Little Bulbs of Joy
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Food on Thursday, August 13, 2009 9:13 PM
My poor mother.
You see, my father hates the smell of garlic and is very sensitive to it. If my mom eats a garlic-containing food, he’ll still be able to smell it on her skin a day or two later. Since she loves him, she avoids eating garlic, and cooking with it as well.
This meant when I was growing up, I rarely ate garlic. I didn’t know what I was missing, since we’d never had it in the house.
After I got married and had a kitchen of my own, I started cooking my mom’s recipes. They didn’t have garlic, so I didn’t use it. Eventually it occurred to me that *I* don’t have a garlic-hating husband, so the fragrant bulbs were not off-limits to me.
My first tries were with garlic powder. Now, there’s nothing wrong with garlic powder. But it definitely does not give the full Garlic Experience. Eventually I discovered the wonder of fresh garlic. I have never looked back.
Fortunately my husband appreciates garlic too. He comes by it honestly: I’ve seen my father-in-law peel a raw cloves of garlic off the bulb and eat them whole. Neither Bryan nor I takes our love of it that far, but we’re happy to eat it regularly and abundantly.
All my favorite pasta recipes include garlic. I won’t entertain the thought of making guacamole or hummus without it. I’ll happily throw it into soups and marinades and salad dressings (minced, of course). It definitely makes dinner-accompanying bread much better.
I haven’t yet made any pies or cookies with garlic. But dessert is the only course of the meal that is safe from my garlic-loving ways.
When my parents come for dinner, I have to make sure to plan ahead.
How do you feel about garlic?
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