Love garlic?

The Garlic Dressing, Firecracker Salsa and Roasted Garlic recipes below give you the taste you love, backed by the antiviral power of “the stinking rose.” Using garlic to treat and prevent illness dates back well over 5000 years. Ancient Greeks and Egyptians used it for heart problems and headache; the Chinese used it for a variety of common ailments and to boost immunity. And modern scientific research confirms its curative powers. National Cancer Institute studies indicate that a diet rich in garlic may reduce risk of colorectal, stomach and prostate cancer by as much as half. Research also shows that garlic has antiviral properties that protect against infection and inflammation, may destroy certain flu viruses, and help kill intestinal parasites. The following easy-to-prepare salad dressing is another tasty way to get your daily dose: Garlic Dressing Serves 1-4 • 4 T. olive oil • 1 T. lime juice • 2 T. grated parmesan cheese • 2 garlic cloves, minced Mix ingredients together and drizzle over salad greens. And if you’re looking to heat things up, try the following fresh salsa recipe: Firecracker Salsa Serves 2-4 • 3 jalapeno peppers • 4 garlic cloves, peeled • 1 can stewed tomatoes • 1/4 cup cilantro leaves • 1 tsp. lime juice • 1/2 tsp. cumin powder • Salt, to taste Remove stems and seeds from peppers. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and coarsely chop to desired consistency. Serve with tortilla chips. And here’s a classic with taste that’s out of this world: Roasted Garlic Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. Place the garlic heads in a baking pan; muffin pans work well for this purpose. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head, using your fingers to make sure the garlic head is well coated. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed. Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins. You can eat it as is or mash with a fork and use for cooking. Can be spread over warm French bread, mixed with sour cream for a topping for baked potatoes, or mixed in with Parmesan and pasta.Fresh garlic generally offers the best prevention against disease, but eating more than three raw cloves a day may cause gas or bloating in some people. Additionally, not everyone enjoys the pungent aroma. If you’d rather not eat it, try a nutritional supplement. Research recently has shown that supplements containing an extract often work as effectively as fresh — without the garlic breath. Tags: health, healthy recipes, garlic, salsa recipes, nutrition How can this little “rose” do so much? It contains a powerhouse of nutrients, including vitamins A and C; the minerals potassium, selenium, phosphorus and zinc; and amino acids. It also has an unusually high concentration of the sulfur compound allicin, which is a potent antibiotic and the compound primarily responsible for its healing properties. If a little garlic each day keeps the doctor away, what’s the best way to get it? Cooked or raw, all forms have health benefits, but raw garlic has the edge. It’s simple to add it to a variety of dishes; for example: • Top scrambled eggs with minced raw garlic. • Add raw chopped garlic to cooked tomato sauce just before serving. • Sprinkle minced raw garlic on a baked potato. • Spread minced raw garlic on buttered, crusty bread.