One of my favorite food holidays of the year...I come from an Italian family so everyday is Garlic Day but I feel compelled to celebrate the glories of garlic in a big way today. I love the bulb! ;)
First a few facts...according to the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival folks, garlic comes in five basic varieties:
• Softneck Silverskin "has a strong flavor and stores well when dried".
• Softneck Artichoke "has a milder flavor and may have fewer and larger cloves than silverskin".
• Hardneck Rocambole "has a rich, full-bodied taste. It peels easily and typically has just one set of cloves around the woody stalk".
• Hardneck Porcelain "is similar to rocambole in flavor and typically contains about four large cloves wrapped in a very smooth, white, papery sheath". It's often mistaken for elephant garlic.
• Hardneck Purple Stripe "is famous for making the best baked garlic. There are several types of purple stripe, all with distinctive bright purple streaks on their papery sheaths".
Visit Garlic Guru Bob's incredibly helpful website Gourmet Garlic Gardens for more about each variety and how to choose between milder, medium and hotter subvarieties. :)
Today's the perfect day to visit Brandi's brilliant website. Gorgeous weather and lots of family activities leave little time for multistep meals. The genius of The Vegan 8 is that virtually all of Brandi's recipes use 8 ingredients or less (other than water and salt) so everything is easy and accessible and absolutely delicious. Nothing is boring or bland...Brandi layers in flavors in every dish she creates. It's a challenge to stick to a limited list but she comes through everytime with a beautifully healthy plate of vegan yumfulness! And fortunately for garlic lovers like me, she's got plenty of garlic-tinged goodness to go around! :)
Garlic love spreads coast to coast...
Gilroy Garlic Festival July 25-27, 2014 Gilroy, CA
(Gilroy's 2014 Great Garlic Cook-Off is currently accepting submissions through May 1, 2014!)
Hudson Valley Garlic Festival Sept 27-28, 2014 Saugerties, NY
From The Peace Patch Past...A Double Dose of Garlic
Are you a big bulb fan? Do you have a favorite variety to cook with or grow? Have you been to a garlic festival? What's your favorite gourmet garlicky dish? :)
Check out the rest of our 2014 Daily Food Holiday and Featured Blogger Series!
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