I make banana muffins with oatmeal and butterscotch chips.

Over ripe bananas, of course you have to make banana bread what else do you make with over ripe bananas? Or What do you put in your banana bread?

While native garlic species existed pre-colonization, our beloved Allium sativum arrived with European settlers, who probably didn't realize they were packing the future star of every "authentic" Italian-American recipe. The real garlic revolution gained momentum with 19th-century immigration waves, particularly Italian, Jewish, and Chinese communities. Upper-crust Americans initially clutched their pearls (and their noses), dismissing it as "immigrant food" until the culinary landscape shifted post-World War II. Enter Julia Child, who helped legitimize garlic in American kitchens through her groundbreaking show "The French Chef" (1963-1973). With her characteristic warble, she declared "I love garlic and I think you should too!" while fearlessly tossing whole heads into her recipes. Through her influence, garlic transformed from a suspicious foreign ingredient to a sophisticated one. By the 1970s, with the rise of California cuisine pioneers like Alice Waters (pictured) and the famous Gilroy Garlic Festival's launch in 1979, garlic had completed its journey from social outcast to culinary darling.

What is your favorite dish with garlic? I made a crockpot dish where I only add salt, 23 cloves of garlic, and steak cubes. I enjoy the roasted garlic flavor but garlic butter has to be an all time favorite of mine.