Thursday, May 14, 2009

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.**

39 comments:

  1. I've seen these and wondered how they work. I love garlic and cook with it all the time. I'd use fresh even more if it were easier to peel.

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  2. Mixed with onion and tomato and basil, fresh garlic makes a wonderful quick summer pasta sauce. Yum!!

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  3. I make a spaghetti sauce that is just delicious. ALL the children eat it.

    marypres(at)gmail(dot)com

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  4. I use fresh garlic alot esp added to my recipes to marinate meat

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  5. I love garlic in everything! I made a dish not to long ago that was a garlic-cauliflower recipe. I usually don't care for cauliflower, but oh was that good!

    nfmgirl AT gmail DOT com

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  6. I totally need one of these! Thanks for giving us the chance to win!

    I use garlic all the time. One of my favorite ways to use it is with chicken in the crockpot- yum!

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  7. MFJ:
    I like to use fresh garlic in my salads. But I use it in just about all my cooking too.
    watson(at)zerostreet(dot)net

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  8. Garlic is a must have in cooking. I planted garlic for the first time this year. Would love the garlic peeler to peel my homegrown garlic!

    donna at optilink dot us

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  9. I absolutely LOVE garlic! I use it in almost every dish! I must say that I really love it in pasta!

    contact me at:
    celeste@mail4me.com

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  10. i love love love garlic, but hate to peel it! i put tons of it in my mashed potatoes :) thanks for the giveaway!

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  11. I use garlic in everything but my favorite way to use it is inmaking an olive oil and garlic sauce for my pasta. Also I like adding fresh garlic on top of any pasta. It gives it that extra zing!

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  12. I use garlic all the time! Probably too much... :-)
    I love roasted garlic in pasta. Or roasted garlic in ANYTHING. It's my favorite!
    pw0105(at)gmail(dot)com

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  13. I love making cuban mojo wiht lemon juice, onion and garlic...yummy!


    SmartyPantsMama @ gmail . com

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  14. I like to use fresh garlic in spaghetti sause and sometimes with fried potatoes. yummy! jacquecurl1@gmail.com

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  15. I love garlic in almost everything. Spaghetti Sauce is my favorite. A Garlic peeler would make the process easier.

    judy7885 at gmail.com

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  16. I love fresh garlic in salsa!! Yummy.

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  17. I would love to win this. I lost mine in our recent move and have not been able to replace it.

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  18. I use it in hummus, yummy!

    fawnwoodusa@netscape.net

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  19. Oh I LOVE garlic! My favorite thing to make is my special garlic bread. It is only for intense garlic lovers as it has no less than 6 cloves of garlic. 6 cloves for 10 small pieces of garlic bread. I agree that fresh garlic is best. I am a garlic junkie. Oh it is good minced and sauteed on top of popcorn too. My problem is when I peel it I always no matter how hard I try end up getting garlic skin on the floor. I think it can fly!
    ilovebabynoah707@yahoo.com

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  20. we use garlic alot around here,in cooking, and for home remedies, eating raw garlic helps fight infections, using one as a vaginal suppository will help clear a yeast infection, and making garlic olive oil helps rid ear infections fast

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  21. I use garlic all the time! Especially in Italian recipes, yum! Thanks for the contest- how fun! shellyluwho@netzero.net

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  22. I like roasted garlic spread on fresh bread. adriannclare@gmail.com

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  23. I like fresh garlic in Yogurt Dip.

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

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  24. Fresh garlic in EVERYTHING! LOL

    gotta have it in my chili.....

    Thanks for a great giveaway!

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  25. I've never seen a product quite like that. It's something I'd definitely like to try out.

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  26. What a great giveaway!! I love fresh garlic, I use it in almost all of my meals, with chicken, beef, veggies We just love garlic.

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  27. I love garlic. I use it on toasted garlic bread, spaghetti sauce, soups, pastas, lol...just about anything and everything!

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  28. cool! :) what a neat tool!

    Jen
    jennifergraceplus4(at)gmail(dot)com

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  29. I would love to have one of these. I cook with garlic ALL the time.

    A2JC4life (at) hotmail (dot) com

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  30. Oops. I forgot to leave the actual comment part.

    I don't think I have a favorite way - we use it in a variety of recipes, brown beef with it, etc. I like to substitute it for onions in a lot of things, because I don't like onions (and they don't seem to like me).

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  31. I would love to try this out! Rare is the meal of ours that does not contain garlic- we cook a lot of Indian and Middle Eastern food- chock full of garlic.

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  32. I LOVE garlic in almost any recipe! I will admit, I cheat and use jarred garlic because I really didn't know HOW to use fresh, but I would start using fresh if I won this! I'd use it in my spaghetti and chicken alfredo!
    renee
    yeloechikee at hotmail dot com

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  33. YUMMY! I Put whole chunks of sauted garlic in fresh bread :)

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  34. When I have time and an abundance of basil, I like to use lots of garlic to make a yummy pesto sauce.

    Thanks!
    xpsundell(at)gmail(dot)com

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  35. This looks like a great product! I love garlic and have a homemade tomato sauce recipe that uses lots of fresh garlic. Thanks for the chance! alicedemskehansen at gmail.com

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  36. I like to use fresh garlic to make homemade guacamole.
    iluvchrisnleviv@aol.com

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  37. I used a clove of garlic to cure a toothache recently. Just gave it a little crush, sprinkled on some salt and stuck it between my cheek and the sore tooth for 10 minutes. The pain subsided quickly. I did this 3 times during the day. The next day, my toothache was gone. I'm guessing I had an infection setting in that the garlic cured. Sure beats going to the dentist! - Katie

    mrsjohnson(dot)katie(at)gmail(dot)com

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  38. I'm a few hours too late! Can I still be entered? We LOVE garlic! I love to stick fresh garlic in chicken while it's roasting!

    hj4him@gmail.com

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  39. Thanks for all the interest ladies, the winner has been contacted! You all have some great uses for fresh garlic. Katie, thats amazing that garlic cured your toothache, great idea to try that. Be sure and stop back by, we have more reviews and giveaways lined up. :)

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