HOW TO...USE FRESH GINGER ROOT

Ginger Up Your Culinary Repertoire - scroll down for recipes including Medicinal Ginger Tea

Fresh Ginger Root is good for you

Ginger has been around for thousands of years, and not just in Asian and tropical countries.  It was introduced to Europe by the Romans and by the mid-16th century some 2000 tons a year (!) wended its way from East India.

It wasn't just because ginger tastes good and livens up food with zingingly deep flavours.  

It it also because ginger has many health benefits.  It:

• safely reduces nausea from pregnancy or motion sickness
• reduces inflammation/swelling in arthritic conditions
• helps digestion
• stimulates the appetite
• is a soothing home remedy for a cold 
• helps warm you up in cold weather

And it has hardly any calories and no cholesterol!

How to Buy & Use Ginger

Look for fresh-looking, firm, smooth roots with no signs of decay.  A pale colour and lack of wrinkles is often a good sign.  Buy loose from a trusted supermarket or street market but never bagged up in plastic.  it can be grated or cut into matchsticks, depending on the recipe.  But it needs peeling -- easily done with a teaspoon, bowl down, scraping at the surface.  

How to choose & treat ginger

Some of the ginger in the shops will be in quite large pieces with lots of knobs jutting off the main stem.  It is perfectly okay to break off a piece that suits your needs to take to the check-out counter. It's cheaper and may be easier to buy ginger fresh rather than going through the palaver of freezing it.

Storage  

Ginger will keep 3 weeks in the fridge if not peeled.  It also freezes well.  

If freezing, slice thickly and freeze flat, then bag up.  Peel and grate or slice thinly in its frozen state, being careful to catch any juices. Chunks of it can go into stews for flavour then removed later.

Ginger Tea for Medicinal Purposes
The traditional way of making Ginger tea involves a lot of steeping and cooking to make a paste.  This method is easier.   Take 1 1/2 tsp of grated ginger and the finely grated zest of half a lemon and add it to 300 ml/1 1/2 cups boiling water. Cover & steep 10 mins.  Strain.  Add 1/2-1 tbsp maple syrup, and, if you like, the juice of half a lemon.  The mix is best taken warm but can be cooled and refrigerated. Some might prefer to take this diluted with a mix of 1/3 or 1/2 water.  Flavour enhancers include cinnamon and mint.
(Another medicinal ginger drink: Throat Soothing Fruit Smoothie)

             

Sweet Crystallised and Stem Ginger 

Ginger and Desserts 

67 often uses grated fresh or dried ginger in fruit desserts: Hot Pineapple Pudding, Pear, Ginger and Blackberry Crumble and Plum, Ginger and Orange Crumble.   The ginger adds a mellow kick and a bite that sweetens fruit.  The results are popular.

Crystallised ginger is an essential element in the Blogger's all-time favourite Gingerbread Cookies.  The cookies are a sophisticated treat, dark with molasses and heavy with sharply flavoured chunks of preserved ginger. 

Ginger syrup and finely diced plump globules of stem ginger heightens the juiceiness of a soft fruit salad.  For an indulgent treat, use it to flavour a thick yoghurt cream. (Yoghurt Cream with Candied Ginger)

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This information has been compiled by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

PLUM, ORANGE & GINGER CRUMBLE, DECONSTRUCTED, Skinny, Double-Duty, Budget friendly

Testers demanded the recipe for this fabulous healthier dessert 

first published 2015

                               Divine Plum Ginger & Orange Crumble
 'Give me the recipe!' Lunch Club members 'Ate several servings in an evening. Very good!'Taster

This simple, budget-friendly delicious dessert was created by the Blogger while volunteering as chef for a luncheon club in one of the most deprived areas of London.  

All the ingredients were standard cupboard ingredients.  The dish illustrated that using fresh fruit means you don't need lots of sugar for things to taste good.  AND the addition of small amounts of fibre-rich oatmeal, wholemeal flour and unsweetened coconut speeds up digestion and the elimination of toxins.  Fibre also slows down the absorption of sugar.  

The fruit can be served on its own, crumble-free, with strained vanilla yoghurt or ice cream dolloped on top but 67 prefers it with the crunchy nutty topping and a lower-fat candied ginger yoghurt cream. 

It's deconstructed because the plums are cooked separately from the crumble to prevent mushiness; the biscuit-like topping is lower-fat and fragile though gorgeously so.  Separating the fruit from the crumble also means the dish is suitable for carb-phobes! 

The recipe halves nicely.   

Cost: plum compote: £2.50; crumble: £1.50
Feeds: 6-8  

Fruit:
1 kilo plums, any variety
2 tbsp fresh grated ginger or 1 tbsp dried
zest and juice of two oranges
1-3 teaspoons black (molasses) sugar or soft brown sugar 

Topping:   
4 oz/110 gm plain flour, pref wholemeal (67 used spelt) or half flour/half ground almonds
3 oz/75 gm dried unsweetened coconut
2-3 oz/50-75 gm soft brown sugar 
1/4 tsp salt
2 oz/55 gm porridge oats
2 oz/55 gr cold cubed unsalted butter (or up to 4 oz/110gm for the young and healthy).  
2 oz/55 gm chopped nuts


Method 

Preheat oven to 350f, 180c, gas 4
Lightly grease an 8x8", 20cmx20 cm pan or equivalent

Fruit

1. Halve, stone and quarter plums  
2. Put a layer of plums in the baking tray: scatter over ginger, orange zest and a scant 1/2-1 tsp sugar.  Continue layering until plums are used up.
3. Pour over orange juice
4. Cover with greaseproof paper and then foil
5. Bake 40-mins to an hour; depending on the plums, up to half an hour more may be necessary.  
6. Serve with plain strained yoghurt or stem ginger yoghurt cream

Crumble

1.  Thoroughly mix flour,  ground almonds if using, coconut, sugar,salt and porridge oats in a bowl.   
2.  Add cold cubed butter; rub in till butter is the size of peas. 
3.  Stir in nuts.
4.  Spread in an even layer on two (shallow) baking trays lined with greaseproof paper .  
4.  Bake at 350f, 180C, gas 4 for 20-30 mins or until well-browned.  Be careful after 20 mins; it burns easily. 
5.  Cool before decanting into a serving dish.    



COMMENTS:
'I went home with 'flu and ate my way through the crumble (Blogger: 3-4 large servings.  I am in awe!!).  It was very good.'  Political Agent

Tips: 

• Opinions in the lunch club were divided over the plum peels.  Most of the health-conscious diners weren't bothered but others were.  Some plum peels come away easily after baking and were swiftly removed before serving.  Others are more resistant; when preparing the plums drop them in boiling water for a minute or so before removing the softened peel. 
• If you like this, try Guilt-free Pear & Blueberry Crumble

Cooking with Ginger on Navigation Bar/How to...

            

This recipe has  been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

YOGHURT CREAM WITH CANDIED GINGER, An Indulgence

Still healthy but with a slightly wicked sweet streak

This variation on Yoghurt Cream was developed as an indulgent accompaniment for the Plum, Ginger and Orange Crumble.

Yoghurt Cream with Candied Ginger, an Indulgence

As with Yoghurt Cream, 450 gms of 0-fat yoghurt is strained for several hours or overnight (through a rinsed clean j-cloth in a fine-meshed sieve - scroll down). This releases some of the liquid, thickening inexpensive yoghurts and, in the process, sweetening it. The final result will be a yoghurt that holds it shape on the spoon.

Any flavourings can be added at this stage: orange juice, honey, spices.

For Yoghurt Cream with Candied Ginger you'll need a jar of stem ginger in syrup.  It costs a couple of pounds but will sit happily in the larder for quite a while.  Use it on special occasions: in fruit salads, cakes and and as a replacement for fresh ginger in crumbles.

Cost: £1 plus £2' ish for stem ginger
Serves: 6-8

To the strained yoghurt add:
    1/2 tsp vanilla    
    1-2 tbsp ginger syrup
    1 ball of stem ginger, finely diced

Stir well and serve. 

Straining Yoghurt
Line a fine-meshed sieve with
a clean j-cloth that has been thoroughly rinsed.

                                               

(Questions & comments, pls email  b67goingon50@yahoo.co.uk 

and say if they can be included in the blog)

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This recipe has  been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.

DARK CHOCOLATE MOUSSE, Skinny, Dairy Free, Vegetarian

Amazingly Chocolate-ey without cream or egg yolks

 Dark Chcocolate Mousse (adapted from Hotel Chocolat)

TESTER'S COMMENTS:  'Gorgeous!  Beautiful!  Tasted better for lack of cream and egg yolks.  There was no way I was sharing this with anyone else!'

Christina, Manager Lauderette

Here is a recipe for a light, lovely chocolate mousse that is extremely delicious and healthier than most.  It is from Hotel Chocolat, a British chocolatier and cocoa grower. 

The mousse has no diary or egg yolks and only a small amount of added sugar.  That doesn't mean it's healthy -- there's too much chocolate for that -- but it does mean you get great taste and texture for fewer than usual of the bad things.  If you're used to mousses with the richness of double cream and egg yolks, a couple of tablespoons of liqueur, expresso or concentrated frozen orange juice peps it up no end.

The mousse is so nice and you don't leave the table feeling you need to waddle away.  What's not to like?

Hotel Chocolat chocolate is considered one of the top UK chocolate producers and has its own plantation on St Lucia.  

67's budget allowed for Lindt's 70% dark chocolate; the cost conscious can use Bourneville. 

Cost: around £2.50; more if using artisan chocolate  
Feeds: 4-5

Ingred:
   
    150gm 70% (preferred) dark chocolate
     
     6 egg whites (keep yolks for another recipe; they will freeze)
     pinch of salt
     1/4 tsp lemon juice

     35g caster sugar
     1 tsp vanilla extract
      
      Flavouring: 1-2 tbsp brandy, orange liqueur, expresso or concentrated frozen orange juice

      Garnish:  shaved chocolate (about 30 gms)

Method

1. Break up chocolate into small pieces
2. Melt in a large bowl over simmering water; stir.  If you are adding flavour, do it here.  Take off heat; keep chocolate warm. 
3. In another large bowl, beat egg whites, salt & lemon juice with a hand or stand electric beaters until the whites form soft peaks - maybe 5 mins?.  Add vanilla, then - a tablespoon at a time - sugar, beating after each addition until the whites form moderately stiff peaks (ie they hold their shape and you can hold the bowl over your head and they won't fall out)
4. Check the melted chocolate; it should be warm but not hot. 
5. Add one third of the egg whites to the chocolate; gently hand whisk until blended.
6. Add the rest of the egg whites to the chocolate and fold, (cutting down the centre with a spatula and up the sides, turning the bowl continually to the right as you go.) You are aiming to keep the air in while making sure there are no white streaks.
7. Fold in shaved chocolate (opt) or see no. 9
8. Pour into a serving dish.  
9. Decorate the edges with shaved chocolate (opt)                                                 

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