Dear readers, I have been neglecting you here. I finally figured out why I couldn't post anything on MyBloggers, and then other matters at home and abroad side tracked me. For the longest time I was trying to post a couple of recipes that were healthy and fun.

No, not both at the same time. The first one was a smoothie type thing made of pineapple juice, a little bit of fresh ginger, and fresh spinach, just puree it up in the blender. The title contained the words detox. If you really want to see detox in action, eat a lot of garlic, or take some of those garlic pills. Food (and toxins) will move right along through your body. I tried taking the pills one time, but felt like I was starting to smell, so gave it up. We do eat quite a bit of garlic, but not enough right now to clean our pipes. Some people make pickled garlic and claim that has all the benefits without the smell.

Oh well, here. Here's a recipe for pickled garlic.

Pickled Garlic
6 bulbs garlic
4 cups white wine vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
4 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
2 dried red chile peppers
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon zest

1. Trim the tops from the heads of garlic. Peel off all but one layer of the outer skin. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaf, chile peppers and lemon zest. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, and continue to boil for another 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand overnight at room temperature.
3. Transfer to a clean jar. Strain the brine into the jar with the garlic so that the heads are completely covered. Discard the solids. Cover and store in the refrigerator until using. It will keep for 6 to 8 weeks. To keep longer, store in sterile jars and process in a hot water bath for at least 10 minutes to seal the jars. (From Allrecipes.com)

The FUN recipe was a giant oatmeal chocolate chip peanut butter cookie baked in a skillet and involved Eagle Brand milk and caramel ice cream topping, so after it was baked, there was still an element of runny sumptiousness. No, we don't need to be looking at that right now.

We're moving right along to the Valentine's Day menu suggestion from the Loveland Reporter-Herald.

Kindly take a look at the picture that accompanied that recipe - the size of those cherries. Huge.



Crab and Hearts of Palm Gratin with Arugula and Cherry Salad

For the gratin:
14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained
14-ounce can hearts of palm, drained
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
Zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated fontina cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
12 ounces lump crab meat
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon butter, melted

For the salad:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 cups baby arugula
1/4 cup fresh or dried cherries
2 tablespoons toasted almonds (optional)
Sea salt and ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Place 2 shallow individual-sized casserole or gratin dishes on a baking sheet.
Chop the artichoke hearts and hearts of palm into 1/2-inch pieces. In a medium bowl, gently stir together the artichokes and hearts of palm with the thyme, lemon zest, cream, fontina, white pepper and crab. Spoon the mixture into the gratin dishes.
In a small bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, paprika, salt and melted butter. Sprinkle over the gratins. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbling and golden.
While the gratins bake, make the salad. In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, mustard and maple syrup. Add the arugula, cherries and almonds and gently toss to coat. Serve topped with sea salt and black pepper.

Nutrition information per serving: 1,020 calories; 410 calories from fat (40 percent of total calories); 46 g fat (24 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 280 mg cholesterol; 101 g carbohydrate; 13 g fiber; 13 g sugar; 58 g protein; 2,190 mg sodium.

Have you noticed that sea salt is now put on virtually everything, desserts in particular?