Even more important, I'm a big fan of garlic. I mean, garlic really is glorious. And healthy? Whoa! Garlic down through history has been reputed to fix everything from the common cold to the Bubonic Plague. We know for sure it's a natural antibiotic and that it's good for the cardiovascular system, most notably because it keeps that bad cholesterol down.
Nothing, ever, will surpass garlic for goodness and health benefits. I'm sure of it. So, no, I don't pickle beets. I do however, as I've shown in previous blogs, pickle dill cukes. And there is a piece of garlic in most of those bottles. (There'd be garlic in them all, but sometimes I forget to drop it in before I put the lid on.) Usually it's my own garlic in there. The only other garlic that comes through my door is either locally grown, or when I can't get that, I will buy U.S. grown garlic, in a pinch. But I try to either grow enough, or buy enough at market, to get me through the year. Problem is, I use a lot of garlic. It's in my hummus dip, spaghetti sauce, other pasta dishes, ratitoulles, sauces and dressings. I chop it coarse, chop it fine, roast it, grate it and crush it. I mean, it's garlic. It goes. Garlic is ready to pick in mid to late July. Like... now. And above is one of mine. I just pulled them out of the ground... about 30 bulbs of ... yes, glorious home-grown garlic. :) Miracle food supreme.
I'm not sure if we could do this, but my dad (down south- NC, US) lets a few of his go each year and it becomes a perennial (biennial?) and he never has to plant. If you have the space and can spare a couple of plants, maybe mulch really heavily and try it?
ReplyDeleteI prefer it roasted, myself :D
Hmmm... I kind of like to move it around, using a different part of the garden each year. But thanks! I'll keep it in mind. Somewhere here I've got garlic that's been there at least 8 years. It was surrounded by oregano at one point. I must look for it. ;o)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE roasted garlic.