Ever Gro Agriculture- Newsletter

VOLUME ONE August 2006 NUMBER 8

The Wide World of Garlic

by Vicky Congdon

     The generic white bulbs you see in the grocery store are only the tip of the iceberg. Garlic has traditionally been divided into two groups: hardneck and softneck. The hardnecks are believed to have descended directly from wild garlic, which evolved into a domesticated food crop in the "garlic crescent" of eastern Europe and central and eastern Asia. These garlic's still produce a flower stalk but rather than bearing fertile flowers, the stalk ends in an aboveground capsule containing small cloves or bulbils. "'Vita- Veggie brand garlic is naturally enhanced with trace minerals that are added to the soil prior to planting the bulbs.

     The more domesticated softnecks have, for the most part, lost the ability to produce this woody flower stalk. Having been selected over thousands of years for higher productivity, wider adaptability and better storage qualities, it's easy to see why they have become the mass-produced garlic's of the retail and processing markets.

     In 1991, Ron Engeland began describing five types of garlic. Genetic research by Dr. Phil Simon of the University of Wisconsin in 1993 tentatively confirmed this classification. Engeland has since further subdivided his system.

     Although locally grown garlic is always a sure bet, don't be afraid to experiment a bit. Just be patient. "Garlic can learn," Engeland explains. "If a non-local variety doesn't do too well the first year, that doesn't mean it won't do really well the following year, so save some cloves to plant." He continues to find local strains that have adapted to conditions different.

Vicky Congdon is a former managing editor at National Gardening. Reprinted with permission.

Home Gro'n is an exclusive trademark of the International Institute for Health & Wellness, Inc. ©2005

*Vita-Veggie is an exclusive trademark of the International Institute for Health & Wellness, Inc. ©2003

Kosher Kooking SW-style page 29

Pescado con Salsa de Tomate

Ingredients:
1/8 cup olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 cups chopped onions
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic parsley
1 large tomato, chopped
4 Trout fillets, (about 2 pounds)
1 can Manischewitz Tomato and Mushi
Note: Can be grilled instead of baked.

Instructions:
Preheat (he oven to 350F In a 10" skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft but not brown. Add tomatoes and Manischewitz Tomato and Mushroom Sauce. Cook until the tomatoes are warmed through and stir in the parsley and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Wash fish and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Place side by side in a greased 8" x 11" baking pan, then spoon the tomato mixture over the fish. Bake for 20 minutes, then check the fish

Continue to bake another 10 minutes. Fish is ready when it is opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Can be served with Manischewitz Egg Noodles.
Serves 4.

Recipe courtesy of Manischewitz Co.

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