Althouse: At the Garlic Harvest Café...

September 27, 2012

At the Garlic Harvest Café...

... everything is named and labeled.

87 comments:

ndspinelli said...: No vampires tonight.; 9/27/12, 12:20 PM
ndspinelli said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/27/12, 12:20 PM
test said...: No post rejoicing that our long national nightmare is over?; 9/27/12, 12:24 PM
Tyrone Slothrop said...: Who knew garlic had a Cold War history?

A few of the kinds of garlic now in America came in with Polish, German and Italian immigrants over the centuries, but most of them came in all at once in 1989. The USDA had been asking the Soviets for permission to go to the Caucasus region to collect garlics but permission had always been refused because there were many missile bases in the area and this was where their spaceport was and is.

Finally, as the Soviet Union was disintegrating in 1989, they suddenly invited the Americans in to collect the garlics. They were under continuous armed guard and were allowed to travel only at night so they wouldn't see anything of military importance. They went from village to village along the old Silk Road buying garlic from local markets and naming the cultivars after the town or village where they were purchased.; 9/27/12, 12:26 PM
ndspinelli said...: Garlic is something many cheeseheads never experienced until recent decades. my bride's grandfather was anti-Catholic and Italian. There was NEVER garlic in their house in the 40's-60's. He died in the 60's. Well, as Chris Rock says, "Be careful who you hate because you're daughter will surely marry one." When I married into the clan I couldn't make enough dishes w/ garlic. Who doesn't love the smell of garlic simmering in olive oil?; 9/27/12, 12:32 PM
traditionalguy said...: Cafe thoughts: Human intelligence functions by naming and labeling/coding the things that are done on earth.

That's how important words are to us. We cannot think and act without them. An enemy will try to change our accepted meanings of words by a misapplication to create chaos that allows for his theft and murder of the weak.

Also our administration of justice when done well names a common definition
for our activities.

But when our Referees are confused and not reliable we lose the order that created the peace for successful human life. In other words many hate good lawyers and judges out of ebvy until they are MIA. Then like the NFL's recent experience we appreciate what we lost.; 9/27/12, 12:35 PM
Anonymous said...: Nothing better than fresh garlic, how are to going to keep it, in the fridge or leave it out ? I hate smashing and peeling and pressing garlic before cooking , but it's well worth it, that minced stuff in the jar at he supermarket, just doesn't cut it. And don't even dare bring garlic powder into my kitchen, and most definitely not onion powder.

The best mashed potatoes I've had have been roasted garlic mashed potatoes. And yes I do occasionally eat potatoes, sweet and white on low carb/paleo.; 9/27/12, 12:35 PM
edutcher said...: Named and labeled sounds like the way the Democrat Party treats people.

PS Isn't "anti-Catholic AND Italian" oxymoronic?; 9/27/12, 12:36 PM
Anonymous said...: Spinelli, not immigrant families like mine. Lotsa garlic, lotsa onions, tomato sauce, but not Italian, it's made with a roux , delicious! Also lots and lots of Paprika. I understand that in certain parts of Italy they make tomato sauce the same way.; 9/27/12, 12:39 PM
MadisonMan said...: Who doesn't love the smell of garlic simmering in olive oil?

Me.

I like a hint of garlic in food. Trouble is, most people love it and make the garlic oppressive.; 9/27/12, 12:43 PM
Anonymous said...: Never ever burn garlic, it becomes very bitter.; 9/27/12, 12:46 PM
traditionalguy said...: America was once the garlic producing capital of the world, centered in Gilroy California.But then China took over by setting a cheaper price. And the story goes on.; 9/27/12, 12:54 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Saugerties, NY has a great garlic festival, going on very soon.

Worth a visit.

The Old Dawgz came along too late this year for that one, but we'll be there next year.; 9/27/12, 1:05 PM
ndspinelli said...: Madison Man, Never go to Gilroy, Ca. The whole town smells like garlic.

Inga, fka Allie, I'm talking the Irish, Norwegians, Wasps..you know the inferior immigrants who eat white bread and mayo sandwiches.; 9/27/12, 1:21 PM
FleetUSA said...: Forget the mythology around garlic.

It is just yummy on almost everything. Buon Appetito.

Also, take a pod if you have a headache.; 9/27/12, 1:24 PM
chickelit said...: Crushing garlic cloves releases an enzyme called alliinase, which transforms alliin into the pungent and potent allicin.

Translated: Crushed cloves release an enzyme called allienase, which transforms alliein into the pungent and potent Alliesin from Wisconsin.; 9/27/12, 1:27 PM
MaggotAtBroad&Wall said...: Off Topic: It's likely already been mentioned, but Drudge is winking today.; 9/27/12, 1:27 PM
Hagar said...: I hate rolled up wallpaper paste.; 9/27/12, 1:27 PM
MaggotAtBroad&Wall said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/27/12, 1:29 PM
Anonymous said...: Spinelli, don't bash Scandinavians, they have great Lingonberry syrup and Danish pancakes, which are really Palachinka, which are really Crepes.; 9/27/12, 1:40 PM
Anonymous said...: Did someone just call me pungent?; 9/27/12, 1:42 PM
Nathan Alexander said...: One thing has been bugging me:
Democrats have been criticizing Romney for wanting to lower taxes for the rich, off-shore or out-source American jobs, and other such Evil Rich Republican schemes.

But I have never heard them explain one simple point:

Why?

One could argue that Cheney wanted policies that would make him even richer. One could argue that W was overly sympathetic to oil company complaints, or even that he wanted to be even richer.

But Romney is retired. How does he benefit if jobs are outsourced or off-shored?
Romney gives more away in charity than he pays in taxes. How would he benefit at all from lower taxes for the rich?

Romney fixed the Olympics in Salt Lake City because he wanted to. He didn't take a salary.

What possible hold would any rich constituency have on him?

Better question: what possible hold would any rich constituency have on him that wouldn't have an even stronger hold on Obama, Pelosi, Harry Reid, et al?

Romney can earn millions w/o any special insider trading opportunities from being in Congress like Pelosi and Reid. Romney can earn millions from his own efforts, no need to make speeches or write books or have his wife get a $300k job to be able to live at the quality of life they want, no need to be President to have posh vacations like the Obamas had to.

Is there any evidence of a rich cabal conspiring to keep the poor down?

Or would the rich prefer a comfortable middle and lower class that has enough money to purchase the luxuries that the rich sell?

Is there any evidence of a secret cabal of rich people looking out for each other?

Why would that secret cabal of people looking out for each other exclude Democrat rich people? And how could the Democrat rich people stay rich if you need a cabal of rich people looking out for each other to stay rich?

I do agree that large corporations have too much power to prevent upstart startups from competing with them by using the govt to create regulations that raise the hurdles for new entries into an established market.

But the supposedly evil business owners only make money when people buy stuff. Unlike how Democrats get rich: by making deals to buy land cheap, and then using their role in govt to pass legislation that increases the value of their land...or by being able to invest in the industries that they regulate (Chris Dodd and Barney Frank are great examples of that).

But Romney can tell all those pressures and special interests to pound sand.

So where is the logic behind liberal progressive accusations toward the rich?; 9/27/12, 1:48 PM
chickelit said...: Just for pun...; 9/27/12, 1:48 PM
Anonymous said...: OK Chickie, that makes you a gent.; 9/27/12, 1:52 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Garlic and shallots are the only things I was able to grow in my garden area this year because the deer will eat everything else. I mean everything. They destroyed two young peach trees in the orchard that hadn't been caged in yet. Damn them!!! They are like giant rats. Furry locusts.

Next year we will have a deer proof fence around the area and I can go back to normal gardening.

Give us a review on which of the types of garlic you like the best :-); 9/27/12, 1:58 PM
ndspinelli said...: The nihiists in The Big Lebowski ordered lingonberry pancakes. The killed Donny. Therefore I hate lingonberry pancakes.; 9/27/12, 1:59 PM
ndspinelli said...: One of the nihilists ordered pigs in blanket. So, I won't eat that either.; 9/27/12, 2:01 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: DBQ,

I have a pretty sturdy fence around my garden. The deer leave me alone.

I also plant something called "gopher purge." Gets rid of moles and gophers because they hate the smell.

Don't think the deer like it either.; 9/27/12, 2:03 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: gopher purge

OMG I just googled that. I thought it was a weed and have been trying to get rid of it.

/facepalm

Now I have to try to save it. LOL; 9/27/12, 2:09 PM
Shouting Thomas said...: Gopher purge is kind of weed like, in that, when it goes to seed, it will propagate like crazy.

You only need one in each corner of your garden.; 9/27/12, 2:13 PM
bagoh20 said...: This brings to mind a question:
Why do we fume our homes with flowery scents like lavender or gardenias instead of something like lasagne or bacon? I can see doing both at different times, but nobody does bacon, except by accident. You would think that there would be lasagne incense or Glade garlic bread air spray. Oh yea, how about just fresh-baked-bread-scented incense. I want that.; 9/27/12, 2:13 PM
test said...: Dust Bunny Queen said...
Garlic and shallots are the only things I was able to grow in my garden area this year because the deer will eat everything else

Exactly the ingredients for shrimp scampi, with a little white wine and crushed red pepper.; 9/27/12, 2:14 PM
rhhardin said...: Armstrong and Getty, off the air owing to suggesting insulting Mohammud universally until the Muslims grow up, start today's return to the air program with the Islamic call to prayer.; 9/27/12, 2:16 PM
garage mahal said...: The best Lingonberry syrup/pancakes is at Al Johnsons in Door County. So so good.; 9/27/12, 2:16 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Exactly the ingredients for shrimp scampi, with a little white wine and crushed red pepper

THANK YOU!!

I've been pondering what to make for dinner. Now I know. Scampi, sour dough bread to sop up the juices, salad and a pear/blue cheese tart (the tart I had already decided on).; 9/27/12, 2:19 PM
crosspatch said...: So, Prof. Althouse, what is your take on the new developments in the Elizabeth Warren story re: new cases revealed (state cases this time) where she practiced in MA without being licensed there.

Here is a link to the site that had been supporting her against those allegations.; 9/27/12, 2:20 PM
garage mahal said...: Whoops, corrected Al Johnsons link here; 9/27/12, 2:24 PM
test said...: THANK YOU!!

Glad to help, and I'm going to try the sourdough next time I make it. Sounds great.; 9/27/12, 2:25 PM
chickelit said...: bagoh20 said...
This brings to mind a question:
Why do we fume our homes with flowery scents like lavender or gardenias instead of something like lasagne or bacon?

Probably because of female preferences. In the old days they created bacon scents and bread and no one thought to market such odors. Ladies wanted to smell the rose garden indoors.

As more and more females abandon the domestic front, perhaps someone will market those fragrances.

How about "Baconscents and Myrth"?; 9/27/12, 2:31 PM
bagoh20 said...: I'm in Florida right now. What a difference form California. I have not heard any presidential political ads in California yet this year, but here in Florida, it is non-stop lies and, half-truths and distortions. The ads run on every show at about 2:1 to any other commercials. It really makes me realize how my vote in CA means absolutely nothing to anyone. I live in an idiocracy.

People down here are convinced that Romney is going to end Medicare and Social Security on day one, and then execute the 47% who don't pay taxes the following week.

A few more days of these ads, and I'll be believing it too. I'm convinced that at least half the people have no idea what the candidates are really about.

One thing I notice among the hoi poi is that nobody cares one bit that Romney is Mormon, or that Obama is half-black, and virtually no one except the internet-obsessed knows anything about either man's history. Still, I see more Romney yard sign than Obama, which are very rare even in California. Nobody is proud of that pick, except Althouse.; 9/27/12, 2:32 PM
chickelit said...: bagoh20 said...
I'm in Florida right now. What a difference form California. I have not heard any presidential political ads in California yet this year, but here in Florida, it is non-stop lies and, half-truths and distortions.

Californians are stupid when it comes to politics. Look at the redundancy we elect to the Senate: two Bay Area liberal women.; 9/27/12, 2:34 PM
bagoh20 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/27/12, 2:35 PM
I Have Misplaced My Pants said...: Garlic is something many cheeseheads never experienced until recent decades.

A few years ago I made my first upper midwestern friend and I was astounded that her family (Swedes from Wisconsin) never, ever cooked with either garlic or onions, unless it was canned French fried onions on top of a casserole. Just wasn't their thing.; 9/27/12, 2:40 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 9/27/12, 2:47 PM
Anonymous said...: Garage, yup Al Johnson's is great and the goats on the roof iadds to the ambiance, reminds me of a fairy tale cottage, from the outside. Breakfast is always crazy, lines of people waiting. The gift shop sells Birkenstocks!; 9/27/12, 2:49 PM
ALP said...: "The ads run on every show at about 2:1 to any other commercials."

*****
I find the emphasis on commercials very odd. I mean, with the advent of DVRs and the 'mute' button on remote controls...I always wonder:

Who the hell watches ANY TV commercials these days? As far as I am concerned, if you are watching commercials, you are not watching TV correctly!

Disclosure: I make exceptions for some commercials that are really well done. Peter Stormare in Volkswagon's "Pimp the Auto" comes to mind. Classic!; 9/27/12, 3:04 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Tyrone Slothrop,

I hadn't known that history -- thanks! -- but had noticed how many of the garlic varieties Territorial Seed Co. (my own go-to place for stuff to grow) features come from the former USSR.

ndspinelli, in one of those tragic ironies that make you spsuect God enjoys a belly laugh occasionally, it's no longer possible to grow garlic in Gilroy -- there's some kind of endemic blight in the soil. The Garlic Festival is still running, and certainly there is garlic production near Gilroy, but no longer within city limits.

Inga/AllieOop/whatever, I actually had to go out and buy onion powder just last week, but that's because I was trying out a recipe for home-cooked gyros that required it. (The recipe was surprisingly successful, actually. I wouldn't have thought it possible.); 9/27/12, 3:12 PM
ALP said...: bagoh20:

You would think that there would be lasagne incense or Glade garlic bread air spray. Oh yea, how about just fresh-baked-bread-scented incense. I want that.
********
I make cold process soaps with synthetic fragrance oils. You'd be surprised at what is out there...bacon, leather, tobacco, beer, dill pickle, "new car scent'.

So get yourself some bacon fragrance oil, a glass container, and reed diffusers...voila, bacon infused habitat.

No lasagna though. But I didn't look that hard.; 9/27/12, 3:13 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: bagoh20,

Why do we fume our homes with flowery scents like lavender or gardenias instead of something like lasagne or bacon? I can see doing both at different times, but nobody does bacon, except by accident. You would think that there would be lasagne incense or Glade garlic bread air spray. Oh yea, how about just fresh-baked-bread-scented incense. I want that.

You do? I think it would drive me nuts to smell freshly baked bread when there wasn't any to eat. At least if you generate the scent the old-fashioned way there is actual bread.

This house has a rather powerful ventilation system that seems to distribute kitchen scents all through the building. I'm not allowed to cook while my husband is teaching, because even though his studio is two floors down, the aromas waft through the system and distract hungry students :-)

And we've been here two years, and I haven't yet made one favorite curry, because it made even our old place smell like fennel for a day or so...; 9/27/12, 3:22 PM
chickelit said...: ALP teases: "new car scent'

I've yet to smell one that actually smells like a new car. Usually they're just something malodorous that someone decided smelled "new."

I want the real thing--organic volatiles outgassing from newly processed vinyl and synthetic carpeting. Is there such a thing in a bottle?; 9/27/12, 3:29 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Have a realtor friend who spritzes her houses with a very light vanilla scent. It makes the place smell like fresh baked cookies.

Territorial Seed!!!......my bible for the garden. Love love love that place. Very close to where my husband was born, grew up and still have relatives.; 9/27/12, 3:30 PM
Bryan C said...: "And don't even dare bring garlic powder into my kitchen, and most definitely not onion powder."

You're right about the pre-minced stuff, Inga. I keep some in the fridge for emergencies, but the fresh equivalent is so much more flavorful. I think garlic powder, though, does have its place. I like it in rubs and sauces where it's otherwise hard to impart the concentrated flavor where it's needed.; 9/27/12, 3:48 PM
ndspinelli said...: Michelle Dulak Thomson, Thanks for the info on Gilroy. I have long believed the Good Lord does have a sense of humor.; 9/27/12, 3:56 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Armstrong and Getty, off the air owing to suggesting insulting Mohammud universally until the Muslims grow up, start today's return to the air program with the Islamic call to prayer.

They were taken away and reminded where their stuff was (to use rh lingo).. and now that they are back the rest of the inmates are not sure if they are "informers" or are they the same inmates they thought they knew and listened to.

Words to watch for.. sensitivity.; 9/27/12, 4:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Bryan, you may be right about the powdered garlic for rubs. My son in law makes the best steaks, I don't know what his secret recipe is, he uses his own rub of some sort, we call him the Steakmeister.; 9/27/12, 4:10 PM
Anonymous said...: If only garlic did to lefties what it did to other vampires...

I'd be growing it and throwing it every day.; 9/27/12, 4:10 PM
Anonymous said...: Comrades! The great leader and teacher Obama is to announcing NEP, in great tradition of Lenin! But this time is meaning New Economic Patriotism. Policy still being old.; 9/27/12, 4:18 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Its sacred garlic.; 9/27/12, 4:28 PM
garage mahal said...: Zrimsek

Sending money directly to me is also patriotic. Let me know what you have for me today and I'll get you a Paypal email address.; 9/27/12, 4:41 PM
Revenant said...: Why do we fume our homes with flowery scents like lavender or gardenias instead of something like lasagne or bacon?

We use air fresheners to cover up bad smells, but the human nose is really good at smelling something that's "off" about food. So if you cover up the smell of something bad with bacon, your brain combines the smells into "bacon that's gone bad".

We don't do that with floral smells, because we don't (normally) eat flowers.; 9/27/12, 4:41 PM
Alex said...: China can never replace Gilroy garlic. NEver!; 9/27/12, 4:49 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Its Naomi Wolf approved.; 9/27/12, 4:55 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Garlic.. Allium sativum, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the onion genus, Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, and rakkyo. Wikipedia

Its satire..; 9/27/12, 5:03 PM
Anonymous said...: Fresh (not smoked) Polish sausage has quite a bit of garlic in it. My family got ours from a South Side butcher store and had it for breakfast on Sundays.

I once made chicken with 40 cloves of garlic - a French recipe. The cookbook author assured the reader that the long cooking time "tamed" the garlic and made it quite mild. It was certainly very tasty.

The next morning I carpooled to work with friends. While we were sitting in traffic, one of them asked, "It's funny, but does anybody else smell garlic?"

Evidently the garlic was not tamed as much as I thought. I still use that recipe - but only when I'm not planning to go anywhere the next day.; 9/27/12, 5:06 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Wolfism: redrawn

"This is a time in which everybody is on the verge of a global awakening from a certain kind of odor,” she said, eyes sparkling. “That’s why there’s this doubling down on the power struggle over garlic. But this is a moment for women. We are going to have to reclaim garlic as central to everything.”; 9/27/12, 5:23 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: When we were talking about hypnotizing chickens, did we mention how we did that? I forget if we did.

You grab the chicken's neck and hold their head. They submit. then you take the tip of your finger and aim it directly at one of their eyes. Cover their other eye if you want to, they're captive anyway. Then do a little zoinky-zoink finger rotation like tracing an o-o-o-o-o. Do like five Os. They hypnotize very quickly. Because they're incredibly thick. But it doesn't last long. You could probably take all their eggs without getting pecked but that's about it, and like I said, you have to have them in your hands to begin with.

So the third hummingbird feeder is very simple design if you care to see it. It's a squared truffle oil bottle with clear marbles epoxied to appear as bubbles. Small colored marbles direct attention toward the spout and surround an off-color tip similar in appearance to a flower. At the garishly wrongly colored red tip, and steadied there momentarily sipping, settled but wary, task-focused but relaxed, the bird is hypnotized by the wavering balls right at its own tiny eyeballs.

I get into their flighty little minds.; 9/27/12, 5:30 PM
Anonymous said...: I can't look at all those bulbs without involuntarily thinking of the on-screen nickname of the "Sons of Anarchy" actor Johnny Lewis, who just died.

I denounce myself!; 9/27/12, 5:39 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: DBQ, I was wondering where you are. "State of Jefferson," but which side of the hated CA/OR border? I'm going to guess CA, because there's a lot more to be pissed off about wrt CA vs. OR governance, if you get my drift. Kitzhaber is not a jerk, but a sane if sorely tried man. For that matter, so is Jerry Brown, but the OR constitution is not the dog's breakfast that the CA constitution is. I think we got out just in time.

I hit on Territorial Seeds by almost complete accident -- I was visiting my parents in MD and was treated to some divine fresh produce, so spent some time reading all my mom's seed catalogues. London Springs isn't all that far from Salem; I figured what would grow there would grow here. So I have tomatoes, which I never tried to grow before (Japanese Trifele Black, Momotaro, Green Zebra), and sweet and hot peppers, and more basil and oregano and sage and cilantro than I know what to do with. (Well, OK, I do know what to do with it, but I confess to feeling overwhelmed occasionally. And it is weird to find tomato plants flowering at the end of September.); 9/27/12, 5:40 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The first impression I had of the picture were elicited on the condition that what I first saw was the wrapped in yellow post-it part of what at the time I did not know was a garlic stem.. and momentarily before my eyes had continued to scan downward.. the image of a certain type of home made cigarette popped into my mind.

An Obama second term would give pot proponents a push if not a platform from which to parlay pieces, points and portions that hitherto were prospectively considered way down the road.

Something to chew on while pondering who and when to kiss somebody.; 9/27/12, 5:45 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Bryan C,

You're right about the pre-minced stuff, Inga. I keep some in the fridge for emergencies, but the fresh equivalent is so much more flavorful. I think garlic powder, though, does have its place. I like it in rubs and sauces where it's otherwise hard to impart the concentrated flavor where it's needed.

Yes, for dry rubs, definitely. It's also useful in goosing up supermarket garlic bread. In the Thomson household there is a process we call "weaponization." It involves taking supermarket garlic bread and making it taste more than remotely of garlic, and generally involves freshly-minced garlic, garlic powder, a little butter, a little salt, and some pulverized grana padano cheese from Trader Joe's.

Yes, the second or third time you've done this, you do wonder why you're buying "garlic bread" as opposed to, well, just "bread." I can only say that if you're very tired, something that smells and tastes vaguely like garlic beats something that doesn't.; 9/27/12, 5:50 PM
Methadras said...: Love garlic. Can't get enough of it when I do get it. :D; 9/27/12, 5:56 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: The first thing I thought of upon seeing the individually wrapped garlic was, "that looks Japanese," and then, "animate little faces." The roots are beards. Make them say something about Amish h84rz. Provide them toothy mouths, and frightened eyes. Make them tremble. Then perhaps abruptly shave all their beards at once as if the Amish h84r hit with ninja stealth and devastation.; 9/27/12, 5:57 PM
caplight45 said...: Garage, check your email!; 9/27/12, 5:59 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: I bought a bunch of cilantro and I intend to eat the whole thing all at once. Thai. Cilantro and mint, both of those comprise half the thing. The other half is noodles seasoned as they do.

How do they do?

All over the place, that's how. Pow! all over your mouth, they're big on that. Brown sugar to duke it out with tamarind. Shriacha for significant heat. Peanut butter for soothing comfort and umami. Fish sauce for salt. Mustard powder because it's an extraordinary ingredient and has traces of everything in it that's powerful that spikes in different directions, and it blends like magic. All of that combined but amounting to only about two tablespoons to coat a small pile of cold angel hair pasta.

Then, like a cup of cilantro leaves and an entire mint plant.

And roasted shrimp. Which takes, like, a minute.

No soy sauce because, what? you think I'm insane?

And while I'm taking pictures of that and uploading those, I'll be thinking about the next thing I'm going to make and eat. The obsession, it kind of overlaps.; 9/27/12, 6:16 PM
garage mahal said...: caplight
I have been checking. When did you send?; 9/27/12, 6:44 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Chip Ahoy,

That is how to cook. I salute you, sir.

Although "an entire mint plant" is probably bigger than you think it is. I thought one had died on me last year. Fat chance; we're talking spearmint here. The following year it reappeared, basically everywhere but where it was originally planted. At least it couldn't go far; it was planted in a roughly 4'x6' space we call the Mint Containment Zone. But it's making a good try.; 9/27/12, 6:50 PM
Titus said...: Garlic loafs and farts smell the most horrible of any loafs and farts.

tits.; 9/27/12, 7:14 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: I thought of this then rejected it. Then thought of it again and rejected it again. Goes like this: you know how sometime you give the hummingbirds a perch to sit on while they having a sustained sip? Can you imagine having to flap your wings the whole time you're drinking something? And you have to kind of concentrate on defending against attack by those mean ones. So the idea is to have perch spaced for the flower at the spout but the flower glued onto a doll house table that hangs there with a tea set glued on top beside the flower. And a chair on the opposite side. Like the bird comes up and joins a tiny tea party at the bottom of an upside down bottle. That idea was rejected, like, six times.; 9/27/12, 8:59 PM
wyo sis said...: Gilroy California. My husband grew up there. We lived there for the first three years we were married.
It does smell like garlic...and tomatoes from the cannery and processing plants.
At least it did when we lived there. Like a giant pizza simmering in the heat of a summer night.; 9/27/12, 10:15 PM
purplepenquin said...: everything is named and labeled

And labels...even if they are incorrect...are VERY important to some of the folks who comment here.; 9/27/12, 10:26 PM
Palladian said...: Why do we fume our homes with flowery scents like lavender or gardenias instead of something like lasagne or bacon?

Food smells tend to become disagreeable if they linger very long after a meal. The problem is that the smell of food constantly reminds us of eating, even when we're stuffed full and don't really want to think about food any longer.

Floral or other, more abstract, smells don't have that gustatory association, and so can function more easily as "ambient" smells.

I also think that there's something inherently attractive to humans about the simple alcohols that make up many basic floral odors. To quote my friend Luca Turin's review of his favorite simple lavender perfume:

Lavender is summer wind made smell, and the best lavender compositions are, in my opinion, the ones from which other elements are absent, and only endlessly blue daylight air remains. Everyone should own one to feel good as needed and as a reminder that, in the numinous words of my perfumer-chemist colleague Roger Duprey, “There is no such thing as an uninteresting ten-carbon alcohol.” Lavender consists mostly of one such, linalool, and needs careful handling both during distillation and composition to remain true to its benign nature.

Linalool is a component of many, many flower and herbal odors.; 9/28/12, 12:34 AM
Palladian said...: You would think that there would be lasagne incense or Glade garlic bread air spray. Oh yea, how about just fresh-baked-bread-scented incense. I want that.

I can do any of those for you, dearest bagoh20, but be careful what you wish for... many of the components of those smells are absolutely horrid when detached from the context of present and consumable food.

So get yourself some bacon fragrance oil, a glass container, and reed diffusers...voila, bacon infused habitat.

No lasagna though. But I didn't look that hard.

Surprisingly, many of what we consider "simple" smells are actually very difficult, if indeed impossible, to replicate synthetically. Many of the most important molecules associated with our favorite smells are extremely volatile, and present in vanishingly small proportions to begin with. In other words, you can recreate certain smells, but only for a minute after which those fugitive but all-important components have flown away.

Mango is a good example of this. I have never smelled a convincing mango scent that lasted more than a minute, except from real mangoes. Ditto lilac, honeysuckle and gardenia.

As I said, you can do it for a minute, but afterwards it all falls apart into a disjointed (and often malodorous) mess.; 9/28/12, 12:45 AM
kentuckyliz said...: Drudge is featuring the Obamaphone lady right over...the cover of Ann Coulter's book Mugged: Racial Demagoguery from the Seventies to Obama.; 9/28/12, 6:38 AM
Saint Croix said...: Okay, the Obama phones are driving me up the wall.

And they say calling him the "food stamp President" is unfair.

Get your free Obama phone!; 9/28/12, 6:48 AM
Penny said...: Twelve varieties of garlic ... yet no elephant garlic.

PROOF that forty some odd days before the election, Althouse is still sticking with her cruel neutrality.; 9/28/12, 8:27 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: @ Michelle

Late to the party, but to answer your question North Eastern Calif. Equidistant from the Nevada or Oregon borders.

Being at a higher elevation our growing season is rather short. So many things like tomatoes require that I start them in a green house type environment. When I go down to places like Gilroy, Pacific Grove or Eugene area, where some of my family lives, I lust over their ability to garden with ease.

@ Palladian

I think your sense of smell must be much more sensitive than the ordinary person. Don't you make your own perfumes? It must be a blessing and a curse. Like having very sensitive hearing, which I do, where sounds can vary from wonderful or excruciating.; 9/28/12, 10:30 AM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: DBQ,

Late to the party, but to answer your question North Eastern Calif. Equidistant from the Nevada or Oregon borders.

That was more or less my guess.

Being at a higher elevation our growing season is rather short. So many things like tomatoes require that I start them in a green house type environment. When I go down to places like Gilroy, Pacific Grove or Eugene area, where some of my family lives, I lust over their ability to garden with ease.

We have family in Gilroy, and have spent rather a lot of time round Pacific Grove (my husband and I played for the Carmel Bach Festival for many years), and while I can't say we know Eugene well, we've a passing acquaintance with it.

Anyway. I'm new to tomatoes, so I don't know how odd it is for them still to be blooming at the end of September. Technically we had ripe tomatoes in August, because I brought some in on 8/31. Many more now, but many more not yet ripe, and now I wonder how many are salvageable. (Of course, I'm worrying much more about the decks -- we just had them power-washed, and now we would really, really like to have them stained and sealed before the rains set in.); 9/28/12, 6:52 PM