Roasted Garlic Mustard

I'm a firm believer in making things from scratch when it's practicable to do so. But only when the homemade version tastes better than the store-bought version. (Let's be real, homemade ketchup is never going to beat out Heinz, amirite?) But making things yourself has a lot of benefits. Sometimes it can be cheaper. Also, you avoid eating all the random chemicals and preservatives that are found in commercial products. And making stuff at home is actually really fun.

This whole-grain roasted garlic mustard was my project for the weekend. (Joe, on the other hand, did some pickling, which he's really into these days. Perhaps a pickling post is in order?) It was completely easy and well worth the trip to the health food store to pick up some bulk mustard seeds. This is going to be awesome on sandwiches and wraps, as a dip for chips and pretzels, and in salad dressings and marinades.

Roasted Garlic Mustard
Adapted trom Eating Well (I cut the recipe down, as the magazine version made 8 cups -- this makes 1-2)

• 1/2 cup whole yellow mustard seeds
• Scant 1/4 cup whole brown mustard seeds
• 5/8 cup cider vinegar
• 3/8 cup water, plus more as needed
• 1 head garlic
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1-2 T pure maple syrup (to taste)
• 1 tsp salt

Combine mustard seeds, vinegar, and 3/8 cup water in a large bowl; cover and let stand at room temperature until the liquid is mostly absorbed, at least 6 hours (or overnight).

About an hour before you're ready to make the mustard, preheat oven to 400 F. Rub off the excess papery skin from garlic without separating the cloves. Slice the tip off the head, exposing the cloves. Place the garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle with oil and wrap into a package. Place the package directly on the oven rack and roast until the garlic is very soft, about 45 minutes.

When the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze about a quarter of the cloves out of their skins into a blender. (Squeeze the remainder of the cloves into a small container and save for other uses, like soups and pasta sauces; the roasted garlic will keep in the fridge at least a week.) Add the mustard seed mixture to the blender and pulse, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary and adding water by the tablespoon as needed to facilitate blending, until some of the seeds are coarsely chopped and the mixture looks like grainy mustard. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in maple syrup and salt.
 
Spoon the mustard into a jar and refrigerate. It'll keep in the fridge for about a month.