Rick, thanks for the good laugh this morning! I suspect that if I lived by myself I would pretty much subscribe to the cooking techniques you describe, even though I'm a decent cook otherwise (not very creative, more in the find good recipes and follow the directions camp - and if in doubt, just add some garlic and hot peppers). I have to admit, though, that I'd be more likely to make a bowl of popcorn than eat a TV dinner. Mac and cheese, now that's another story -- LOVE the blue boxes (add cayenne pepper)!!
As for the question about splitting up the jar of minced garlic -- I don't know if it would work to add the garlic pickling solution, but for some reason I just don't feel that it would. It actually seems like there would be enough liquid in the big jar to split the contents up, but once it was opened it probably wouldn't keep any longer than just the original jar. Maybe just buy the smaller jars? Or (and yes, I realize this might cause an extra washing step, or at least rinsing, but would probably be worth it) buy a garlic press and use fresh garlic. Easier than mincing with a knife, although you would need to take the skin off the clove... at any rate, if you go crazy and take the garlic press route, find a sturdy one, the cheap ones break in short order.
>> Why in the world would you want to go to this trouble and then take up your refrigerator space ... up to 12 months stored in a plain brown-paper bag?
Ken -- in my case, I dry, pickle, etc. my garlic because I always have lots of garlic from my garden but the kind I've been growing doesn't store for anything like 12 months. Now, if the creole garlic works out for me, that will be a whole different happy story! And I agree that once the garlic is cured there is little to no odor when it's stored in a paper bag, at least not in the cool conditions mine has out in the garage in the fall and winter.
Crittergarden -- I'm wondering what a "green clove" is, too.
Do you mean you can buy the separated cloves, rather than whole bulbs? or is it like "green onions" -- I usually have some garlic sprouting up in the spring where i missed when I was digging my garlic up the previous year, and use that to cook with as well.
Hope everyone is having a great gardening weekend!
oops -- cross-posted with your answer about the green cloves...
