Now that we've learned how to peel ginger with ease, this ginger juice recipe seems less daunting, especially with its powerful health benefits. Prized for its piquant flavor, ginger is a medicinal treat in addition to being a tasty one -- to list just a few of its talents, it treats stomachaches and indigestion, reduces toxicity and aids mild lung disorders.
Kickstart your day -- and immune system -- with a shot of the stuff by passing diced and peeled pieces of the root through a juicer. If deemed too spicy for more sensitive palates, mix the juice with water, other juices or sweeteners like lemon, sugar or agave.
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Looking at this makes us want to dive headfirst into a vat of thick, luxurious ice cream and spend the entire summer there.
The idea of ice cream on its own is refreshing enough, but the idea of ginger ice cream -- presented here by the lovely duo behind Rec(ession)ipes -- is a particularly palate-cleansing one. Ginger, a digestive aid, has been soothing stomachs and clearing sinuses for centuries. It's the perfect foil for the rich, heavy cream and eggs called for in most ice cream recipes. Texture-wise, too, it makes a happy bedfellow: biting down on a chunk of candied ginger is a curiously satisfying experience, like finding the prize in a box of Cracker Jacks. Altogether, the idea of ginger ice cream leaves us so ferklempt that we call upon poet Wallace Stevens to find the words that we cannot: "The only emperor," he once wrote, "is the emperor of ice cream."
It's been remarkably frigid out here on the east coast of late and the bone chilling weather seems to be bringing with it another round of sniffles and head colds. Doctors advise that there's not much to do for a cold other than drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest. We can't help you with the rest, but I've got a tasty suggestion for making those liquids go down easy.
Whip up a quick infusion of honey, lemon and ginger. Simply grate a half inch chunk of ginger into a large mug. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon in on top (you can also add the zest if you're feeling daring) and add a heaping teaspoonful of honey (feel free to adjust the sweetness level to your personal taste). Fill the cup with boiling water and stir to combine. Drink while still warm and repeat as necessary.
It will soothe a sore throat, help with the cough (truly, honey has been found in scientific studies to calm a cough nearly as well as cough syrup) and taste good to boot!
I do most of my cocktail inventing around the holidays. The reason for this is twofold. One, I always visit my parents and they possess a liquor cabinet that shames some bars, not only in actual number of bottles, but also in the array of top-shelf and/or rare liquors. Two, when does one find oneself in need of a drink more than the holidays?
Whether it's the merriment of celebration, the release of stress, or simply the desire to take a breather from all the socializing by indulging in a brief respite behind the bar, December is the time for mixing. And also for giving, so allow me to give you my two newly-invented cocktails for 2008: the Ginger-Pear Cocktail and the Nihilist.
What I most love about fish is the ease in which you can make a truly tasty dish. It doesn't take a lot of prep, and with very little time investment, you can make a brow-raising and tastebud-pleasing entree to plate and serve.
I thawed some mahi-mahi from a Whole Foods splurge a few months ago, and had no idea what to serve with it until my eyes landed on the piece of fresh ginger that I had just picked up. Quickly, the marinade came together. In an ultra-rare twist from the girl who rarely merges sugary sweet and savory, I made a ginger and maple syrup glaze amped up with shallots, garlic, and other spices to top my broiled mahi-mahi.
It's really simple: Quickly saute a shallot in some butter, then add finely chopped ginger and garlic. After it gets a chance to cook, season the mix with just a bit of cayenne and chili powder, pour in some maple syrup, and then squeeze in a small lemon. Just let it reduce down and you have a tasty topping for your fish.
There are some people who it is just plain good to know. When you're in college, for example, the guy with a truck is incredibly helpful, and when you go in to business, the understanding accountant and the slightly unethical lawyer are almost necessities.
A few years ago, my friend John became one of these fabulously helpful people. A lifelong resident of southwest Virginia and a trained chemist, John had a skill set that was uniquely wonderful: he knew how to get hold of moonshine, and he knew how to test it for impurities. While the grain liquor (or "likker," if you prefer) that I got from John wasn't all that cheap, it was completely flavorless, and I soon discovered that it made the perfect carrier for various fruits. Within a couple of months, I had a collection of incredibly delicious infused cordials that I would mix with seltzer or tonic water to produce light, moderately alcoholic spritzers with insanely pure tastes.
I never thought anything could beat the combination of garlic, butter, and shrimp in scampi. But really, that's more because garlic and butter make most things taste great, rather than the trio being the perfect flavor combination. When my tongue got a taste of ginger shrimp, however, I discovered a true pairing. The crisp, spicy-yet-light ginger flavor is just meant to go with shrimp, and together, they're unstoppable. Put it in a stir-fry, pasta, pizza, or a wrap like above.
Seeing that I still have some homemade mayonnaise, I decided to whip together a quick shrimp salad. Some frozen shrimp was quickly sauteed with ginger, cooled, and then mixed with mayo, onions, orange peppers, and a little salt and pepper. Spooned into a wrap with some diced Swedish vodka currant cheddar, and you've got a great twist on the usual seafood salad.
For another twist -- add the ginger shrimp to some egg salad.
I made a pot of butternut squash and carrot soup recently, but I didn't manage to take any photogenic pictures of it before I ate it all up. Luckily, I ran across this very food porn-y shot of the Ginger, Parsnip and Carrot soup that Flickr user Sonicwalker made, and my need to post a picture of orange soup has at last been quenched. If you want to make this particular soup, you can find the recipe here.
If you've made a pot of bright orange soup lately (and let's face it, who doesn't need vibrantly colored food this time of year?) head over the Slashfood Flickr group and add your pictures.
It is dark, overcast and foggy here in Philly today and so it's no wonder that this image of bright, fresh, dewy kumquats caught my eye. Taken by Lelonopo, if you head over to her blog, Lelo in Nopo, you can see a fun little gif she put together of how her face looks as she eats said kumquat. She's also posted a recipe for a Kumquat Ginger Caipirinha. Yum!
If you have food pictures you'd like to see featured here (especially bright photos that help me chase away the reality of February weather), come on down and join us at the Slashfood Flickr group.
Do you love using fresh ginger in your cooking, but feel like at times it becomes more trouble than it's worth? When a recipe called for minced ginger, do you often find yourself turning to the ancient jar of pre-minced ginger in your fridge? If you've answered yes to either of these questions, then you need to head over to Jaden's Steamy Kitchen and read through her tips for storing, processing and using ginger.
The tip I found the most helpful was to grate up a bunch of ginger and then put the ginger out in a long strip on a sheet of plastic wrap. Roll it up in a tube, tie the ends and store in the freezer. You can either snap off a bit or re-grate it into your dish. I grew up with frozen ginger, but in my family we always just through the entire root in, which made it really difficult to peel and chop it for cooking. I do believe that this particular suggestion will inspire me to keep more ginger around (frozen in a tube) and use it in my cooking more. Thanks Jaden!
Late last week, I happened to drop mention of the Ginger Squash we often have for Thanksgiving around my family table. I got several requests for the recipe and so I'm now going to do my best to create one for you, despite the fact that this is not a dish I've ever tried to write down and I don't think I've ever made it exactly the same way twice.
My cousin Jeremy is the one who first innovated this dish, using freshly ground ginger (although dried works) and a lots of cream. One year he wasn't able to come and so I did my best to create something akin to his regular offering. Depending on how many people are going to be at dinner, I buy either two slabs of Hubbard Squash or two Butternut Squashes (Acorn Squashes also work well). I steam them until they are fork tender on the stove top because the oven is occupied with the turkey.
When the are completely cooked, I scrape all the flesh off the skin and put it into a large bowl. I mash it together with butter (2-3 tablespoons), a little whole milk, fresh ginger grated on a microplane (between 1/2 a teaspoon and a teaspoon, depending on how pungent it is and how much squash you are working with), salt and pepper. When everything is combined, I pull out the trusty old immersion blender and give it a few whirs with that to ensure a smooth texture. I tend to think that the squash is plenty sweet just the way it is, but if you like it a bit sweeter, feel free to add a little brown sugar.
I use my microplane to zest, grind and grate nearly every day (it would appear that I cook a lot). I started out with the basic one that came with no handle, just a flat strip of razer sharp teeth that take a nutmeg and turn it into aromatic pile of shavings. Then I moved up to the flexible set which I love because you can swap out different levels of grater blades quickly and easily (if you're tempted by that prospect, you need to act fast as this set has been discontinued).
Now there's a new microplane that I've got my eye on, and it's a cutie. Designed for spices, it catches the shavings in its little case, which makes it deadly easy to accurately measure your amounts (instead of eyeballing it or trying to scrape it off the cutting board and into a measuring spoon). Best of all is that if you buy it from the Spice House, they'll throw in a whole nutmeg, cinnamon stick, ginger and turmeric root. Go forth and grate!
For my last birthday, a (very generous) friend got me the ice cream maker that fits onto a Kitchen Aid mixer. I was thrilled to receive it, but then tucked it at the top of my kitchen cabinet and left it to languish for more than a month. My excuses were many, included the fact that life got busy, I didn't have room in my freezer to chill the bowl and I just didn't have any good recipes for ice cream.
However, in my travels through the many food blogs out there, I kept hearing about a book that contained fantastic and tasty recipes. The pictures and tales people posted tempted me out of my ice cream apathy, I ordered the book (David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop) and started my own experimentation with the wonders of homemade ice cream. My most recent batch was the Fresh Ginger Ice Cream (on page 43), and let me tell you, it was fantastic. I took it to dinner with friends, and at the end of the night I ran my finger around the bottom of the container in a vain attempt to grab the last few drops. The recipe is after the jump.
There are some people who it is just plain good to know. When you're in college, for example, the guy with a truck is incredibly helpful, and when you go in to business, the understanding accountant and the slightly unethical lawyer are almost necessities. 
I use my microplane to zest, grind and grate nearly every day (it would appear that I cook a lot). I started out with the basic one that came with no handle, just a flat strip of razer sharp teeth that take a nutmeg and turn it into aromatic pile of shavings. Then I moved up to the flexible set which I love because you can swap out different levels of grater blades quickly and easily (if you're tempted by that prospect, you need to act fast as this set has been discontinued). 
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