When in doubt, add more garlic!

My family sometimes jokes with each other that one of our family cooking mottos is, "When in doubt, add more garlic!" We have a serious affinity for the stuff. I have loved it since I can remember. When I was small, my mom used to give us garlic gel-caps along with our vitamins. I guess there was a health benefit?? (Mom? Why did you do that?) Anyway, I liked them so much that I would actually chew them! Its a good thing that I was cute 'cause chewing those garlic pills made for one stinky little girl!

I had a few adventures with garlic last week that I thought I would share...

Remember how I told you a few weeks ago that nasty little aphids were eating my broccoli, brussels sprouts and green beans plants in the garden? Well, it turns out it wasn't aphids. It was the even nastier dreaded flea beetle! I am learning all kinds of things from hanging out with other gardeners and the flea beetles are truly dreaded. They look like a tiny black flea and once they infest your plants, they can be very difficult to get rid of. BUT alas, there is hope! Apparently (unlike me), they hate garlic! So at one gardener's recommendation, I whipped up the following completely organic, completely stinky pest spray:

1 head of garlic, bulbs peeled and minced
1/2 c. olive oil
2 cups water
a few squirts of Dawn dishwashing liquid

- Mince your garlic in a food processor. Add to the oil and let it sit overnight.
- Strain out the minced garlic.
- Mix the oil with the soap and water in a spray bottle, shake and spray over plants

I have been spraying the affected plants with this concoction about every other day and it has rid us almost entirely of the dreaded flea beetles! HOORAY!! It is very potent and makes me hungry for garlic bread and Italian food when I am spraying, but I can cope with that if the beetles leave my little plant-babies alone!

So... After mixing up that plant spray, I was left with a couple tablespoons worth of perfectly good minced garlic which needed to be used, so I went to one of my trusty recipe sources: Cooking Light, and decided on this recipe for lunch yesterday:

Penne w/ Pistachio Pesto and White Beans

8 ounces uncooked penne pasta (gluten free or regular)
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup roasted shelled pistachios
6 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped seeded peeled tomato
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini or great northern white beans, rinsed and drained
1 (5-ounce) package arugula (I used spinach because it was cheaper!)
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded fresh pecorino Romano cheese

- Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse with cold water. Drain.
- Combine basil, nuts, and garlic in a food processor; process until finely chopped.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add basil mixture, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Stir in pasta, tomato, and next 3 ingredients (through beans) and cook for 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated, tossing to combine.
- Remove from heat. Add arugula or spinach to pan, and toss to slightly wilt.
- Sprinkle w/ cheese and enjoy!!

I really loved this recipe! It was pretty, the basil pesto smelled incredible and the finished product was colorful and tasted delicious. In addition, you've got a fairly easy dish that includes your veggies, starch and protein all in one!

And that is the end of my garlic tale...

Happy Monday!