The Great Garlic Saga

Have you ever bought groceries that were on “manager’s special”? In my experience, manager’s special is either an awesome deal or a disgusting waste of money. As a somewhat spoiled food snob, I tend to prefer my food to be as fresh as possible but most manager’s specials are things that are close to being thrown out. But I have found a couple of items that seem to be a good deal. Not too long ago, I bought a bag of roma tomatoes for only a dollar. I blended them up and used them in chili and they were great but I probably would not have wanted to just slice them up and eat them. Also, my grocery store often has “reduced” bananas for only $.29 per pound. I know, I know, bananas are inexpensive as it is but my family eats a TON of them! The “reduced” ones are often very ripe or bruised but they are perfect for freezing to use in smoothies.

My most recent manager’s special snag was an entire bag of garlic for one dollar. So, I pick up my bag of garlic and the rest of my grocery list items and head to the check out. The cashier asks me “how long will it take you to use all of this garlic?” In my head I was thinking “you call that a lot of garlic?” but she did spark a valid thought – how long do I have to use this garlic before it goes bad?

When I got home, I turned to the trusty internet for ways to preserve my $1 garlic investment. The best solution that I found to match my mound of

garlic that was probably already at the edge of it’s useful life was to freeze it in olive oil. The particular site I was reading claimed that the olive oil will prevent the garlic from freezing solid so you can just scoop out what you need and be on your way. Perfect!

And so began my never ending date with garlic. I’m pretty sure it took like six days straight to break apart each head of garlic, then peal each individual clove, and finally slice off the dry end that was attached to the stem. For some reason, I was feeling less and less like this was a dollar well spent. At each stage, I was thinning out my herd of garlic; any clove that was really bruised or had already sprouted got the boot. I was probably more particular about only keeping the best than I would normally be because I had a little paranoia going on about how long garlic has to sit at the grocery store before they put it on manager’s special…

Finally, I was ready to grind it up in my food processor. The site that gave me such great inspiration said to use a 2 to 1 ratio of oil to garlic. I did more like a 1 to 1; I had so much garlic and not so much olive oil! It was enough oil to help the garlic move smoothly in the food processor. Then off to a quart size mason jar and to the freezer. Added bonus to this adventure – Garlic Potpourri (and yes, I had to look up how to spell that)! My husband could still smell the aroma when he came home from work almost 7 hours later…

The next day, I wanted to take advantage of my fully prepped garlic! I thought this was going to be awesome, right! All I had to do was pull this jar out of the freezer, scoop out half of a tablespoon or so and straight into my pan. Wrong! Frozen solid! One dollar and about 2 hours of work and I can’t even get it out of the jar! I was finally able to get enough of it out using an ice cream scoop but I think it would have been faster to chop it fresh. Maybe next time I will used the 2 to 1 ratio of oil to garlic… Who am I kidding, there won’t be a next time! 

Sister Situation

Today, kitchenSWard has it's first guest blogger! Here is a fun story from my little sister:

Blender Blunder

My life seems to be full of humor. I'm not sure if it's something I happen to be blessed with or if it's that I look for it. Whether it be stories of my "love" interests (or lack there of) or unfortunate mishaps (such as walking into vehicle mirrors)... "funny" seems to find me.

However, as I try to search my memory bank for humor in the kitchen, I come up short. I'm not sure why. When I cook or bake it's usually a very fun and relaxing time. If I'm at my comfiest, I will be in pjs or shorts and knees-highs with some Big Sean bumping.

The only story I can think of that really tickles my funny bone is when my sister came to visit. At the time, she lived a couple hours away so visits were usually over-night. She was a new mom and was concerned about feeding her daughter only the healthiest of foods. I was intrigued when she asked to use my blender so she could make her daughter "ice cream". Of course I didn't mind, so she piled in her ingredients of fruits and other things. It seemed like a lot of solids to me, but I didn't dare question; I had never made blender ice cream before.

At this point, it's important to note that I have a very close relationship with my blender. I love love love to make smoothies. I try to do it at least 3 times per week. I had purposely selected this beautiful red blender because it has small sparkles in the paint. I believe there had been a sale on it and I also saved a coupon to justify allowing myself to purchase it.

Okay, now that you have the back-story, let's move on.

My sister started her blending. Things seemed fine at first. However, the job went on for quite awhile. I'm not sure what the average "blending" time is, but it felt abnormally long to me. "Wrawww wraawww wrawww wraww," my blender started to moan. This was alarming to me because it wasn't the normal "Rrrrrr rrrr rrrrr" I was use to. I calmly mentioned that I wasn't sure my blender could handle all the solids and suggested adding liquids. My sister didn't agree. She just kept on... a... mixin'... My nerves were acting up, as I listened to my precious machine's gurgle for help. If this audio wasn't enough signal of distress, the new burning motor smell was. Alright... that was enough! I couldn't take this injustice. I value few material things, but I splurged on this device that I had come to cherish. "Have you never used a household blender? This is not industrial grade!" is all I could think. Just as my panic began to heighten, finally...She shut it off and the bewailing ceased.

I really hope my niece enjoyed her ice cream.

I wanted so badly to "let it go" but as I expressed above, I had feelings for this blender. I decided to talk to my sister about the damage I believed was done to my blender. I explained how it was no longer the same.

Like a good sister does, she made it right. For Christmas, she got me a fancy blender, engineered for the toughest chopping (even ice cream-making capable!). Oh and I have to add- it's red ;) (Just in case you're wondering - I didn't retire Ol' Red. He's still a reliable back-up.)

Spring Ahead

I shoveled snow today. I think this is about the fourth time this year that the snow here has been completely melted and then whala, time to shovel again. The calendar says that spring doesn’t start until next week and I know that even after the first day of spring it is highly likely that it will still snow but I still wish is wasn’t so. I am very impatiently awaiting the warm weather that lasts; the green grass, buds on trees and gardening!

What’s a girl to do during these last few weeks of cold that never seems to end? I’m sketching my brand-new vegetable garden! And I am so excited about it (I love graph paper, does that make me a nerd?)! Although there is a raised bed garden here, at our new home, it happens to be in the way of the fence we intend to put up for the kiddos. This is good news for me! It is really fun to dream up new garden layouts and plan which of our favorite veggies will live in each spot. Not to mention, the anticipation of harvesting all of the goodness, right out of the back yard.

Part of what makes garden planning so fun for me is that I get to draw it up, bring it to my husband for his suggestions, and then he builds it for me. He’s such a sweetheart! This is the same process we went through at our previous home and it resulted in three raised bed gardens that yielded insane amounts of zucchini, buckets of tomatoes, too many cucumbers to count and crazy amounts of green beans. And it was awesome! Now, I should probably tell you that my garden maintenance history has been less than stellar. I was not particularly great at weeding on a regular basis and there was an occasion or two that I found zucchini that looked more like clubs because they had been left too long… Here’s to trying to be better this year!

I recently read an article about square foot gardening and I can’t wait it implement it in our new garden. I read that it can really help to keep weeds down and it takes up considerably less space while still producing high yields of produce (I should start writing down zucchini recipes now). Our main garden will have three tiers; the base will be 4 feet by 4 feet, middle will be 3 feet by 3 feet, and the top tier will be 2 feet by 2 feet. Total height should be about 3 feet. It will be located in the southwest corner of our yard but it will be about 2 feet away from our fence on either side for easy access (and to make sure the fence does not shade it all day). I have also planned two single-tier gardens that will be 2 feet by 2 feet to accommodate all the different types of veggies I am so eagerly looking forward to. My plan also includes a few cinder blocks for strawberries, as well as round flower planters and shepherd’s hooks for hanging baskets of flowers to add color and attract some pollinators.

When I was a kid, my uncle kept a pretty decent-sized vegetable garden out at the family farm. I can remember picking things, “cleaning” them with my shirt and eating them right in the garden. Making memories like this with my kids is what I look forward to the most! Between the strawberries, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapenos, zucchini, peas, beans, cucumbers, dill, parsley, cilantro and basil… There is bound to be something for each of them to love!

Where's the Love, Salad

Salad (according to Google): a cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually seasoned with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients.

Boring. That’s what I have always thought about salad as a health food. I have always liked salad as a side or as a starter when I’m out for dinner. I mean, who can pass up that huge bowl of iceberg lettuce, tomato, red onion and olives, tossed in that creamy, zesty dressing? But salad as a meal on a regular basis… boring.

Part of my problem was that I was stuck inside my salad box. For whatever reason, I used to only envision a healthy salad as being lettuce based. Even when I top lettuce 1,000 different ways, it’s still lettuce and I still tire of it. I also went a long time where I only topped salads with ingredients you would find on a salad bar like cold ham, hard-boiled egg, cheese, tomato, cucumber, onion, etc. I like all of those things and we actually set up our own salad bar like this at home every now and then but it’s still the same old ingredients over and over again.

So how did I go from being bored with salad to eating salad multiple times a week? I stopped thinking about it like salad. My recent salad formula has been to take a common meal that my family eats, remove the empty carb (bread, pasta or rice) and add more veggies that complement the main ingredients. I found that a lot of our meals already had sauces that were easily converted to salad dressing. Those of you who happen to follow me on Facebook or Instagram have seen some examples of this already. Let me explain a few of our favorites so far:

Asian Slaw with Pork and Ginger Soy Dressing

Original Meal: Pork Stir-Fry

Omitted Carb: Rice

Added Veggies: Cabbage, cucumber

Dressing: Ginger-Soy

I chose to marinade my pork chops overnight in soy sauce, lime, olive oil, garlic and ginger to boost its awesomeness in this salad, then I just pan fried them before slicing and serving on this bed of green and red cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, red onion and cucumber. The nice thing about cabbage-based salads is that you can put the dressing on and it only gets better the longer it sits! When I stir-fry, I mix up my own stir-fry sauce (because the stuff in the store is too expensive and salty for my taste). So I picked a lot of the same ingredients I use for that like soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger. I also added some olive oil and squeezed a half of a lime in here to keep my pork marinade flavors alive. Because I served this to my kids, I didn’t add any red pepper flake to it, but they would be a great addition. Topped with a few sprinkles of sesame seeds and some scallions and it looks good enough to eat!

Cheese Burger Salad

Original Meal: Cheese Burgers

Omitted Carb: Buns

Added Veggies: Mixed greens, cherry tomato, red onion.

Dressing: Burger “Sauce”

Cheese Burger Salad doesn’t actually sound that appealing to me as I am typing it but I was absolutely amazed at how satisfying this meal was for me, a bread-fiend. I already enjoy my burgers piled high with lettuce, tomato and onion so this one came together pretty quick for me. I seasoned and cooked hamburger patties just like normal, melted some cheese on them and plopped them in the middle of a bed of mixed greens. For the “dressing”, I just thought about what types of things I like spread on my burger bun. The result was a combination of mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce (I never spell that right the first time). Honestly, the only thing I missed was pickles! My husband even requested this one as a lunch iteam with left over cheese burger!

Chili-Lime Shrimp Salad

Original Meal: Shrimp Tacos

Omitted Carb: Flour Tortillas

Added Veggies: Avocado, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes

Dressing: Chili-Lime Juice

Actually, this isn’t a very typical meal for us… Beef tacos kind of are but shrimp tacos came about simply because shrimp was on sale and I love it! Coleslaw is already a great topper for shrimp tacos for me so I just turned that upside down and made a quick red cabbage slaw as my base. Shrimp and citrus are pretty much best friends so I chose lime juice as my dressing base. To keep with the taco theme, I seasoned my “dressing” with chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Also along the taco line, avocado and tomatoes came to mind. And I had just seen something in my news feed about sheet pan shrimp fajitas with bell peppers… so let’s throw some of those in! Pile it all up; the lime “dressing” mixes with the coleslaw and the whole salad is creamy, smoky, zesty and perfectly satisfying!

Pulled Pork Salad

Original Meal: Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Omitted Carb: Buns

Added Veggies: Bell peppers, sugar snap peas

Dressing: Barbeque Sauce

Here is another one that I already love topped with coleslaw. No need to re-invent the wheel! Coleslaw base it is! To add more veggies to this one, I was really just driven by what I had in the fridge. Bell peppers and snap peas both have a nice sweetness to contrast the salty pork and they take nicely to the flavors of a coleslaw dressing as well. I literally just used barbeque sauce as dressing but I didn’t need much! The coleslaw is already dressed and the pork comes with its own lovely juices so a touch of barbeque for that smoky richness is all I needed. Also, the contrast of cold, crunchy salad and hot, tender pork is bliss!

In conclusion, I believe this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship for salad and I. With warm weather right around the corner (hopefully!), salads will have a honored place in our meal plan for hot summer days!

I’d love to hear about any of your favorite salad creations! Where does your salad inspiration come from?