Naomi: Cooking for one and for friends



For years now, even before I wrote the recipes in what I think of as my "static blog," Fiftytworecipesfrommymother, at the request of my children, Sarah and Sam, Sarah had been urging me to keep a daily (more or less) record of my cookings--the meals I make for myself in my (surprisingly) solitary life as well as those I make for friends. For whatever reasons, I've never done it.


But, after months of wandering, I've finally begun. As I haven't quite mastered the art of cooking for one, and love throwing together grand meals at the last minute, I have been encouraging friends to call to check on what I might have on hand any evening for a quick meal. Instructions can be found in my entry for March 20th--What's in Naomi's Refrigerator.

This is primarily a record of the meals I prepare for myself and others, accompanied by "mug shots" of the food (when I remember to photograph before eating). Shot by my phone, with no styling, they may not capture their subjects at their best, but so be it.



Friday, March 23, 2012

Kitchen Hint #1 Peeling Garlic.

I think this deserves a post of his own.  When Robin and Tim were here last week, Robin demonstrated a method for peeling garlic that she'd heard months ago on NPR.  She was dancing about shaking two metal bowls, but I was too pre-occupied with the tri-tip at the time to pay proper attention.

Yesterday, faced with the task of peeling many garlic cloves (something I've never minded all that much), I decided to check out her system.

As instructed, I smashed a whole clove of garlic--I used my fist--but you could hit it with a cleaver or other heavy item if you don't feel like testing your strength.  This should leave you with a nice collection of separated cloves.  Then, find two bowls the same size.  Put the cloves in one.  Cover with the other--and shake vigorously (NPR says five seconds, I might not be such a great shaker--I probably needed 10-15.  Peek inside--and wonder of wonders-- a good pile of completely naked garlic cloves!!

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2 comments:

  1. Hye-YoungMarch 24, 2012 at 11:53 AM

    That's miraculous! I can't wait to try it! Thanks for sharing Naomi! Admiring the blog very much!

    ReplyDelete
  2. NaomiMarch 26, 2012 at 4:51 PM

    Thanks! It is a miracle--and if you don't use all them all at once you'll have a fine supply of peeled cloves for a while<

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