Roasted Garlic. Garlic is such a powerful superfood. Loading up on garlic when you feel a cold (or any type of infection) coming on can prevent it from wreaking havoc on the body. Swallow two raw garlic cloves and chase with a shot of OJ each morning at the first sign of a cold. Garlic is also great at improving circulation, lowering blood pressure and is a natural antioxidant.

To get the most benefits when cooking with garlic, let the chopped cloves sit for 10 minutes, before heating. This allows the allicin (the beneficial part of garlic) to form by oxidizing with the air. Some sources claim that heating garlic will kill the allicin while others state as long as you let it set for 10 minutes exposed to the air before heating it will not destroy the allicin. If you like raw garlic then by all means go for the sure bet and eat it raw. I personally hate the taste that garlic leaves in my mouth so I prefer to roast garlic which brings out the creamy sweet flavor.

Below are the quick and easy steps to roast garlic. Roasted garlic is amazing smeared over a big grilled filet, added to mashed potatoes, your favorite pasta dish, or mixed with olive oil to create a simple but delicious dipping sauce for bread. Roasted garlic has such a mild flavor that you can add the entire garlic bulb to any dish and it will not overpower it...plus you can keep the vampires at bay.

INGREDIENTS
2 whole bulbs of garlic
1 - 2 T olive oil

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut the top off of the garlic to expose the cloves. 
3. Place the garlic on a 6x6 piece of aluminum foil sheet with the exposed cloves facing up. 
4. Drizzle olive oil over the tops, approx.. 1 T or less per bulb
5. Wrap foil loosely around garlic and seal shut by crimping the edges. 
 6. Place foil in center of oven and let bake for 20-25 minutes. Garlic should be soft and golden in color. 
7. Let garlic cool until it is easy to handle. 
8. To extract the garlic simply squeeze the bulb from the uncut end and the garlic should slide out of their jackets. 
9. Use a fork to mash garlic to create a paste to use in your next dish to add an extra boost of nutrition and flavor!
10. Store the second bulb in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.