EACH time I enter
someone’s kitchen, I would always look for garlic. I don’t know what
draws me to it. It doesn’t taste exquisitely delicious or possess an
aromatic fragrance, so maybe I am just being careful. For years, garlic
has been perceived to drive away bad spirits, from the days of Count
Dracula to demons.
As a child, I would imagine that people who don’t have it at home
are vampires or demons and keep boa constrictors in their bedrooms.
Sometimes, I would go to our kitchen and take a clove of garlic and
hide it under my pillow for fear that a vampire might visit me and sip
my blood. At times, I would put garlic on small openings to protect me
from snakes. On some occasions, I would encourage my mom to grow
“garlic vine,” a plant with purple flowers which smells like garlic,
for fear that snakes will enter our vicinity.
True or not, one thing I’m sure is that garlic has medicinal
potentials. Some people even chew it as a first aid for high blood
pressure. My mom would always tell me that it’s a potent antibiotic.
Thus, I end up chewing garlic mixed with brown sugar or honey when I
have cough or flu. At times, I crush and dilute it in lukewarm water
for stomach indigestion or diarrhea.
If I’m sick in bed and about to take garlic as medicine, I would
picture myself as Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz in her ruby shoes
standing on the yellow brick road – fearful but courageous – so that I
could stand its chili, spicy taste. After my fill, I would be in good
shape – and healthy for the whole year, without fever or flu.
A favorite author named “Uncle Leo,” as what my friends and I call
him, wrote about his experience wearing garlic on his neck because his
mom told him it will protect him from harm. True enough, he was never
absent in his entire school life. It’s not that it’s good luck but as
what my mama says, “It’s a potent antibiotic.”
But then I ignored my garlic maintenance and now, I got asthma,
allergies, etc. Name an illness and I got it, making me dependent on
steroids and synthetic drugs. I take them because it’s easier. I don’t
have to crush or chop them anymore, but still there’s nothing more
effective than chewing garlic on days when your resistance is low.
Intrigued by this garlic mystery, my Art teacher said: “I’ll let
you solve your own ‘Still Life.’ I’ve observed your bewilderment about
those garlic sprouts you found on the fridge. It will be your subject.”
Of all subjects, why “Garlic Sprouts,” I asked? Despite my hesitation,
I followed his instructions like any good student. I start to paint and
with each few strokes, I would pause and chuckle.
But as I stared at my work, I saw that it lacks perspective. The
colors are dull. The garlic sprouts need more life – a pinch of
viridian, a strip of crimson, a brush of burnt amber, a sprinkle of
yellow ochre and blue, a wisp of titanium white and many more.
Seeing these, I realized that garlic is not only a seasoning or a
spice. It is also a reminder of little things that are important. So
goes the saying, “great things come in small packages.”
My garlic mania changed from a simple cure and defense against
mythical beings to something that gives life. This basic spice in our
kitchen becomes special as it speaks when it grows, dances when sautéed
with other spices and exudes emotions with its “garlic aroma.”
As my painting subject, I’m proud to say that GARLIC has a mystery more interesting than any Grisham or Clancy novel.
May you give garlic a try.
An article for my column KISMET
