The Barefoot Kitchen Witch

Roasted Garlic Jelly Two Ways

I wasn’t sure if I’d like this jelly. 

I love roasted garlic.  I roast big batches of garlic periodically, then puree the softened cloves with olive oil and freeze it all in ice cube trays.  So good added to pasta sauces, or gravies, or dips, or smeared on sliced baguettes and topped with thin wedges of brie….

I could go on and on.

So at first the idea of a roasted garlic jelly was very appealing.  But then I read that you have to strain the roasted garlic, so all you get is the juice (there are other ingredients – I’ll get to those).  Which makes sense – it’s a jelly, not a jam.  But I was trying to imagine a clear jelly smeared on a baguette, and it wasn’t happening for me.

But I figured I’d give it a try anyway.

And I’m glad I did.

Garlicky Dinner Rolls

I made these one night last week to go along with spaghetti and meatballs.  I just wanted a simple, hearty, completely yummy dinner. 

Rosemary Garlic Chicken and Potatoes, and a Question

The smell of a roasting chicken says “home” to me.  The aroma is cozy and comforting and evocative of childhood…Sunday afternoons…cool Autumn days…dark, early evenings…cribbage games in the living room, and – a real treat – glasses of ginger ale mixed with orange juice for my sister and me.

We didn’t move – ever – when I was a child.  Our house was also my father’s place of business, so we were pretty well tied to that spot.  But once I was in college and then on my own, I lived in a variety of places in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, and again in Rhode Island.

And whenever I’ve moved, I’ve had to roast a chicken soon after moving in.  I need to.  It’s my way, I think, of blessing the place.  Of saying “this is my  home.”  Instead of burning sage or incense, or popping open a bottle of champagne, I roast a chicken.

Harvest Time

What have these two been up to? 

Go see!

Our Geographically Challenged Cinco De Mayo Dinner

Yeah, we're rule breakers. 

Rebels. 

We'd also had tacos the day before.  So instead of something Mexican, food-wise, we went Thai, in part.

Actually here's what we had for dinner last night:  

Rosemary Garlic Bread

Um, hello?...yoo hoo...'scuse me...but you can take your nose off the monitor.  No matter how hard you press, you're not going to be able to smell that loaf of bread. 

At least, not that way.  You'd be able to smell it really well if you make it, though, and if you are a fan of rosemary and garlic, then you really should.

De-Cluttering - Chicken with Lemon, Oregano and Roasted Garlic

Here's another one from March that I didn't post then...

I made (and wrote about) pita bread, and to accompany the bread, I made this chicken dish. 

I had a bunch of nice, big chicken thighs, which I'd rinsed and patted dry with paper towels, you know, like you're supposed to when messing around with chicken.

I planned to bake them in the oven somehow, and since I was already taking pictures of the pita bread in progress, I figured I'd get all fancy with the chicken, too.

Scallion and Red Onion Pancakes with Ginger Dipping Sauce

Or you can use chives...just scallions, just red onions, shallots, or whatever combination you want.

The recipe isn't mine - I found it on the Food Network website - from an episode of East Meets West with Ming Tsai.  If you want a copy of the recipe, here it is.  I pretty much followed it exactly except that I used a combination of the baby scallions and the young red onions. 

The first time I made these I used wild chives that were growing in among the horseradish and the asparagus.  I didn't take pictures, though.  And they were so good, I knew I'd need to make them again and this time TAKE PICTURES.

So here we go.

Roasted Garlic and Rosemary Sourdough Rolls

 

So, were you wondering what became of the garlic?  Here's your answer!

A Closer Look...at Garlic

Last week I posted this photo and left it for people to try to identify.  Here are some images from the rest of that series. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grilled Halibut with Baby Shallot, Garlic and Ginger Marinade

 

We're growing shallots in the garden this year, and above are the seedlings that were thinned from the rest of their siblings in their square plot of ground outside.  They look like tiny scallions or chives, and taste similar. 

I'd picked up a just-over-two-pounds piece of halibut at the store on Friday, and we were planning to grill that Saturday night when my sister's kids slept over.  And so at the last minute, I thought - hey!  Baby shallots!  I could use them with the halibut somehow!  (I'm clever like that.)

Roasting Garlic

Two weeks ago I bought about twelve heads of garlic, intending to roast them in olive oil at the same time as some of the batches of tomatoes I'd been doing, but I didn't get to them until today.