Ready for a Real Food laugh? Make sure there aren’t any babies in your house sleeping; you might wake them up.
Just to show you that I’m a humble person, I’m going to share yet another embarrassing food story with you (read about my first dry bean experience here). It’s amazing I ever got this far, really.
Like with the peppers, my mother (to my knowledge) never used fresh garlic. I was a garlic powder girl through and through as well when I started cooking for myself.
In college I spent a summer flipping through Quick Cooking magazines and trying new recipes. (Yes, I worked too, full time, but I still had more time on my hands than 18 credits and running a Youth Ministry program.) I had a kitchen at my disposal and a yen to learn to cook.
One recipe I chose was some sort of pork dish. Understand that I’d never cooked with pork, and still rarely do on account of it being one of my hubby’s “X” items. I’d also never cooked with garlic, but the recipe called for a few cloves of chopped garlic. I don’t remember how many, but it was more than one (see below).
I invited some friends over for dinner and set about preparing to cook a grandiose meal for them. I shopped for the pork, the garlic, the applesauce, and whatever else was in the meal. I bought a few bulbs of garlic and went on home.
As I was trying to make garlic into “chopped” garlic, I ran into my first problem. There were all those little papery skin thingys all over my cutting board! I thought, as if there was someone in charge of garlic, this recipe, and the culinary world: “They can’t possibly expect me to pick out every one of these skins? The garlic is just full of them! How am I supposed to chop this thing up into tiny pieces?”
Have you figured out my first issue yet?
I didn’t know the difference between a “bulb” and a “clove” of garlic. Recipes really should explain these things for us first-timers.
I pushed through the inconvenience of the papery skins, almost certainly including some of them in my dish…with the applesauce, and the pork. After that disaster, I decided that ONE clove should be enough and let the rest of the garlic sit taunting me on the counter. One clove meaning the majority of one head of garlic, mind you.
With applesauce.
And pork.
Fruit and meat…and garlic.
My friends were so kind! They actually ate the meal, and I wish I could tell you the details of how I discovered the difference between a head or bulb of garlic and a clove, but I can’t remember. I try to block out most traumatic incidents in my life, really.
My second problem, and the nail in garlic’s coffin for a number of years in my kitchen, was the garlic smell on my hands. Garlic and I had gotten pretty intimate on that cutting board, and I was smelling it, tasting it, and sleeping with it for at least three days afterward! I even tried washing my hands in yellow mustard after reading that it would help reduce the scent, but to no avail. I didn’t buy fresh garlic for years after that experience!
Now I’ve figured out the beauty, aroma and health benefits of garlic and use it almost daily. Either I’ve gotten used to the scent on my fingers or it doesn’t stick with me as badly as when I was dissecting the thing for 15 minutes. I sure am GRATEFUL that I gave garlic another chance (and that my friends didn’t disown me for feeding them garlicky applesauce)!
I’d like to help those of you who are garlic virgins to avoid the mistake I made. Once you’re finished laughing, write a note to come back tomorrow for “How to Select and Prepare Garlic and Onions”, or just sign up for an email subscription or the reader.
Check out Heavenly Homemaker’s Gratituesdays and Cheeseslave’s Real Food Wednesdays.
Read more…
- Garlic Soup
- Soul First, Body Second
- Why You Should Never Use Antibacterial Soap
- Eat More Eggs
- Hand Sanitizers in the Home
Mind the Microwave in May:
- The Challenge
- The Invitation
- Research Notes, part one: Breastmilk
- 10 Tips for Avoiding the Microwave
- Time Management/Fewer Dishes Tips
When I was first married, I couldn’t figure out how to peel garlic either. My mom never showed me how to cook or prep for meals. I took me forever to peel a clove of garlic, forever to even get the clove off of the head!
Thank goodness for cooking shows of the early 90′s, otherwise, I’d still be peeling the garlic bit by bit.
Paula’s last blog post..
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Cute post! I was just reminded that garlic is FULL of selenium. Most people are deficient in selenium these days, and we need selenium in order to use iodine — which we need for breast, ovary and thyroid health (among other things).
Your post makes me want to go make some hummus or pesto!
I stumbled this post — thanks for participating in Real Food Wednesdays. Don’t forget to join in next week — it will be hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.
CHEESESLAVE’s last blog post..Real Food Wednesday: May 20, 2009
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Katie Reply:
May 20th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Thanks for the info, Ann Marie! I did a post earlier this week about garlic’s health benefits, although I didn’t know what selenium was actually helpful for. Isn’t it also in Brazil nuts? Such a random food, if you ask me! Thanks for the comment and the Stumble! for
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The best way to get any stinky smells off your hands (fish, onion, garlic…) is to wash your hands in cold water with stainless steel. I usually use a spoon. Somehow a chemical reaction happens and the smell is removed!
Laryssa @ Heaven In The Home’s last blog post..Works For Me Wednesday-Dryer Balls
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Katie Reply:
May 20th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
That is an awesome tip! I’ll definitely give you a link and credit for that one in my “how to select and prepare garlic and onions” post.
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How funny. We love garlic also, now. But as a kid and my mom never ever used real garlic cloves, if anything she used the pre chopped stuff in a jar. I think I learned how to peel garlic watching food network!
Jenna @ Newlyweds’s last blog post..Dirt, Sticks and Mud
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Be sure to recognize where your garlic is coming from, as California-grown garlic has proven to be a healthier and more flavorful garlic than imports (Chinese, Mexican, Argentine), according to third-party tests conducted by the National Food Laboratory and leading chefs.
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Katie Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Great info! I never even thought about where my garlic is coming from. I wonder if any American garlic (like from my local Farmer’s Market) would be healthier than an import. ?? Thank you so much for chiming in.
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Hah – that was Roger’s first mistake in cooking a garlic recipe, too. While we were engaged he brought over a pot of gazpacho for me and my roommates. They were choking the stuff down and politely not saying anything until I pointed out that it was practically inedible. “But the recipe said two *whole* cloves of garlic!” He still gets ribbed about it from time to time.
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How funny!! It’s so strange to consider that fresh garlic is foreign to some people. In my Italian home it was one of my earliest kitchen tasks–to peel the cloves of garlic!
Michelle @ Find Your Balance’s last blog post..Free Massa Organics Giveaway. Holla!
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Katie Reply:
May 21st, 2009 at 5:32 pm
A friend told me that her barely-toddler daughter was peeling garlic and onions as one of her “jobs”, and I was amazed! My daughter rolls the onions around the kitchen floor….
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CHEESESLAVE | Real Food Wednesday: May 20, 2009 // May 22, 2009 at 9:56 am
[...] 20 HEALTH BENEFITS OF REAL BUTTER! – Kelly the Kitchen Kop2. Kitchen Stewardship (Appreciating Fresh Garlic)3. Paula Runyan ( Nutty Granola Bars)4. Mom2my9 @ 11th Heaven (Vegan Blender Pancakes)5. Pam(newbie) [...]
We’ve been using the stainless steel spoon trick for a while now. So easy and works!
.-= Robin´s last blog ..Food for Thought =-.
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I love garlic and use it in almost everything and I noticed to that I was putting in double the garlic in recipes I prepared. Especially Garlic Soup, which is so delicious.
I also grew up using garlic powder. But I grew up in an area (L.V. NV) that is very hard to garden in and there is no local agriculture to speak of. I learned to appreciate the wonderfulness of Garlic as an adult. Thanks for all your great posts and encouragement in improving our live.
.-= Virginia´s last blog ..A Kitchen Aid mixer from one of my Favorites- =-.
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I found one of these garlic peelers at a yard sale one time for $0.25. Not sure I would ever pay $5 for one but I use mine almost every day so it’s been well worth a quarter! lol
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00466RHPA/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00004RDDP&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0XGTF6ZE0443QCM3DGCB
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Hilarious!!!!
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ROFL! Personally, I’m addicted to my garlic press. SO quick and easy. Plus, it’s stainless steel, so by the time I’m done rinsing it off, the smell is gone from my hands!
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I had a similar experience. The first time I used real garlic was in college and the soup called for 3 cloves. In went 3 heads of garlic. I didn’t know how bad and strong garlic could be. I quickly learned the difference. We used garlic powder growing up. Now I have my mom buying real garlic. I married into an Italian family and she wanted to recreate some of the dishes.
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My mum STILL refuses to cook with garlic. Maybe because she doesn’t want to have to peel it??
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