“Let food be your medicine.”
(attributed to Hippokrates of Kos)
I started this batch of pickled garlic back before Yule, and made the mistake of setting it out on the Yule board, well before its time.
Yikes. Each clove of garlic burned in the mouth like a red-hot glede.
Disappointed, I set the pickle aside and, basically, forgot about it.
Thank Goddess.
Last week I came across the jar again and, some five months on, decided to give it another try. “If ever my immune system needed a boost, it's now,” I thought.
Ohmigods.
No longer does the garlic burn: it's now like a kiss. Everything else tastes pallid by comparison.
So here's your chance to make your own. Just be sure to let it ripen well.
Yes, I know, I'm a son of Northern Europe living in Minnesota, and this is an Asian recipe. But you know what they say about warlocks.
We sure do get around.
Old Warlock's Kick-Ass Pickled Garlic
1 cup large, peeled garlic cloves
½ cup tamari
½ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Combine all ingredients in a glass jar or nonmetallic bowl. Cover, and set aside for three days.
Remove the garlic cloves from the marinade. Bring the marinade to a simmer, and reduce by about half, to a generous half cup. Return the garlic and reduced marinade to the jar. Cover, and age for at least a month.
And let vampires, and the virus, all go hang.