Anne McAlpine: May 5, 2022

I was recently asked for some information on buying and roasting garlic. I sometimes use garlic powder or salt but I prefer to use garlic cloves. I mince garlic and keep it in a bit of olive oil in a jar in the fridge for easy accessibility. When buying garlic always look for tightly packed skins and firm cloves. Store it in a cool, dark place. Always cook it over low heat and don’t let it go past a light golden colour as it will become bitter.

Many of us don’t keep extra fresh parsley on hand but you can substitute dried parsley for the garlic bread just reduce the amount to 1 Tablespoon. Garlic bread can be frozen in a sealed plastic bag for up to 3 months. When wanting to use it simply put the frozen bread on a baking sheet in a 375 oven until thawed and crispy. 

Garlic Sauce is easy to make and may be used as a dip for French fried potatoes or breadsticks. It adds flavour to both potato and macaroni salads and is a nice spread for that meat sandwich. If you don’t like pieces of garlic in your salad but you want the flavour simply peel a clove of garlic and slice a little piece off of the side then rub that side around the inside of your salad bowl. 

This Garlic Spaghetti recipe is from an old cookbook titled Kirk Cooking that was put out by the Caledonia Presbyterian Church in 1996. The recipe as shown makes 2 servings. I haven’t tried this one yet but I always have faith in this cookbook as I know the recipes as tried and true. If you wanted a bit of colour and extra flavour you could add a bit of chopped parsley. 

The Garlic Mushrooms only take 5 ingredients and can be made in a few minutes. They make a great side dish for steak or burgers.