Take one large head garlic, preferably with several large cloves, and remove all paper/skin. Trim root end of cloves and place in garlic roaster (Le Creuset sells a cute enameled cast iron one that will fit into a toaster oven with the rack removed) or in a small bowl/cup formed from aluminum foil. If making a cup or bowl out of foil, make sure there is enough excess at the top of the bowl or cup so that it can be gathered over the garlic completely, leaving a little headspace. Drizzle olive oil (extra virgin preferably, but regular olive oil will work, as well) over the garlic, and cover. Place in oven/toaster oven and bake at 350 (standard baking temperature, it seems) for 30-35 minutes until it's soft enough to mash easily with a fork. Use as ingredient in recipes calling for roasted garlic, or mix with butter and a sprinkle of each salt and pepper and spread on toast over a dab of tomato paste for a very tasty treat. The acidity and sweetness of the tomato paste goes well with the umami sweetness of the garlic. Eat it as part of a full, delicious breakfast with eggs or tofu scrambled with green onion/scallion, red, orange, or yellow sweet pepper, and mushrooms, accompanied by a hot beverage. Tea seems more appropriate than coffee, as it is more subtle (at least the way I make coffee, as I tend towards dark roasts, like French or Italian, & espresso [actually, cappuccino for me, because I'm a coffee wimp]).
I listened to some of the BBC coverage of the Scottish independence vote, and am relieved that the Scots decided to remain part of Great Britain, if for no other reason that there is enough political turmoil in the world, and though it sounds like it'd be a peaceful transition, it would encumber travelers as well as residents with requirements while traveling between Scotland and England, which appears to happen with some frequency.
One political region that has been listening closely to this news is Catalonia, which has been trying to cede from Spain, with Barcelona as its capital, for a long, long time. I think that if Scotland had ceded from Great Britain, Catalans may have found greater support for cession. As far as economics, I'd think that Catalonia has a better chance to succeed in ceding from Spain than Scotland from Great Britain, if only because I've been to Barcelona and found it to be a thriving city which can potentially support the region economically. Other than tourism, I'm not aware of what kind of industry Scotland would engage to become economically independent, if that's at all possible.
Another political group that definitely has a stake in the Scottish vote to remain in Great Britain is made up of English citizens, whose politics include Scots in decisions regarding English issues, whereas the English had their rights to vote on Scottish issues "given up" as an incentive to Scotland to remain. We'll find out, probably in the near future, if at any time, if there is a renewed English subgroup that might demand that their "rights" be restored.
I just took the garlic out of the toaster oven, added cold butter, a sprinkle of salt and freshly ground white pepper, and mixed it up. The cold butter combines with the olive oil to form a nice medium for the garlic. The salt and pepper enhanced the garlic. I'm waiting for it to cool a bit. I wish I had something to spread it on, like bread! Maybe I have time to bake some this morning...
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