Garlic and a Giveaway!

***Giveaway is now closed.  Thank you for all the comments!***

Comment # 8 was chosen by random.org and the winner has been contacted.

Garlic is a wonderful health booster.  It is in the same family as onions and similarly helps prevent heart disease and cancer.  Garlic is also antibacterial; it has been used to treat a number of problems including gangrene infections and even the common cold.  Garlic contains manganese, selenium and vitamins B6 and C.  When crushed, garlic yields allicin, a powerful antibiotic and anti-fungal compound.  

Garlic should be plump and dry, not shriveled or soft.  Although it looks tempting, the bigger "elephant garlic" is not as potent or flavorful.   Some say that organic garlic may have more of the health benefits so I choose organic when available at my grocery store.  Garlic should be stored in a cool dark place with some air circulation.  I have a garlic keeper that stays in my cupboard and works well for this.  

Allow garlic to sit for several minutes after crushing, and before cooking, for maximum health benefits.  If we are using garlic to treat cold symptoms I crush the garlic and then mix it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to make a dipping sauce for bread.  Lucy enjoys eating this and even asks for it.  Raw garlic seems to have the most health benefits, but we add it to many soups and cooked dishes as well.  Find lots more garlic info here.

OXO recently sent me their garlic peeler to try, and I'm hooked!  I love little inventions like this that make healthy cooking easier.  I much prefer using fresh garlic rather than dried garlic powder or minced garlic, but I don't like peeling the cloves and smelling like garlic all day.  With this handy invention, you just place the cloves inside, press down, and roll the peeler back and forth.  The garlic comes out ready to be used, the peels stay inside, and your hands stay clean.  Rinse the garlic peeler and its clean and ready to put away in its little vented case.  The case is made of polypropylene (safe plastic) and the peeler is silicone.  

Let me show you how this works:

Here are my unsuspecting little cloves, ready to go into the garlic peeler.

Squish and roll.

Because the peeler is clear, you can see inside to be sure that your garlic is fully peeled and ready to use.  As you can see, the garlic peel stays inside and you can dump out the clove.  Rinse the peeler to clean it.  

Here is my freshly crushed garlic waiting to be put in my Chicken Tortilla Soup, and my garlic peeler, rinsed and in the box ready for next time.  

Would you like to win one of these?  OXO is giving a garlic peeler away to one of my lucky readers!  Leave a comment and let me know your favorite way to use fresh garlic.  I'll close the giveaway in a week and choose a winner.  (Giveaway ends May 21, midnight.)  Please be sure that you leave your email address IN your post - when you log on to post, even though you enter your email address, I do not have access to that.  You need to write your email address in your post, or be sure that your blogger profile has email enabled so that I can contact you.  Thanks for stopping by!  It works for me.  :) **Giveaway now closed.  Thank you.**