I'm a sucker for new ingredients, I admit it. When I come across something I've never seen or tasted before I get kind of excited. Because of G's current gastric "issues" (parasites? wtf?), and his gluten intolerance, he is currently off wheat, rye, barley and most oats; as well as spicy food, alcohol and dairy. He's also really trying to limit sugar, so not that much fruit either, and red meat is kept to a minimum. I pretty much follow his restrictions since it's just easier that way, and it's really a much healthier way to eat. Plus I'm trying to drop my menopausal rubber tire and the less cheese, chocolate and bourbon I consume right now, the better. Despite all this, we have an incredibly interesting and varied diet. Organic chicken wings with a tangy blood orange glaze? Yes, please. Seared scallops with a reduction of pureed shallots, prunes and balsamic vinegar? Yep. Escarole salad with colatura dressing? All allowed. Our pasta is made from brown rice, and it's delicious. I never feel deprived. This is partly because I am always discovering new and exciting ingredients. Like the black garlic, above.

I first laid eyes on it at Whole Foods and thought it was kind of repulsive. It reminded me of those putrid-looking 100-year-old eggs you see in bins in Chinatown. (They're probably delicious, actually...) But then I came across it, lovingly displayed, at Kalustyan's. It cost almost $30 a pound which instantly piqued my interest. I adore an expensive ingredient. In the end I bought 4 heads of the stuff for around $8. I sniffed it right away and was surprised that it lacked any sort of aggressively pungent aroma. Here is how it's described on blackgarlic.com (yes, it has its own website): Black garlic is sweet meets savory, a perfect mix of molasses-like richness and tangy garlic undertones. It has a tender, almost jelly-like texture with a melt-in-your-mouth consistency similar to a soft dried fruit. Hard to believe, but true. It’s as delicious as it is unique. Overall, I concur. It's definitely sweet and a little funky, heavy on the umami, and light on any strongly identifiable garlic taste. None of that sharpness or bite. Forms of fermented garlic have been eaten in Korea and Japan for ages, but what's being imported now is from South Korean inventor Scott Kim. His goal originally was to market aged or fermented black garlic as a super-food because its patented, month-long heat-curing process creates a high level of antioxidants and a natural cancer-preventing compound.My friend Stephanie had sent me a recipe for cauliflower with black garlic crumble which I made but don't recommend, as it requires you to stand at a hot stove spooning almost an entire stick of melted butter over a whole cauliflower. Plus it called for powdered nonfat milk to make the crumble, not something I have on hand. I wound up substituting pine nuts for that and, whizzed in the cuisinart with the black garlic, it did make for a rather delicious taste sensation. I recommend you pick up some of this black garlic if you see it. Consider using it like you might black truffles: stuffed under the skin of a chicken before roasting; sliced into scrambled eggs; tossed with hot pasta and some good parmesan; chopped into a warm potato salad; or even spread on a sandwich with a slab of gooey brie. Of course, I'm just imagining here...