Another Garlicky Day

Hopefully no-one has preserved any garlic in Olive Oil in the last 24 hours. Kethry has kindly written in to tell me about the possibility's of botulism in garlic preserved in olive oil. I have been reading up on it this afternoon. It seems as though the botulism is in the soil and isn't destroyed by anything you do to it. So if its in the soil from the beginning things go bad (real bad) and if it isn't then they don't. But as botulism isn't something to be messed with i am revising my options on preserving next years crop. I have read that pickling is good but my husband is not a great fan of vinegar, except on chips and then not too often. This year I will try peeling the cloves and then blitzing in the blender, still with other oil but then freezing in the ice cube tray. I would suggest that the ice cube trays wont be much good for anything else afterwards so i will only freeze up on tray at a time and then move the cubes to a bag in the freezer.

Here are the two garlic themed recipes which i cooked for my first 'Hot & Spicy' session. Yum, really yum and really easy too.

Chicken with chili and basil

Ingredients
200g / 8 oz chicken fillets – chopped into bite size pieces
1 – 2 red chili – de seeded and chopped
1 – 2 green chili- de seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic - chopped
1 tbl chopped coriander
2 tbls fish sauce
1 tbl oyster sauce
1 bunch fresh basil
A little oil

Method
1. Heat a little oil in a wok and when hot add the chicken stirring for 3 mins
2. Add the red and green chili, coriander and garlic and fry for a min
3. Add the fish and oyster sauce and gently heat for 5 mins
4. Tear the basil leaves and add just before serving


RED THAI CURRY


INGREDIENTS

200ml/8fl oz coconut cream
2 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
2 tbls red Thai curry paste
2 tbls fish sauce
2 tsp sugar
250g/10 oz chicken breast finely chopped
450ml/3/4 pt chicken stock
2 kaffir or lime leaves finely shredded
1 chopped red chilli to garnish

METHOD

1. Pour the coconut cream into a saucepan and gently heat
2. Meanwhile heat a wok with 2 tbls oil, when this is hot add the garlic and cook for 10-20 seconds, then add the curry paste for a further few seconds.
3. Pour in the warmed coconut cream and cook for 5 mins until thickened
4. Stir in the fish sauce and sugar then add the chicken and cook for 5 mins.
5. Pour in the stock and simmer for a few mins until the chicken is cooked.
6. Stir in the lime leaves and place in serving dish garnish with the chilli