Rachael Ray Says: Nuke Your Garlic!

"Tip:  Microwave garlic cloves for 10 seconds -

the skin will slip right off."

- Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine, March 2009

Ever heard this one before?  

This trick really piqued my curiosity, so I gave it a whirl.  The results?  Mixed.

I've often zapped a lemon or a lime prior to juicing, but I'd never heard of giving garlic the same treatment to facilitate the peeling process.  Turns out, it works like a charm.  When you bust open the head, separate the cloves and microwave them for 10 seconds.  The skins will, indeed, slip right off - but that's where you should stop when using this trick.  

It's great for applications in which you'd keep the clove whole (such as roasting), but when I tried to proceed with mincing the garlic, it had turned so sticky that I had a hard time getting the job done.  That small burst of heat must also release a certain amount of ticky-tacky juices, because that garlic wanted to cling to the knife and to my fingers, rendering the chopping process much more difficult than if I had peeled it the old-fashioned way.

Final score?  5.  This tip is useful about half of the time, in my estimation.

C&S

Guess Who's Swimming with Alice Waters?

File this under "Hmmm...Wow"

So I was flipping through the September issue of Everyday with Rachael Ray and no sooner had I made it past the masthead when I encountered the first feature-ette.  On Alice Waters.  No joke.  Page 19 sports a photo of the Berkeley, California High Priestess of Panisse, along with a blurb and recipe from her Edible Schoolyard project for students.

I have been in awe of Ms. Waters since I-don't-know-when, but to see her here... well, Quelle Surprise, know what I mean?  Everyday just moved up a few notches in my book, from "Guilty pleasure" to "Maybe I won't hide it under my back issues of Saveur on the coffee table anymore.  Maybe."

Of course, I just totally outed myself anyway :)