Exactly What IS A Garlic Clove??

This is one of my better stories so sit back and enjoy. My kids like to tell on me because I'm such a dip in the kitchen.

I found this really neat mexican dish on the back of the Minute Rice box. Since I'm from the lower Southwest, I appreciate good mexican food. So I bought all the ingredients and once I got home, started in on the cooking.

Doing fine till I came to the part that said I needed a clove of garlic. (Can't you see this one coming??) So I picked up the whole thingy of garlic, wondering all the while if that wasn't just a bit much but hey, the recipe said 'a clove of garlic'. Good enough for me!!

So, I peeled the little boogers down and chopped them up. I felt like such a big girl because I was cooking for my family...y'know, taking 'care' of them!! What could be better??

All went well till we sat down to eat. The kids were happy... Mom was cooking!! Wowie!! They dug in, kind of masticated the mouthful around a bit, got really, really big-eyed and then the tears came. Everyone's eyes sort of teared up like a really bad pollen day.

My oldest daughter either spit it out or swallowed it (can't remember which) and yelped. She asked what was IN the food! I also had taken a bite and teared up and was wondering the same, even though I had prepared it.

So I looked back on the box at the recipe and checked all the ingredients...glove of garlic...check, the whole works... What could be wrong??

Later, after everyone had avoided my grub, (the finks wanted to eat something else...*grumble*) I was talking with someone and mentioned the problem. The look I got was one of wonder. Didn't I KNOW what a garlic clove was, asked this someone?? Well, as far as I knew, it was the whole garlic thingy. No, no, no!! says my friend, a clove is the little piece you pick off!!

Oh...

So, that is one mistake I've never made again. Live and learn... :-) BTW, I never made that mexican dish again. Once was enough...