"Deveining" Garlic

Most of us have read about all the benefits of garlic, and for me, I just love the taste. But sometimes raw garlic can have a bitter burn to it that no one in my family enjoys, including myself. I read this tip in a cookbook a while ago (can't remember which one) but the author stated if you pull the "vein" out of the garlic, yo get a milder flavor without that bitter bite. Some people also have a hard time with the digestion part of garlic - seems that without the vein you don't end up, umm... re-tasting your garlic all night, or at least in our house, none of us had that issue. Could it really be this little vein causing so much trouble?

So how to devein - it is really easy. Cut your clove in half, lengthwise (the picture above is so you can see the dark center where the vein is, but you cut it lengthwise to remove the vein), then just use the tip of a knife to pull the vein out. Typically it is a little darker in color than the rest of the clove, otherwise it is just that very center sprout. Use your garlic just like you would in the rest of the recipe, and maybe it will be a little more enjoyable, especially in raw dishes.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Chocolate Ganache (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

I was craving peanut butter and chocolate so whipped up this ice cream (and topped it with chocolate ganache) - it comes together very quickly and you can start enjoying it within about a half hour as long as you have the ice cream maker in the freezer.

ICE CREAM

Ingredients:

3 Cups Coconut Milk (either canned, or taking the water and meat of a young coconut to make your own coconut milk is fine)

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Cup Dates, pitted

2 tsp Vanilla extract (alcohol-free so the ice cream will freeze)

1/8 tsp Almond extract (alcohol-free)

Blend all ingredients together until smooth, then place in an ice cream freezer and follow the manufacturers directions.

GANACHE

Ingredients

1 Cup Coconut Milk

1 Cup Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped (or as chocolate chips)

2 tsp Vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place chocolate in a heat safe bowl.
2. Bring coconut milk to a boil, then remove from heat.
3. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and let it stand for a moment to allow the chocolate to soften.
4. Whisk chocolate and coconut milk together until smooth.
5. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
6. Warm and use like hot fudge over ice cream.