Tag Archives: garlic

Good, Good Garlic

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by Marykate Smith Despres, Salem Depot

Everyone knows that garlic is good for you. Garlic cures colds, neutralizes bacteria, repels vampires. A tight fistful of knuckles, a package wrapped in the paper in which it has grown, garlic is a vegetable disguised as an herb.

I love raw garlic. I am not afraid of garlic breath. I will crunch a clove or two of garlic when I feel myself getting sick or pop pickled garlic when I’m craving a spicy, sour snack. And although my husband and I both enjoy minced garlic thrown into a meal at the very end of its cooking, I don’t often subject my dinner guests to raw garlic in a meal in fear that they will think me an insufficient cook rather than an eater who enjoys a little edge.

Hummus serves as the perfect shallow end for safely wading into the idea of eating garlic raw. You can add just a little garlic and still get a decent bite or add a lot and seriously step up the fragrance and flavor of what could be considered by some to be a bland bowl of beige to dip your crackers in.

In keeping with the raw veg theme, I added some of the scallions we got from the Coop this week to my hummus. I’ve made hummus with onion before, but it’s easy to overdo raw onion. Scallions are the perfect solution to this because of their more mild flavor.

Here’s what I used and how I did it:

1large 1 lb 13 oz can + 1 regular 15.5 oz can chickpeas *

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons unsweetened soy milk or water

juice of 1 medium to large lemon

2 large cloves garlic

3 scallions, chopped

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Drain and rinse chickpeas. Put all ingredients except soy milk or water in the food processor, chickpeas first so that the spices and tahini don’t get stuck to the bottom. I don’t bother chopping my garlic but rather let the food processor do the work for me. Blend until the mix begins to get smooth, then add water or soy milk to add creaminess and finish blending.

So easy! To make things even easier, remember to firmly roll your lemon between your palm and work surface to ensure getting the most juice. And always use a strainer to avoid getting pits in your hummus.

* I like to make a lot of hummus at once, but you can easily halve the ingredients. This recipe makes enough to share with guests while still having plenty left over for the family.

 

Anne Macdonald’s Ravioli With Chicken

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Here’s my recipe for the Ravioli with chicken dish from the Farm Direct Annual Meeting.  This is a recipe that I got from my husband’s great-aunt.  The proportions are pretty flexible but I have provided some here:

•Cooked chicken, can be all white meat or white and dark meat – 2 cups
•Raviolis – 1 13 oz. package
•Garlic, 2 large cloves, sliced (not chopped or crushed)
•Olive oil, 2 tablespoons
•Tomato sauce, to taste
•Optional: Mushrooms, Onions, Peppers

1) Cook ravioli.

2)  Heat olive oil and add garlic. If you are going to use vegetables, remove the garlic and cook mushrooms, onions and/or peppers.

3) When vegetables are sautéed, add garlic back in and set aside to cool slightly.  Combine cooked chicken with garlic and vegetables (or just garlic if you choose not to add vegetables).

4) Drain ravioli and add to chicken, garlic and vegetables.  Add tomato sauce, enough to coat everything or as thick as you like. Dish can be warmed in the oven or served at room temperature.

Please note: the proportions can be increased or decreased as needed in this dish.  For the annual meeting, I used 125 raviolis, one small whole chicken, 6 garlic cloves, 4 onions, 3 red peppers, 1 large package of mushrooms and 1 ½ jars of homemade tomato sauce.

 

Annual Meeting Root Soup

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Steve Fowler, one of our FDC drivers, and his wife Molly brought this delicious soup to our annual meeting and it was a big hit! Here’s what they said about it: “We store a fair amount of vegetables every winter.  This is a recipe I came up with that goes great on a winter day and is easily adapted to what we have on hand – It turns out a little different every time, but is always worth the effort.  The following is just a guideline – use what you have.  It takes a couple of hours, but is easy, and you can walk away once everything is in the pot.

Start with:

2-3 onions (if you have leeks or shallots sitting in the back of the fridge, even better)
3 carrots,
2 celery stalks,
3-4 garlic
maybe a green pepper

Give them a rough chop and throw them in the pot with a good shot of olive oil – low heat and let them sweat while you prepare the rest.  Then peel and cube:

1 or 2 winter squash
2-3 Lbs. potatoes
2-3 Lbs. Sweet Potatoes
2 or 3 Celeriac Heads
1 Turnip or Rutabaga
3 or 4 Apples
A handful of herbs (dry or fresh – I like to use sage, rosemary, thyme)
A couple bay leaves

Add to the pot and just cover with water.  Bring to boil and turn back to a simmer until tender (about an hour).
Use a stick blender to puree (can be done in a food processor or mash for a course texture).
Salt and pepper to taste.
Add 1-2 cups cream or half & half.

Options:
Replacing some of the water with chicken stock or adding a couple handfuls of parmesan will make it a little richer, or if you save your cheese rinds – throw a couple in and remove right before pureeing.