Ohhhh Garlic!

Garlic's intoxicating fragrance and flavor is a prominent characteristic particularly in Northern-style Chinese cooking. Not only in China, but across the world, this kitchen staple adds a wonderful aroma and creates a delicious entrée. The first step to incorporating it into meals is selecting the perfect bulb.

• To peal a garlic clove, place the flat side of a chef's knife on the clove and pound it with the heal of you hand to squash it. This will release the shell of the garlic and free the delicious meaty innards with ease!
  
• To peel a large quantity of garlic place whole bulbs in oven and bake at 300 until cloves open. Remove from oven and pick out cloves.
  
• To avoid burning add garlic to sautéed vegetables during the last few minutes of cooking or when any liquid is added.
  
• When adding garlic to a base of sauted onions, celery and carrots, add the diced garlic when the onions have started to turn light brown and saute a couple of minutes before removing from the heat or adding other ingredients.
  
• For more potency from your garlic simply dice into smaller pieces. This provides more surface are for the garlic to mix with other ingredients.
  
• To avoid garlic sticking to the knife sprinkle the clove with a tiny bit of salt before cutting. Works like a charm!
  
• Store your garlic in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area. This means no refrigeration!

Rub the side of a wooden bowl with raw garlic. When you toss the other ingredients in it your salad will have a hint of garlic. Some even eat them the same way they would eat pickles. I haven’t tried this one yet, but in soups, Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup is my first pick.

Thanks to Chef Wannabee Newsletter for this wonderful garlic newsletter issue. - Margaret

My Favorite Culinary Herbs

If you're a cook like me, you definitely have your own set of the favorite culinary herbs to spice the foods you're cooking. From these herbs, you'll know my favorite dishes.

Lemongrass

Perhaps the most popular use of lemongrass is on exotic food like Thai soup. Dense and fibrous, it is helpful to remove slices or stalks of lemongrass from entrees before serving. Unlike the lemon fruit, lemongrass imparts a subtle and earthy lemon flavor. Coconut milk soup infused with lemongrass is rich and creamy without the saturated fat content of dairy.

Tarragon

This herb may not be widely familiar, but tarragon imparts distinct flavor to any fish and fowl dishes. Roasted chicken filled with a single bunch of fresh tarragon and a half of a fresh lemon is a classic French combination that you will surely love. For best results, use tarragon fresh.

Basil

Basil is mostly familiar in pesto. This herb is superb eaten raw or great in imparting flavors to soups and stews. A well-oved basil dish is a single bright basil leaf atop fresh mozzarella, vine ripened tomatoes and a thin slice of soft, crusty baguette. Basil is particularly compatible with tomatoes in stewed beef where it is often accompanied by beans.

Parsley

Parsley is an immensely popular vegetable. Parsley is best used fresh, but can also be used frozen or dried. With so many ways to use parsley in the kitchen, you will transform your dishes to exotic foods from how it tastes to the manner it looks. Parsley is my favorite among my favorites.

Chives
Small, grass-like blades grow in clumps. Similar to garlic , chives foliage provide a mild garlic flavor and aroma. Great in stir-fries and raw dishes, this herb is pretty, round flowers and oniony flavor that is great when minced in salads, eggs, cottage and goat cheeses. For a spicy pasta, gently sauté them in butter and add shrimp for a nice topping


Sage
Sage may not be a super favorite but this hardy perennial herb is available in different varieties, and it does make difference when used for stuffings and bread dressings for poultry and baked fish.

Parsley : The Number One Culinary Herb

Ever wonder why everything tastes exotic and exudes delicious aromas when you eat at a good five star restaurant? It is usually because of the seasoning. Exceptional chefs know that fresh food is always best and that includes fresh herbs.

Today there has been a great surge of renewed awareness in herbs. A revival of the culinary arts and various ethnic cuisine has prompted new interest. Health conscious cooks have found that herbs contain no calories or fat - a fact of great importance to those on weight loss diets. Doctors even recommend the use of herbs and spices in salt-restricted diets to enhance flavor without adding sodium content. Adventurous cooks have found that raising their own herbs can be quite fulfilling as a hobby with the end results in cooking as just an added bonus.

Parsley is a popular garden plant that takes two years to mature. During the first year the leaves grow into a bushy, foot tall plant. The foliage can be harvested throughout the growing season. If protected from harsh winter weather, parsley can be harvested during the cold months as well. The first year growth is better tasting and more productive than the second year growth.

Parsley is best eaten fresh, although the leaves are used fresh, dried or frozen. Parsley flakes or dehydrated parsley is used to enhance the color of foods, while fresh parsley lends a crisp, fresh taste to foods. Dried parsley is used more for adding a dash of color as it's taste is fairly bland.

Parsley is used to season soups, sauces, rice dishes, tabbouleh, vegetable dishes, meat dishes, poultry and salads. A sprig of parsley makes a wonderful garnish for heavy meals that can do double time as a breath freshener and digestive aid, as well as beautify the dinner plate.

Parsley is also mainly used as herbal medicine particularly with kidney stone, bladder infection, and jaundice medications, as well as digestive aids. The root appears to be more effective than the leaves, but leaves can also be used. Leaves can be dried, pulverized into a powder, and inserted in capsules. Parsley is a potent herb. It's vitamin C concentration is among the highest of any food—roughly 125 to 300 milligrams per 100 grams, which is a little less than an average bunch. (Nutritionists recommend taking 60 milligrams of vitamin C daily.) It’s also a rich source of iron, calcium, lutein, and beta-carotene (a form of vitamin A). The latter two compounds are antioxidants, which have been linked with slowing cellular aging and the development of tumors. At least two other compounds—chlorophyll and myristicin—may also inhibit the development of some

cancers.