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[Don Bowen <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>]

At 9/20/2006, you wrote:
One of my favorite essays by Wendall Berry is the one where he compares 
gardening to protesting a nuclear plant.

> I can't help them. About all any of us commoners can do is to lead
> lives that others may find useful to follow. I wonder how many people
> grow their own garlic.

Last spring while picking up a bicycle I found on Freecycle, the woman gave 
me a huge bunch of garlic that I quickly planted.  I did little to prepare 
the soil, I just needed to get them somewhere.  Now the heads have grown 
and I pulled a couple.  They are nothing particular but they will do well 
in the garlic sauce reverse engineered from the Zankou version.

Zankou is a small chain of Armenian returaunts in LA.  My son and I go in 
there and buy half a chicken, as many little cups of garlic as they will 
part with, and two orders of Pita bread.  The last trip there I managed to 
get out of the place with several cups and used them for a month.

Here is the recipe my son sent me:
Here's the recipe from the chowhound forum (a bunch of people got together 
and worked it out):
Peel three small russet potatoes and boil in water until soft. Mash the 
potatoes (I used a food mill) and let cool.

Crush and peel a whole head of garlic (about 12 large cloves). Cut into 
quarters. Place raw garlic in a heavy duty blender (I used a 390-watt 
Waring) with 1/2 tbsp. of salt and juice of two large lemons (about 1/3 
cup). Pour 1/2 cup of oil (I used canola oil) into a measuring cup and pour 
a small amount of oil from cup onto garlic (just enough for a light layer). 
Puree the garlic, salt and lemon juice on "Hi" and begin pouring a slow, 
steady stream of oil through the blender's handle hole until everything has 
coalesced.

At this point the sauce looked pretty damn good. I took a taste and it was 
a potent blast of pure garlic satisfaction. I would have stopped here, but 
I was after that elusive Zankou taste and texture, so on come the potatoes.

Add the mashed potatoes, about 2-3 tablespoons at a time. Add more potato 
after the sauce becomes consistent, and keep adding until all is 
incorporated in the sauce. You might want to transfer the garlic paste to a 
mixer before this step and add the potatoes in the mixer as my Waring was 
starting to show signs of stress towards the end of this process.

Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool completely in the fridge. After about 
an hour the flavors will blend together nicely and the texture will take on 
that library paste consistency like Zankou 's sauce. Fortunately I had 
smoked chicken left over from last night's barbecue, so I heated it up in 
the oven and used it a "delivery medium" for the garlic sauce. It was just 
like Zankou. I bet it will be even better tomorrow.

I even gave this Sonia's frying test. The sauce held together in the frying 
pan, even as it started to sear and transform into some sadistic latke.

Here are the ingredients again in an easier to read format:

-3 small russet potatoes
-1 head of garlic (12-14 cloves)
-1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice
-1/2 tbsp. salt
-1/2 cup canola oil



Don Bowen              Awl Knotted Up                       KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com
My travel journal
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html

I am omnivagant.  
> From gloriamorris59 AT gmail.com  Wed Sep 20 12:58:13 2006
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Date: Wed, 20 Sep 2006 11:58:11 -0500
From: "Gloria Morris" <gloriamorris59 AT gmail.com>
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Subject: Re: [Homestead] Gardening as Antidote to World Conditions.
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Gene,

I cycle in and out of news reading for the very reasons you cite. I want to
know what is going on in the world, but sometimes it is simply overwhelming,
and there is little that one simple person can do to effect real change.
When the news of the day is overwhelming, there is nothing like refocusing
on the garden, and one's self-sufficiency goals. My current project is
creating a raised bed for a spring planting of strawberries. That sounds
quite simple, but there isn't a level spot for the bed on the entire place,
so I'm working on a terrace to start. Once I have the area reasonably level
and the sod removed, I will put in the sides for the bed. Then I will dig up
the soil. I will follow that with a generous helping of composted horse
manure. And I will let the bed rest for the balance of the winter. Next
spring I will likely side dress the new planting with organic corn gluten
meal, as the last strawberry bed that I started that way did phenomenally
well.

This is all complicated by the fact that in moving recently I aggravated my
old carpal tunnel problem, and my hands and wrists are healing too slowly
for my gardening desires -- Vitamin B Complex works wonders, but it isn't an
instant fix. But, it is a project that I can do slowly as I am able, and it
gets me outside and away from all the awful news.

I've not grown garlic for several years, but if all goes well I hope to
plant some next fall. Lots of beds to build between now and then!

Gloria


On 9/20/06, Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com> wrote:
> Journal entry 9/19/06: Gardening as Antidote to World Conditions.
> Most mornings I read news via satellite. The Net positive is that one
> has access to international happenings. The Net negative is that one
> now confronts an endless deluge of information about man's inhumanity
> to man. Ignorance, intolerance, meanness. Greed. The inability of
> leaders to improve conditions. This morning I reached a breaking
> point while reading the plight of India's farmers. Many have become
> convinced to plant genetically modified Monsanto seeds. They have
> fallen into the same trap that wrecked American  farm families,
> borrowing to make a crop and burdening unpredictable harvests with
> interest payments. Crop failures increase indebtedness at high
> interest from money lenders who take land deeds as collateral.
> Farmers unable to pay lose their land. Poultry farmers are wiped out
> due to avian flu. It is reported that in only six of 35 districts in
> Maharashtra, India's third-largest state, nearly 1,900 farmers have
> committed suicide since 2001. A common choice is drinking pesticide.
> A farmer's last borrowing is money for his bottle of death.
> A factor is crop prices. American farm subsidies are decried as
> unfairly affecting the world market. Some point to inadequate Indian
> bank policies. Whatever the various causes, I finally found myself
> unable to continue. Enough. Too much. Shut it down.
> Looking out at the trees of early autumn found no answer. Change the
> focus. Do something positive. Following the view outside led to the
> garden. The garlic bed beckoned. Dreams of future gustatory
> delights--roast chicken and garlic pizza, poached salmon with pasta
> and pesto, heavy on the pesto.
> Last year I planted cloves from Baker Seeds, partly to be supportive
> of their heirloom program and partly to see what flavors of exotic
> varieties I had been missing. German Extra-Hardy and German Porcelain
> are tasty but once mixed with other ingredients the uniqueness is
> lost. This year I went back to supermarket bulbs.
> Fluffed the soil, mixing it with what's left of mulch, last fall's
> revenue of grass and leaves. Garlic likes fluffy soil. It also likes
> rich soil. Sighed, cut down the Rose of Sharon that had sprouted in
> front of the Taj Mahen people door. Unchickened for five years, the
> floor has a thick layer of old droppings mixed with sawdust and
> planer shavings. Tied a moist bandanna over my nose and filled a
> bucket with the dusty stuff. Shook it onto the fluffed soil followed
> by bone meal and some old seaweed extract. Raked all into the top
> inch or so of soil.
> The planting board is over twenty years old but still in good shape.
> Punched in three rows of holes. Chris helped break the bulbs and poke
> in the cloves. Garlic filament bounced about the garden in the light
> breeze. Birds chattered. One hundred fifty-six cloves planted.
> Covered with fine soil, used the back of the rake to smooth, then
> tamp. Watered well, went back later in the day and watered again.
> Made a note in the garden journal to feed in early spring with manure
> tea or fish emulsion.
> I feel better now. I am still sad about the plight of those poor
> bastards in India trying to make a living off the land as their
> families have done for generations but now beset with conditions
> beyond their knowledge.
> I can't help them. About all any of us commoners can do is to lead
> lives that others may find useful to follow. I wonder how many people
> grow their own garlic.