Garlic Girls!
All you need to know about our favourite allium
Happy Wednesday Kitchen Table Community!
I hope that you are easing into October and out of eclipse season. For the second year in a row, I’ve planted our garlic during the new moon eclipse which feels like a fitting ritual: shedding old matter by way of clearing space and pulling weeds, and planting new seeds that usually start to peak out of the ground by the next eclipse season.
Gardening is still very new to me, and there is *a lot* to learn, but it’s a beautiful practice that helps me connect with nature and to my ancestors - the healing power of touching dirt is not to be overlooked! Lucky for me, garlic is easy to grow in the garden, it likes moist, sandy soil and a whole lot of sun; it’s a set-it-and-forget-it kind of crop and the pay-off is huge! We usually get around 50-60 heads of garlic, which goes quicker than you’d think, but nothing beats the feeling of cooking and eating the vegetables that you’ve grown from seed. And so, this week's newsletter is dedicated to the queen herself: GARLIC!
Nutrition
Garlic contains some protein, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamins B and C, and is a prebiotic food that feeds the beneficial bacteria in our guts. Its strong sulphur odour contributes to its germ-killing effects, and hot tip: chewing parsley can help to balance the strong breath odour that comes with eating it raw. Ayurveda considers garlic a sour food that will warm, moisten and ground, and according to TCM, garlic helps to overcome stagnant qi (vital energy) and balances the obstructive effects of excess meats or other dietary extremes.
Medicinal Actions
Garlic is beneficial for any stagnant or toxic condition of the digestive system. It helps to cleanse the body, assists in liver function, and provides a tonic effect on the nervous system. It can be used for food poisoning, as an antiseptic and antifungal for unhealthy gut flora, and for infections like candida, worms, and cholera.
Throughout centuries people have treated colds, coughs, sore throats with garlic due to its antiviral and antibacterial qualities. It has been used in all kinds of lung ailments like bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma, and tuberculosis as it helps to liquify, loosen and remove thick mucous from the lungs, and quiets a cough. It is diaphoretic, meaning that it helps to lower fever and reduce chills, promotes sweating and increases perspiration by dilating surface capillaries. Using it regularly in the diet can help prevent colds and flus, and is an important component in a holistic protocol for dealing with any immune system dysfunction. Garlic is an anticatarrhal herb ideal for sinus congestion and upper respiratory tract congestion, and in the case of allergies, it is considered an antihistamine. Garlic also helps to sterilize the respiratory tract.
In addition, garlic has cardiovascular benefits, it lowers the risk of heart disease, prevents blood clots, raises HDL (beneficial) cholesterol, and lowers blood pressure; it’s also anti-diabetic! Truly a nutritional and medicinal powerhouse, I hope you’re convinced to keep some in your cupboards at all times!
How to Use it
In order to get the medicinal effects of garlic listed above, it’s best to consume it raw as its potency is lost with any kind of cooking. If and when using it for medicinal purposes, use no more than three to four cloves daily which is the standard daily adult dose. If you’re not inclined to chomp on raw garlic, below are some more palatable ways to enjoy its medicine.
Garlic Oil
Peel and chop enough garlic to fill half of a 1 qt jar. Cover with organic, cold-pressed olive oil to one or two inches above the garlic. Place in a sunlit window for 5 to 7 days, giving it a daily shake. Strain it through a cheesecloth and you have a beautiful oil to use for salad dressings and whatever else your heart desires. It will last for months in a cool, dark cupboard, P.S. you can use the remaining garlic for cooking as well just throw it in the fridge after you’ve strained it.
Fermented Garlic Honey
In a 1 qt jar, add 1 head of garlic (12ish small or 6ish large cloves), peeled and crushed. Pour raw honey overtop (around 1 ½ cups) and stir to combine with a wooden utensil to ensure all of the garlic is coated. Place a piece of parchment paper over top of the jar and then seal the jar with the lid and let it sit at room temperature for a few days. Unscrew the lid after three days and let out any gasses building up, there should be tiny bubbles at this stage which indicates that the fermentation process is starting. Reseal the jar and let it sit for another week before using. I’ll take a spoonful of this honey when I feel a sore throat catching it, I like it in salad dressings, and I made some incredible honey garlic chicken wings with it last year. This will keep for a month in your cupboard stored at room temperature.
Fire Cider
Perhaps one of the most famous folk remedies. Fire cider is an immune boosting tonic to get your body’s defence system going by breaking up congestion and fighting colds. There are tons of variations to try (I have this lovely book by Rosemary Gladstar and friends), and I encourage you to create your own, but the formula goes as follows: chop up a couple garlic cloves, a big knob of ginger, a hunk of fresh horseradish, a small onion, 1-2 hot chillies, a lemon peeled with the pitch intact, a couple sprigs of rosemary and thyme, a cinnamon stick, some allspice berries, a few cloves, and ¼ cup of raw honey and pack them in a 1 qt jar. Pour over organic, raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar to cover the vegetables and herbs by one to two inches. Place a piece of parchment paper over top of the jar and then seal the jar with the lid and let it sit at room temperature for a few weeks, shaking it daily. Strain the vegetables and herbs, keep it in the refrigerator and use within a year. Take it as a shot when you feel a cold coming on, or make a delicious savoury mocktail with soda water as a preventative action.
Garlic Salad Dressing
Easy peasy. Make a vinaigrette with a large clove of garlic chopped or grated, a heaping tsp of dijon mustard, the juice of a whole lemon, olive oil, honey (double whammy if you use your ferment!), salt and pepper.
~
In Person Offering
On Sunday, October 20th I’m co-hosting 5-hour training called CTRL + ALT + SECRETE centred around the endocrine system, and hormonal health with Krista Schilter of Golden Chain and Dr. Melissa Cugliari in Toronto at East Room. Expect a day full of Kundalini and Katonah yoga practices, a naturopathic lecture, lunch, snacks and a cooking demo led by yours truly! If you are a yoga practitioner looking to deepen your practice, are hormone curious, a holistic health practitioner, a movement teacher or a human with a body - this is for you!