It’s April 19th and that means it’s National Garlic Day!
Each year on April 19th, National Garlic Day celebrates a vegetable also known as the stinking rose. The fragrant and potent root has been seasoning dishes for thousands of years.
This stinking rose is a member of the lily family, and also includes onions, leeks, and shallots. While garlic originated in Asia over 7,000 years ago and is used in a variety of cuisines.
Garlic is quite versatile and is also used for medicinal purposes. The mighty bulb is considered an herbal remedy for colds and may reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. Modern science has also proven garlic’s antibiotic properties.
Myth and superstition reek of garlic. The most familiar one suggests that garlic wards off vampires. This same theory seemed to work on witches, werewolves, demons and other such evils one could come across. Folklore also tells us garlic grew from satan’s left footprint when he left the Garden of Eden; Greek midwives kept evils spirits away with it, and courage filled Roman soldiers who consumed the stinky bulb.
Consider our dreams and garlic, too. Our dreams often have meaning. Dreaming of garlic is no different. To dream about garlic in the house suggests good luck and if the dream includes eating garlic (perhaps in a pesto sauce), there might be hidden secrets. Over 300 varieties of garlic grow around the world to dream about as well!
Gilroy, California claims to be the Garlic Capital of the World. Will Rogers was once quoted as saying it is “…the only place in America where you can marinate a steak just by hanging it out on a clothesline.”
So, there you have it… Garlic… it’s whats’ for dinner, well not exactly, but it’s quite often… part, of dinner – because it’s Positively Delicious!
