My Favorite ~ Tamari Pickled Garlic

FOOD IS MEDICINE 

Food is medicine. I'm trusting you realize this truth, especially since your are here. It is about this time of year, dead winter, that I start looking at my garlic supply and calculating what I need to get to the next harvest time somewhere in June. I then take the smaller cloves and carefully remove the skins, while watching a movie or with my sister over tea. 

One of the earliest documented plants used by humans for the treatment of diseases and maintenance of health is garlic. Used at the beginning of recorded history, it was found in Egypt, Greece, Rome, China and India. Medical texts from all of these cultures described applications of garlic for healing. One could literally spend weeks studying this plant for there are whole books and whole lives dedicated to it. 

I will narrow our discussion down to Pickled Tamari Garlic for I do so love this as a winter medicine and not all medicine needs to be unpleasant. I use these therapeutically whenever I have that sense of deep fatigue and a scratchy throat or ache to the bone coming on. I finely chew 2 cloves every 4 hours or if that is too intense for you then work 2 cloves into your food at the same interval. The brine is great for marinades and dressings as well. 

Usually the scapes are removed and eaten but if not the flowers are edible.

INGREDIENTS

• Garlic cloves, peeled and washed
• Organic Sugar or sweetness of choice
• Rice wine vinegar
• Tamari or soy sauce

• Prep Time: 15 minutes

PREPARATION

1. Place garlic loosely in a mason jar so there is a couple of inches from the top.
2. Fill jar with water until water reaches covers about 2/3 of the garlic cloves.
3. Pour out water and measure it. That's the amount of soy sauce you need.
4. Use 3 parts soy sauce to 1 part vinegar and 1 part sugar. So if you need 1 cup of soy sauce, then you need 1/3 cup of vinegar and 1/3 cup of sweetness.
5. Bring tamari sauce, vinegar, and sweetness mixture to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
6. When the sauce has cooled for 15 minutes, pour over garlic in the mason jar. Make sure garlic cloves are completely covered, using a small stone or bowl to weigh them down if necessary.
7. Store at room temperature for at least 3 weeks.
8. After opening, store in refrigerator

ENJOY!!