Food Friday: Garlic

Last week I regaled you with tales of our family’s predilection for chocolate desserts. We find almost every occasion is perfect for celebration with a confection that is both sweet and chocolate-y. Converserly, in a parallel universe, we also find garlic the consummate accompaniment when eating savoury foods. As I type this I am thinking fondly of the garlic bread we had with dinner last night. (I walked through a cloud of garlic when I come in the front door a couple of hours ago – a good 14 hours after dinner.) At lunch today I will have a nice fat kosher dill pickle, that is redolent with garlic. There is fresh garlic in our salad dressing. Mr. Sanders rubs garlic on Saturday night steaks. Garlic is infused in many of our non-chocolate foodstuffs.

Years ago, when our children were young, I would be hard pressed to find an activity to occupy our younger child, while the elder was busily occupied at preschool for the morning. By the time we returned home from the pre-school drop-off run it would almost be time to turn around for the pre-school pick-up. So some bright sunny days we would drive into the little historic downtown to look for adventure. It was early enough in the day that the shops hadn’t opened, so we walked and explored, visiting favorite cat-sighting sites, looking into alleys, poking our noses around corners. We would visit the bakery, where Kim and Jim would delight us with warm loafs of fresh epi bread, and stickers from the flour sacks. The couple of restaurants would be prepping for dinner; the tiny French bistro and the neighborhood pizza joint (known primarily for its garlic knots), and we could smell browning onions and garlic, as we strolled to the riverwalk and a bench where we could watch the river traffic. We would hope for the exciting action of a railroad train slowly journeying past, à la Thomas the Tank Engine, his most current obsession. We sat in the sun, gnawing on warm, crusty bread, smelling garlic, kicking our heels against the hollow metal legs of the bench. We weren’t in a hurry to get anywhere. It was a slow morning of good smells, friendly folks, and the bright sun reflecting on the choppy river.

I find that much of my cooking experience is trying to recapture happy meals. Sometimes we try to reconstruct the taste of a childhood meal. Sometimes it is to copy a restaurant meal from a carefree vacation. We like the succor of the familiar. I will never get it just right, but every time I make a spaghetti sauce I am trying to recreate my mother’s – and my mother was not a fancy cook; she was trying to get food on the table every night, economically, using up leftovers, foregoing ultra-processed store-bought jar sauces, just like us. We are busy and harried and worn to a frazzle. Having a little time to make garlic bread, to release a cloud of garlic-y, homey aroma, is a small blessing.

I, little Miss Middle Class me, used to feel sad for the royal family, because the Queen would not allow garlic to be served at any meal. She was conscious of the lingering after-effect of garlic, and feared breathing odoriferous second-hand garlic into the faces of the many folks who came to meet her. So sad. My manners aren’t that good. If I shook your hand today you would know about my garlic consumption. Be warned!

The love of garlic might have by-passed the current King’s table, but Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, who married the Queen’s grandson, Prince Harry, is monetizing garlic. She has just announced a new brand she is launching: American Rivieria Orchards. One of the products she is rumored to be marketing is a prepared “garlic-based spread.” Take a page out of my mother’s book: save money – make memories! Meghan Debuts New Brand, American Riviera Orchard, Amid Royal Family Drama

We always look to our friends at Food52: Crispy Garlic Dip

If you want a garlic-y dip for your perfect pommes frites try Aioli

This is a good one to make in bulk and keep on hand for all sorts of garlic needs: Garlic Butter

PBS weighs in on Garlic Bread

Roasted Garlic Spread

In case you hunger for even more garlic, feel free to try:
Julia Child’s Chicken with Forty Cloves of Garlic

Or:37 Garlic Recipes for Those Who Think One Clove Is Never Enough

And you don’t need to take my word for it:

“Garlic is divine. Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screwtop jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don’t deserve to eat garlic.”
― Anthony Bourdain

“Disclaimer: there will be copious amounts of garlic in the sauces and dressings, and you will leave whiffy and unsnoggable.”
–Grace Dent, The Guardian