Will it be safe to eat?

Dummy me.....I planted garlic right next to my Monkshood!!!!! Should I just pull the garlic and toss it out? This was my first attempt at growing garlic. I planted it last Fall. I had run out of room, so I stuck it at the end of the bed.

Celia,

I don't understand. Why wouldn't it be ok?

Celia...I've never heard of another plant taking in the properties of it's neighbor.
I guess to feel safe there are several factors to consider here...how close were they planted? What kind of monkshood is it? Can you dig the garlic w/out scarring the roots of the monkshood?

Well, I happened to see the original tag for Monkshood. The last line read, "do not plant near vegetable garden". The closest garlic is about 8 inches away. The farthest is about 24 inches.
I don't know what kind of Monkshood it is. And I'm not sure how far out its roots are. I would have to be very careful when digging.
Hmmmm let me see, who could be my guinea pig? Who's crossed me lately. LOL!!

HAH!...giggling*!

The only thing I've ever heard is that the roots might be mistaken for a root crop (like horseradish) or the like. Maybe that's why the warning about planting it in a veggie garden.

Send me some garlic, I'll check it out for ya! MaVie has hooked me on frying it up in olive oil...I need all I can get! I'll be the guinea pig!

What do you do with it after frying it up? Do you eat it just like that?
Thanx!

Celia - Monkshood is one of the few plants that can be deadly. Most poisonous plants are toxic and should be handled with care but very few can kill. Monkshood can. I wouldn't worry about toxins leaching into another plant, If your garlic can be harvested without digging into the roots of the monkshood there shouldn't be any danger. But if you slice into the roots of the monkshood while digging up the garlic... I wouldn't eat it. Send it to Shoe! (**JK**) Really tho... the poison is most concentrated in the roots and can be absorbed through skin. If the juices from the roots were to get on a garlic bulb it may be dangerous to eat it.

Fry it in olive oil (cloves) till golden brown, then drain it on newspaper or brown paper bag, then store it in a canning jar on the shelf. Pull out what you want to use for stir-frying, sautee'ing, etc as you need it (delicious taste!). The oil that you fry it in goes in another jar for use in stir-frying, seasoning other foods and such. Very good, and very healthy.

MaVieRose'? Can you elaborate more?

Ooooh I getcha! I'll try that! Thanx again!

'Shoe, how long will the garlic stay good? A couple weeks? Months? I thought it had to be kept refrigerated after cooking, and then only safe for a few days? Do tell! I have tons and tons of garlic that I want to store, I would prefer to do it already prepared. Running out of room on my drying racks!

Celia, I wouldn't worry about the garlic by the monkshood. Just make sure you don't eat the monkshood accidentally! I have garlic by my 4 clumps of monkshood, hasn't seemed to cause any harm *AAARRRHHHHH help.... *gasp (LOL)

Ha, Ha, Ha,....glad you're still with us!! Not poisoned!!! I'll throw caution to the win and eat the garlic.
I'm totally confused with walking garlic, garlic chives, bulb garlic and regular garlic. I guess it will be trial and error. We grilled mussels and shrimp tonight and chopped up some little 'garlic cloves' with butter. These hae white bulb-type things at the top of the 'scallion-looking' kinda shoots. Have no idea what the heck I am growing. Like I said.... trial and error, with the help of my DG friends.
Thanx!!!

Lupy, I've suffered no ill effects from my cooked/fried garlic, and have kept it in a canning jar for two months...it doesn't last long cuz I used it up!

In my herbal preps I prefer olive oil cuz it doesn't tend to ferment like other oils...it stays nice and fresh, like a preservative.

If you like you could easily fry it, drain it, then store it in a jar and fridge it I suppose. However, like I said, I see no need for the fridge in this case. (Plus it sure looks good looking back at ya from the inside of a jar on the shelf...it's like "security" in the kitchen!)

Celia, there are others: Society Garlic and Elephant Garlic. How about Wild Garlic?

They all have in common that they are garlic-smelling or garlic-flavored. They are all edible, and are mostly inter-changeable. Some are prettier than others.

i have fried garlic almost in my entire life time. the most i kept them at room temperature is 6 months. the key is to keep it dried... like Shoe had mentioned, immediately after frying, scoop out the garlic from the oil. place in a collander, then to layers of newspaper with brown paper on top. the newspaper and brown paper bag will absorb all the excess oil on the garlic.

frying garlic, a wee bit of salt should be added to aid extracting all the juice off the garlic clove. the salt will also be a preservative agent for the garlic cloves.

fried garlic is very good in flavoring different dishes like soup, salad and what ever u fancy to add it on. when using in soup... the fried garlic will blend into the soup, so there is no worry about garlic flavor. in salad, crumble the garlic cloves into salad bowl. it will crumble like small particles of salt and blend into the dressing.

since i have had a stroke last May, it is only fried garlic that has allowed me to have savory dinner instead of bland ones. use fried garlic cloves on any dishes u intend to make.

Kathy, i never use elephant garlic cause the flavor never appeal to me. it is way too mild, am missing the garlic flavor. see the lowest portion of the url... will elaborate on elephant garlic http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/cropsystems/components/7317-varieties.html elephant garlic to me reminds me of using leeks on my cooking instead of the regular garlic i am accustomed to cooking with. my 2 cents worth on the subject.

Thank you soooo much for this great info on frying and storing and using garlic!!! If I don't die from the Monkshood, I should be enjoying some gooooood eats! LOL

Many thanks, MaVie! Was hoping you'd show up here!

You've made me a convert to fried garlic. (I just pulled some of mine outta the garden too!)

Hope you are doing well. Again, thanks!

I LOVE garlic....:-)

I hear ya, vic! :>)
ME TOO! ;>))

u're very welcome Shoe :)! isn't fried garlic so wonderful and very versatile? not only is it healthy, makes a dish sumptous to eat and very tasty too.

hey Shoe be sure when u harvest u're garlic, use the tops and pickle it too. nice accompaniment for steaks and fried fish. nothing is wasted on the garlic. tops makes nice garnished on soups too, similar to using green onions.

as u said, the olive oil used after frying the garlic makes nice salad dressing too ;). or use the garlic flavored olive oil to rub anything u need to broil.

Me loves garlic also.

I even have a recipe list for it:

garlic-recipe-subscribe@yahoogroups.com if you are interested.

There is a chain of italian restaurants here- not sure if it is a national thang, called JOhnny Carino's Country Italian.... anyway, they serve up the fried garlic as an appetizer. I just inhale that stuff and ask for seconds.

Mush better than bread dipped in olive oil, altho I am sure both are healthy things to eat....

Lavanda... in the northern Calif. area. they do serve olive oil with bread instead of butter in most Italian restaurants my son and i visited. olive oil, by far is the best oil to use healthwise.

MVR, so good to see you! And thanks for this garlic update. You mentioned this to me ages ago, but I forgot. Now that I am on the Atkins diet, it's just what I need to keep on hand for my munchie moods. Can't do the pork rinds, they're just too salty for me with my retention problems. But I can do fried garlic! And it's such a great food for fighting off the free radicals and controlling cancer cells. I need to make up a few jars to have on hand when Granddarling comes to visit. I bet she will love them.

I hope you're feeling better, Sweetie. You really had a rough time of it.

Aimée, for ur grandarling, u can fry some peeled peanuts. soon as the peanuts are partly fried, add whole lightly crushed garlic cloves. am sure she would love it.

now my dr. finally admit i did have a mild stroke last May. am at present going thru a thorough physical exam. last week i went to Los Angeles to visit some siblings. while there my uncle in NJ called and ask him several stuff about my health. i reiterated my conversation with my uncle to my dr. my dr. is now mindful of our conversation relating to my health since i told him who my uncle is. btw... my uncle is a pathologist and writes articles on JAMA.

Oooh, you are in a very good position. I hope that gets and keeps the attention of your health care team. We have been missing you far too much, it's time the docs got you patched up and able to spend more time in the garden.

i missed being online too. yeah i really got his attention now. he said he had read articles that my uncle wrote. funny when one is sick, one looks like a raggedy doll. since i went to L.A. had some beauty treatment, i looked different when i saw my dr. last Monday, compared to being rushed on emergency basis LOL.

Great! I'm hoping my dieting will make me feel more like a little personal care, which I haven't since cancer. It just seems like too much trouble to worry with hair and I don't like my body enough to try to dress up. I think I'm fine, and then I try to do something like my hair and feel overwhelmed by the fatigue in my arms and back. I know it's because I'm still recovering, which I tend to forget. I can do some physical things, but creativity and mental stuff is more tiring. And I hate to have someone else doing my hair and messing with me.

Thanks for the idea for Granddarling's snack. I bet you're right, she will probably love them. If you ever do get to San Antonio, you must let me know. I will get there one way or another, and you will have to meet DD and Granddarling. We'll have to include SIL, but he can be charming when he wants to.

no promises this time, but i hope to be able to at least get to one of the TXRO. will definitely let u know ahead of time.

the unpeeled peanut u can buy at an asian store. use an iron skillet to fry the peanuts in. heat either olive oil or peanut oil... about a cup of oil heated. place peeled peanuts in oil until it is lightly colored. turn off stove fire. the heated oil will cook the peanut and garlic to perfection. soon as garlic is lightly browned. scoop out of the frying pan, place the peanuts in colander where there is a bowl to catch excess oil. allow oil to drip. then transfer peanuts on brown paper bag to take off excess oil. this garlic peanut is one of my favorite snack.

Yummy...sounds good to me! With give that one a try also!

MaVie, it is so wonderful to see you again! I have missed you. ((( MaVie ))) And congratulations on getting some good medical treatment. I fight a continual battle with my parents' doctors, trying to get adequate care for them. Too many doctors just pat hands and say "trust us". Bleah!

You are in my thoughts and prayers. And thanks for the great advice on garlic! UUUUuuuummmm. Worth the day I spent harvesting and preserving it :)