Garlic heaven

Last night, the kitchen was redolent of garlic, as it usually is when I cook. By far, I love garlic more than any other spice. Folk wisdom has it that the health benefits of garlic are staggering. A Google search turned up a plethora of them: it lowers blood pressure, LDLs, and blood sugar; it reduces the build up a plaque in the arterial system; it helps prevent some forms of cancer- particularly of the stomach. The list goes on and on. Garlic is even said to repel mosquitoes. That would be a plus, but the main thing for me is that garlic makes everything taste great.

Some have accused me of using too much garlic, and I admit I’ve gone overboard on occasion. My motto is, there’s no such thing as too much garlic, but I once made a Caesar salad so full of garlic that eating it hurt my mouth. I didn’t let that stop me.

Last night, I marinated sliced, raw, red beets in extra virgin, first cold pressed olive oil, fresh rosemary from the garden, course sea salt, and, of course, garlic.

I like to use a pestle to crush the garlic, sea salt and rosemary in my marble mortar, though my Cuisinart spice and nut grinder sits at hand behind the cutting board.  I enjoy the smell and changing texture of the garlic as it turns from a fine dice to a fragrant pulp.

I marinated the chicken too, in pulverized papaya, dark sesame oil, lime and mango juices, and four or five larges cloves of garlic.

I cranked up the grill to full heat, then turned one side down to low, and placed the chicken halves skin-down on the low side. According to Jack, I did it all wrong. He puts the chicken down on the grill skin-side up, then turns it only once, when the chicken is almost done, to crisp the skin. Oh well, I read my grilling instructions online- they must be true. Never mind that Jack is the one with the grilling experience. I confidently set the timer for 15 minutes, and went back to my reading.

When the timer began to beep, I opened the smoking grill, to discover flames engulfing my lovely chicken halves. I sent up a howl, donned my big cloth glove, and a pair of large tongs, and attempted to pry my chickies off the grill before they were burned to ash. The skins were history. I moved the chicken to the top shelf of the grill, away from the heat, and slipped the beets on the lower shelf.

The last time I grilled fresh red beets, they turned into dried up dusty red disks. This time, I wrapped them in tin foil, and they melted in our mouths, and so did the chicken.

Some garlic websites:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/unlocking-the-benefits-of-garlic/

http://tipnut.com/garlic-answers/#comment-75005

Gourmet Garlic Gardens: http://www.gourmetgarlicgardens.com/health.htm