Channeling Julia

Garlic has been used throughout history for both cooking and medicinal purposes. The plant's bulb is the most commonly used part of the plant. The bulb is divided into numerous sections called cloves which are used for cloning, consumption (raw or cooked), or for medicinal purposes. The cloves have a characteristic pungent flavor that mellows considerably with cooking.

Garlic is an important component of many cuisines. Today's dish is prawns marinated in olive oil with garlic, basil, mustard and lemon juice in a distinctive Mediterranean style.

Garlic is often paired with other vegetables or fruit to create a signature flavor. Tomatoes, onions and ginger are very common accompaniments in several cuisines. Garlic mixed with oil and eggs makes "aioli", a type of mayonnaise. Whole cloves can be soaked in oil where it becomes a flavor infusion and in Eastern Europe the tender shoots are soaked in a sugar syrup and eaten as a treat.

The health benefits of garlic have been known since ancient times. However, the reality has been mixed with the mythology and it's only now that we are able to define the specifics of these benefits.

Roasted Tomatoes & Garlic with Basil

Claims that garlic could prevent heart disease seem to be substantiated by studies that show significant plaque reduction on arterial walls. However, claims that garlic reduces blood cholesterol levels seem to be unfounded.

Garlic has significant antibacterial activity and it has been used as an antiseptic to reduce incidence of gangrene and as an antifungal. Some AIDS patients have reported that it is effective in fighting protozoa such as toxoplasmosis and cryptosporidum.

And... garlic (plus a high protein diet) has been shown to boost testosterone levels ...in rats!

Garlic has been around at least as long as the pyramids at Giza and had spread to China by 510 CE. The Romans carried garlic outside the Mediterranean basin. A unique six cloved black garlic is native to the mountains of Korea.

Today's dish is Garlic and Lemon Chicken. It is extremely quick and easy to make and a similar dish with slight variations can be found in many cuisines.

Pliny (First Century CE) writes that garlic was used by the African peasants, worshiped as a deity by the Lower Egyptians and was able to demagnetize lodestones (this one isn't true). He has tips on cultivation and lists many aliments which garlic could cure. In the Second Century CE, Galen mentions it as the rural cure-all.

The Greeks left garlic at crossroads as a supper for the goddess Hecate. Virgil mentions the widespread consumption of garlic by soldiers, sailors and farmers.

The "power" of garlic has always been associated with both good and evil.

Strings of garlic are always seen in traditional vampire movies, as folklore considers garlic a powerful ward against vampires, demons and werewolves. By contrast - modern vampires consider garlic to be merely in bad taste!

From the pages of our namesake Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1" this is Garlic Soup, served with bread and cheese.

In India, garlic is often considered to stimulate one's sexual desires, so it is generally avoided in foods used for religious activities. The smell of garlic on the breath is considered inappropriate when going to a mosque.

There is even a Biblical myth that reports garlic growing in the left footprints of Satan after he left the Garden of Eden (onions grew in the right footprints).

Pasta (a carbohydrate) is not essential for nutrition. Energy can be provided by proteins and fats. Vitamin and mineral content is low.

However, carbohydrates are the most common source of energy and can be converted to energy more rapidly than fats. Although many people avoid "carbs" because they think they are fattening, eaten with potion control they are a satisfying part of any diet - and frankly they make eating fun.

Our dish today is a serving of noodle kugel, a traditional Eastern European side dish. The name means "globe" or "ball" in Yiddish. It's a favorite in the Ashkenazi Jewish community. Made with noodles and eggs. Additions can include cottage cheese, milk, farmer's cheese, apples and raisins. Traditionally flavored with cinnamon. A variation made with sugar and black pepper is popular in Jerusalem.