©2004 Clove Garden
Philosophy
We hold most valuable our relationships with each other. Preparing fine food and enjoying it together is a simple pleasure that strengthens the bonds of family and friendship.
Corporations spend billions every year to convince us that "convenience" is worth any price and that "popularity" results from buying expensive toys. Many are so tangled in the struggle to afford "convenience" and "popularity" they have less time for family and friends than our ancient hunter-gatherer ancestors had.
Clove Garden is intended to become a commercial site, so obviously we will be wanting to sell you stuff, but we want to sell you stuff that actually enhances your life and the lives of your family and friends.
Simple Methods, Affordable Ingredients, Wonderful Food
To create wonderful food affordably and without excessive effort we explore the enticing cuisines of cultures around the world (including our own) and how they use available low cost local ingredients.
Some cultures that know a lot about really good food at really low cost and how to enjoy family and friends are precisely those countries to which American jobs are being "outsourced" - India, China, Indonesia, Mexico - perhaps it's time to learn how they do it. Perhaps we'll have to.
Authenticity
To the distress of "purists" there are no truly pure cuisines - save maybe with the cannibals of Borneo and in the darkest depths of the Amazon jungle. In the 1500's Europeans developed sailing ship technology of unprecedented sophistication and efficiency, allowing goods to be moved quickly, in bulk, worldwide, and at acceptable cost.
Major articles of trade from the first were foods and spices - because the gourmets and the gourmet "wanabes" were willing to pay the transportation (and a goodly profit besides) - then as now.
Who today can imagine Italy without tomato sauces, Thailand without hot chilis, Germany and Ireland without potatoes, England without tea, or the American West without tumbleweeds (Russian thistle)? This exchange has accelerated and become less expensive with today's fast ships, containerized cargo and affordable air freight.
Yet "authenticity" is a major point with us. Each culture has integrated imports in its own very unique way and in combination with its own unique local ingredients yielding startlingly different results.
We believe in the authenticity of how the best cooks in each culture cook now and within personal or written memory. By hewing as closely as practical to "authentic" you can broaden your experience and explore delightful tastes you would otherwise not think of. Ignore "authenticity" and you'll just end up making the same things with some exotic names attached.
We are here to help you explore that "authenticity" easily and affordably.
Vegetarianism
While this is not a vegetarian site, there's plenty here for every variety of vegetarian and we try to keep things distinct as to whether it's vegetarian or can be made vegetarian. We will be puting up plenty of recipes and products that don't use animals.
For the vegetarian, the aspiring vegetarian, and people who just want to depend less on meat, ethnic cuisines provide wonderful variety. In particular examine the several vegetarian cuisines of India. We also recommend the Mediterranian and Turkish cuisines which provide a great many vegetarian dishes and dishes easily adapted to a vegetarian diet.
Pills & Potions
Current research shows that a varied and well balanced diet is far more effective at warding off disease than suplements and miracle potions. Suplements often have the right ingredients but not in the most useful form, and they aren't much fun to eat anyway. For these reasons we recommend few such potions, concentrating on real herbs, spices, sauces and the like and how to take advantage of them.