Yes!  Following a two-year hiatus, the Toronto Garlic Festival made its triumphant return on Sunday.  Akemi and I had been looking forward to it for months!

The weather forecasts had called for a torrential downpour, but we only suffered a little rain on the day.

I’m fascinated by the wide varieties of garlic available: Artichoke, Red Russian, Music, Korean Red, Purple Stripe, Spanish, Ukranian Red,  Persian, Georgian Fire – to name but a few.  We ended up picking up a sleeve of Music, a sleeve of Spanish, and a sleeve of Ukrainian Red – then, Akemi spent the next two days cleaning and jarring them.  Apparently, the Ukrainian Reds were a pain to deal with.  They are also, apparently, spicier than the other varieties

For lunch today – sausages and sautéed Spanish garlic.

We also picked up a Sampler Pack that includes a good mix.  These we usually roast whole in the oven with a little bit of olive oil and salt, then compare the difference in flavors.

A lot of hot sauces on sale on the day, and I couldn’t resist.

A couple of curious items I didn’t try – the Sweet Stout with Black Garlic and the Roasted Garlic and Chocolate gelato.  Consider these today’s Yes/No.

I had an excellent set of ribs from my friends Ryan and Kim, owners of When the Pig Came Home deli as well as some delicious biscuits and pulled pork from Mildred’s Temple Kitchen.

The final haul.