a little good natured wagering...

 

Part of the fun of working in a small company is getting to know your co-workers like family. ( this can be bad too, but not for this story... lol) 

Last football season when we got to the play offs we had a friendly pool in our office. It ended at Super Bowl and you may remember seeing some not so happy mugs presenting our warehouse manager Arthur with his (no so hard won) celebratory beer. :(

Well this year we jumped on the band wagon early and started a friendly, weekly pool at week 1. 

Now tensions can run pretty high week to week as we each have our favorite teams.. Arthur is a hard core Dallas fan.. down to his soul. Tracy lives for Chargers wins and I, as a native San Franciscan, am Gold & Red all the way (except during baseball season.. Go Giants!).

Admittedly I am not the biggest football fan. I watch the occasional game. I like to get swept up in Superbowl fever if the 49ers are in it, but on a day to day basis my knowledge runs fair to well, nada! So its been VERY entertaining (well, to me) that my "non- system" of picking teams has led me to 3 straight wins. I am sure this is killing Arthur inside a little bit each day and while Tracy would love to win, at least she reaps the benefits of my wins through Starbuck's deliveries ;)

This week, being a little punchy from working on the new website and all the fiddly details that involves, we decided to make it even more interesting by putting Bandit into the betting mix. We decided that since he is a cat, he would pick all teams, that were.. felines (Bengals, Lions, Jaguars), Birds (Falcons, Cardinals, Ravens), or fish (Dolphins). We then mused that he might choose teams that would have feathers on their outfits ( Red Skins, Chiefs) and well, the other games were just a toss up.

So now we are anxious for Monday, (or Tuesday) to see how it all shakes out. Will Bandit's system reward him with a can of tuna? (For the record if he loses, we each get a dollar) or will Arthur finally reign supreme? Tune in next week to find out or use our chart above and follow along as you watch the games this weekend.

Good News for Garlic Lovers...

Eating raw garlic may help cut risk of lung cancer almost in half, study finds...

 

According to a new study by researchers from the Jiangsu Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention in China, consuming raw garlic might actually help prevent lung cancer, along with other various chronic health problems.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/08/09/chinese-study-concludes-eating-raw-garlic-may-help-cut-risk-lung-cancer-almost/#ixzz2bV1u2JIm

2013 Garlic

The Year’s First Garden Garlic~2013

From Garlic Festival Foods Garden

While the first commercial garlic of the year is yet to be harvested in California, our garden has yielded this beautiful pink variety and another Asian variety, the seed of which was given to me by a gardener friend. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name of the variety, but note the large separated cloves and tan color, unlike California Early & California Late, which are very large and white. 

Often grown organically, some of these other colorful varieties can be found at farmers markets throughout the country. Many have a spicy and pungent flavor. Try a variety and see what you like.        

Avoid imported Chinese varieties found in stores and identifiable by their completely bare root area.

These garlic bulbs have been drying for a few days but are uncleaned and unclipped.

These have been cleaned of their outer dirty skins and are now ready to store in a cool, dry place (or eaten)!

Garlic & Popcorn pack an antioxidant punch!

Did you know that popcorn is one of the healthiest snacks around?

Popcorn is loaded with antioxidants, even more than many fruits and vegetables.

However, skip the microwavable stuff and pop your own in an air-popper or the stove top kind. It’ll save money and be much healthier. 

According to a study from the University of Minnesota, diacetyl, the flavoring that gives microwave popcorn its buttery flavor could trigger a buildup of plaque causing Alzheimers. The research found that diacetyl increases the clumping in the brain of a protein, beta-amyloid, and hinders the brain’s ability to clear it.

You’ll further add to popcorn’s healthful properties by cutting down on the butter. 

Try this instead for mouthwatering popcorn: Mix extra virgin olive oil half and half with real butter, sprinkle in some Garli Garni or Garlic Festival Popcorn Seasoning and melt. Pour over your popcorn and toss.  (For cheesy popcorn, try Garli Ghetti instead)

Garlic in the Garden

If you had planted your garlic last fall, and live in a more temperate climate (sorry midwest) your garlic plants might look a little like this right about now.

Our fearless leader, Caryl, took home some of the fresh garlic from our warehouse last fall and planted them in her garden along with another hardneck (rocambole) variety that she got from a gardener friend. You can see in the picture at the left that the tops of the hardneck garlic form a round stem with a little bulb at the end. These turn into
curly stems or "scapes". Scapes are not only pretty to look at in the garden and flower arrangements but can be eaten just like the garlic bulb itself.

At this time of year, one might wish to pull some of their garlic and use it as "green garlic". Green garlic is the early bulb formation or "green" stage of garlic bulbs before the cloves begin to mature. Like scapes, it is fresh and tasty for use in cooking.

If you haven't planted garlic in your home garden ( like me.. whomp whomp), you can check out Farmer's Markets in your area. Many markets carry scapes and green garlic in Spring and early summer. If you score some, you might want to try out one of these yummy recipes:

- NY Times Quinoa Pilaf with Sweet Peas and Green Garlic
- Saveur's BLTs with Green Garlic Aioli
- About.com's Roasted Green Garlic
- Saveur's Garlic Scape Pesto
- Cold Garden, Warm Kitchen's Bacon Wrapped Garlic Scapes

and of course you can do a websearch for either Garlic Scapes or Green Garlic for tons of other tasty ideas. Now I need to go find some lunch. The hazards of foodblogging :)

WARNING: This post will make you hungry! or, Perusing Pinterest

Seriously!! Looking at Pinterest is dangerous to your weight.. I am starving now...

Garlic Gorgonzola Bread
Triple Garlic Pizza

Garlic Cheese Muffins

Sauteed Lemon Garlic Porkchops

Garlic-Buttered Chicken & Zucchini Pizza

Roasted Garlic Mushrooms with Brie

Bacon Wrapped Potatoes with Easy Garli Aioli

Garlic is for heroes...

"Shallots are for babies; Onions are for men; garlic is for heroes."