black garlic – a labour of love

black garlic, sweet & mild

Last year I saw a post on Instagram talking about black garlic.  My initial thought was EWW.  How could this be a good thing and how could chefs rave about it?  Surely this was some sort of crazy food fad.  For me, if veggies look dark, then they’re most probably rotten.  But a quick glance…

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Homemade Pesto

homemade pesto

Almost every cuisine on our planet has found an important role for garlic and is among the oldest known horticultural crop. Egyptian and Indian cultures referred to garlic 5000 years ago and by the Chinese 2000 years ago. Pesto hails from the northern region of Liguria and is a Ligurian superstar! Pasta isn’t the only…

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Grilled Garlicky-Herbed Shrimp

Grilled, poached, fried, battered, roasted, sautéed, steamed – you name it I’ve tried it.  Shrimp are one of my favorite crustaceans, they take little time to cook and there are health benefits, too.  Shrimp is a nutritious alternative to meat proteins as it is low in calories and saturated fat.  It is an excellent source of…

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Cedar Plank Grilled Mushroom Stacks

John and I barbeque all year round and when Spring and Summer arrive, it’s full on.   Our barbeque gets used on a weekly basis so it’s not unusual to see me out on our back deck firing up the barbie.  I love it…less mess for me to clean up!  I’ve been noticing more and more…

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My Husband’s Bolognese Sauce

Where to begin?  When John and I were dating, the first meal he ever cooked for me was his bolognese sauce tossed with penne.  I remember to this day how wonderful his condo smelled and how neat it was!  My husband was and still is a neat freak…not that I am at all complaining.  For…

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Grilled Broccolini with Garlic Anchoy Sauce

The tail end of Spring is drawing to a close and thankfully the warmer weather has arrived.  And because of this, the air in our neighborhood is perfumed with food being cooked on backyard barbeques. If you don’t barbecue you almost feel left out.  When I head out to our back deck to fire up…

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