Garlic is a great example of Herbs In The Kitchen that are potent and easily available.
Did you know that when you eat garlic, it supports not only your gut but also your lung health?
Stop and think about it for a minute. That garlic breath that is so potent – is full of the pungent aromatics of garlic – and where the aromatics go, the medicinal action goes.
The constituents of garlic are carried throughout the body and exit through the respiratory pathway of elimination.
Garlic is powerfully antimicrobial, and it stimulates a mucosal immune response to microbial infections of the lungs.
Garlic in soups and sauces or garlic toast is a favorite of mine, and I believe it helps keep me healthy in the winter.
I recently found 2 recipes for garlic toast that are simple and creative.
In Forage, Harvest, Feast – A Wild-Inspired Cuisine – by Marie Viljoen
On p. 15, she has a wonderful chapter on Field Garlic.
Marie includes a materia medica entry, information on How to Collect and Prepare field garlic, as well as Cautions that are important to review.
Plus she has some recipes that combine garlic and fennel. How creative! I had never thought of adding fennel to garlic toast.
I used to think I did not like fennel. However, recently fennel has been one of my favorite herbs for tea after dinner as I find it supports digestion in a very gentle and soothing way.
So please check out Marie’s recipe for Field Garlic Baguette. She includes homemade garlic butter, Pickled Field Garlic and Fennel Seed Paste with fresh fennel fronds and field garlic leaves.
This is more of a recipe for spring, when garlic and fennel are growing fresh, so save it as inspiration for spring if you are reading this in winter.
The second recipe comes from The Savory Way – High-Spirited, Down-to-Earth Recipes from the Author of The Greens Cookbook – Deborah Madison.
On p. 419 Deborah writes, “Fresh herbs more than any single element in cooking, give life and sparkle to food. They can transform an ordinary dish into something special. And for me, one of the greatest pleasures of cooking is handling the aromatic leaves and blossoms of these plans and inhaling their perfumes.”
Deborah’s love for herbs comes through delightfully in her recipes. The garlic toast recipe I discovered in her book is actually for Mushrooms on Toast, Provencale Style.
As it is based on the Provencale style, this recipe uses lots of garlic and olive oil.
In this recipe, Deborah includes fresh mushrooms, garlic, lemon juice, and chopped parsley plus spices such as salt, pepper and herbes De Provence.
I made this recipe the other day and added a little white wine to the mushroom sauce instead of lemon juice. It made a delicious little meal.
Thank you for joining me for this Garlic Moment.
I invite you to work mindfully with herbs in the kitchen.
Spice it like you mean it!
Listen to your body
Learn which herbs support Your Body and choose what brings you Herbal Joy this winter!
If you enjoyed this article, please like, subscribe, and share it with friends. As always please note that this article is for educational purposes only.
Books:
Forage, Harvest, Feast – A Wild-Inspired Cuisine – by Marie Viljoen
The Savory Way – High-Spirited, Down-to-Earth Recipes from the Author of The Greens Cookbook – Deborah Madison
Links:
https://online.commonwealthherbs.com/courses/4-keys
also see commonwealthherbs.com materia medica course