ginger

Iced Herbal Ginger Lime Tea

~ lk529 ~ Leave a comment

Disclaimer: I received products from KitchenIQ in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Every once in a while there’s a kitchen product that comes around and changes your life.

Okay, maybe not your life.

But your culinary world.

A citrus zester is a great example. Can you imagine if we still had to carefully and thinly slice the peel from a lemon and then chop it up into teensy pieces?! I know I certainly wouldn’t make that effort. There are a lot of citrus zesters out there that make the task of zesting a lime much simpler.

But KitchenIQ took that precious tool and made it even better! Their V-etched Better Zester! provides the smoothest zesting experience I’ve ever had thanks to the nonstick coating on those v-shaped blades. But the feature I love the most is the container attached to the back of the tool. Not only does it catch the zest, it has lines indicating tablespoons and mL. You’ll never again be guessing if the zest of one lime gives you a teaspoon or not. (I know I never actually measure the zest in a recipe and always “wing it.”) A quick {gentle} bang on the countertop and the zest falls to the bottom for easy measuring.

KitchenIQ didn’t stop their with their mind-blowing gadgets. I’m so excited to have The Grate Ginger Tool in my life. I must admit, I’ve ever enjoyed working with ginger simply because it wasn’t an easy ingredient to prep. First there’s peeling the skin. I’ve heard the back of a spoon works quite nicely but it’s never been as easy as it looks on TV, I always end up cutting off the skin and as a result losing a lot of the usable ginger. Ginger is also quite fibrous. Using a microplane grater on it always left me with a stringy piece of ginger in my hand, and chopping it finely just isn’t that fun.

The Grate Ginger Tool answers each of these problems. There is a removable spoon-like device peels the ginger quite nicely and the non-stick v-shaped blades makes grating the ginger as easy as cutting through softened butter. The ginger shavings end up in a little compartment inside the gadget which pulls out easily. There’s even a slicer on the back!

If their new V-etched Spice Grater works just as well as the previous two products, I can’t wait to get my hands on some whole spices!

An Original Recipe

Iced Herbal Ginger Lime Tea

Ingredients:

  • 1 tsp freshly grated ginger root
  • 1/4 tsp freshly zested lime
  • 12 oz hot water
  • simple syurp, to taste
  • ice

Steps:

  1. Place ginger and lime in a loose leaf tea ball infuser.
  2. Pour hot water over the tea infuser in a large heat proof cup. Allow tea to steep 3-5 minutes.
  3. Divide ice into 2-3 serving glasses, fill with tea, and sweeten to taste with simple syrup. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Iced Herbal Ginger Lime Tea | Sew You Think You Can Cook

 

Blogger CLUE: Greek Yogurt Apple Loaf

~ lk529 ~ 20 Comments

blogger CLUE

Before you get all wrapped up in the pumpkin craze, let’s not forget about the other great fall fruits, like apples and pears! Yes, pumpkin is technically a fruit, and I have no doubt that some of the CLUE players will be sharing pumpkin recipe. Be sure to stop by their pages, too!

This month I was assigned the blog That Skinny Chick Can Bake written by Liz. Liz helps keep our group organized and is a member of a few other blogging groups I’m also a part of. I’m not sure how she keeps up with everything! Her blog is a beautiful array of sweets (with some great savory options, too).

I was tempted by a couple of her fall salads (Spinach Salad with Pears and Cranberries or Apple Cherry Walnut Salad) but hey, “That Skinny Chick Can Bake” so I settled on a baked item. I altered her Sour Cream Pear Bread to utilize what I had in my fridge – Greek Yogurt and Apples.

Greek Yogurt Apple Loaf

Ingredients:

  • 6 tbsp butter, softened
  • 2/3 C sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 C plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 3/4 C cake flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 C peeled and diced apples
  • cinnamon sugar, for sprinkling

Steps:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a loaf pan and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until combined. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix in the vanilla extract and yogurt (or sour cream).
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and a pinch of salt. Add to the stand mixer in 2-3 installments.
  4. Fold in diced apples (or pears). Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
  5. Bake 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out cleanly. Allow loaf to cool 15 minutes before removing from pan onto a cooling rack.
  6. This loaf is best served warm/toasted with a little butter.

Greek Yogurt Apple Loaf for #BloggerCLUE from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Here’s a list of the other players of Blogger CLUE this month:

Blogger CLUE: Homemade Gingerale

~ lk529 ~ 20 Comments

blogger CLUE

Come August most people (although I’m not one of them) are ready for fall to arrive and bring cooler weather. To help cope with the late summer sun Blogger Clue is on a mission to bring you recipes to “Beat the Heat!”

This month I was assigned the blog Taking on Magazines written by Christiane aka “The Mom Chef.” I absolutely love the concept behind her blog! Like most of us, we make a recipe and mentally (or if we’re on top of it, physically) make a note as to what we liked and didn’t like in case we made the recipe again. (I have post-it notes in my cookbooks with our reviews and comments.) Christiane took this idea and created a beautiful blog from it. She cooks recipes from magazines, displays the recipe as is, gives a detail on the process, then gives her opinions on what she’d do differently the next time, and finally indicates “the verdict.” Brilliant! Definitely one of those “why didn’t I think of that?!” moments.

Given our task to “beat the heat” I limited myself to searching through beverages and salads, although she does have a wonderful selection for ice creams too! (There are a fair amount of sweets being handled in my kitchen right now so I stayed away.) The Grapefruit-Mint Salad sounded like a contender as did the Citrus Dressing and while the Arnold Palmer Slushie was definitely tempting, I couldn’t get my mind off of her Homemade Gingerale!

I noticed as I unloaded my groceries that I accidentally bought orange flavored seltzer water. I decided to run with it and use a little fresh squeezed orange juice in the syrup! Honestly, I couldn’t tell; the gingerale syrup is spot on.

Christiane noted that the original ratio of syrup to setzer was too syrupy for her taste and I thought I’d agree. I found the perfect formula (at least for me) to be 3 tbsp of syrup to 1 1/2 C of seltzer.

Also, I probably broke about fifty parenting rules (please read this as if I were Hermione about to make Polyjuice Potion) and let my 1 year old try a sip. To say he liked it was an understatement!

Homemade Gingerale

Ingredients:

  • 1 4-5″ piece fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped
  • 2 C sugar
  • juice 1 lime
  • juice 1 orange
  • seltzer water

Steps:

  1. Place ginger and sugar in a food processor and pulse until the ginger is finely ground.
  2. Place ginger sugar in a saucepan with 2 C water. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce the heat and simmer 30-40 minutes until syrupy. Remove from heat, cover, and let cool 20 minutes. Strain and place in a jar. Syrup can be kept in the fridge for 2 weeks.
  3. To serve: Put 3 tbsp of syrup in a large glass with ice and 1 1/2 C seltzer.

*This recipe is adapted from Christiane at http://www.takingonmagazines.com/homemade-ginger-ale-from-all-you-magazine/*

Homemade Gingerale for Blogger CLUE from Sew You Think You Can Cook

Here’s a list of the other players of Blogger CLUE this month:

SRC: Ginger Beef Stir Fry

~ lk529 ~ 33 Comments

newsrcbanner

Today is another Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! In the secret recipe club, each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

This month I was assigned the blog Without Adornment written by Bean. Bean bravely talks about her battle with depression. Her blog title came to be from a sermon at church that really spoke to her. To live “without adornment” is something that I think everyone needs to learn how to do. To just be you. With the season of Lent upon us I found this to really hit home. It’s the time of year to reevaluate your relationship not just with God but with yourself. To better yourself, and what better way to do that than to live “without adornment.”

Bean leads a Gluten-Free lifestyle but that doesn’t hold her back from her favorite hobby of baking. I encourage you to check out her amazing recipe index. As I don’t keep gluten-free and am not proficient enough in my baking skills to alter recipes I looked to her savory dishes. With our new Stir Fry Day Fridays I was excited to see Pad Thai and Ginger Beef. I proceeded with the latter.

We enjoyed this beef not on a Friday, but for the Chinese New Year last week. I served it simply with white rice. I again had to eliminate the bean sprouts so I used a little more celery and carrots. I also used three large leaves from a bok choy instead of using baby bok choy. Oh, and I completely forgot to buy bell pepper, so that ingredient was also excluded from my version. This stir fry dish was a huge hit around the table. Thank you Bean for a great recipe.

Note: to keep it gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour (Bean used rice flour) and gluten-free soy sauce.

This stir fry feeds 4-6 people.

Ginger Beef Stir Fry

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 C vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 – 2 lb sirloin, sliced in thin strips
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 2 carrots, sliced diagonally
  • 4 tbsp freshly grated ginger
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 stalk celery, sliced diagonally
  • 3 bok choy leaves, chopped
  • 1/3 C sugar
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp cooking sherry
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • 2 scallions, chopped

Steps:

  1. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
  2. Toss sirloin strips in flour to coat. Stir fry in batches until cooked through and remove to a paper towel lined plate.
  3. Add the onion, carrots, ginger, and garlic to the same skillet. When onions are translucent add the celery and bok choy. Cook until bok choy is wilted.
  4. In a small bowl combine sugar, soy sauce, sherry, and vinegar. Pour over veggies and bring to a boil. Allow sauce to thicken slightly.
  5. Make a slurry with the corn starch and 3 tbsp water. Gradually add the slurry to the stir fry (I didn’t use all of it) to thicken the sauce to desired consistency. Return the beef to the skillet and toss to coat. Add in the scallion.
  6. Serve with rice, if desired.

*This recipe is adapted from Bean at https://withoutadornment.wordpress.com/2011/09/23/gahigf-gluten-free-ginger-beef-and-chinese-esque-pork-dumplings/*

ginger beef stir fry | sew you think you can cook

To see the other bloggers who participated in the Secret Recipe Club this month click here:

#SundaySupper: Red Carpet Party

~ lk529 ~ 29 Comments

Today #SundaySupper is having a party perfect for any red carpet event! There’s an awards show on tonight. I think it’s the “big one.” I wouldn’t really know because I’m not all up to snuff on my Hollywood trivia. I do like Neil Patrick Harris though, so I will be watching. Or rather, I’ll have it playing on the TV screen. I don’t know how much I’ll be paying attention. (I’ll be participating in a Twitter chat after all! – See end of post for details.) I haven’t seen any of the movies up for nomination and I don’t know the who’s-who of actors.

Katie of Ruffles and Truffles is hosting this star-studded gathering so be sure to scroll past my recipe for a list of party worthy drinks and eats!

Thank You Peary Much | Sew You Think You Can Cook

I decided to create a very simple signature cocktail for the event. Because what party for the stars wouldn’t be complete with an original concoction involving champagne? I wanted to go with something gold in honor of The Oscar. It’s a gold award! Hey, at least I knew that!

This cocktail would be welcome at any brunch table.

An Original Recipe

Thank You Peary Much

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 C sugar
  • 1/2 C water
  • 1 2″ piece ginger root
  • pear nectar
  • champagne
  • crystalized ginger (optional)

Steps:

  1. Make ginger simple syrup: In a small saucepan over medium-low heat combine sugar, water, and ginger until sugar completely disolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
  2. Assemble cocktails: Put a little ginger simple syrup in the bottom of a champagne glass. Top it with pear nectar and champagne. (The ratios are completely up to you – do you like it mostly bubbly with a touch of juice or are you a juice fan with a hint of bubbly?) Drop some crystalized ginger into the glass and watch it fizz!

Thank You Peary Much | Sew You Think You Can Cook

Nominees for Best Supporting Appetizers:

Nominees for Best Course in a Leading Role:

Nominees for Best Supporting Sips:

Nominees for Best Delectable Desserts:

Nominees for Best Dressed Table:

Sunday Supper MovementJoin the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the#SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

CIC: Cranberry & Gingerbread Spice

~ lk529 ~ 3 Comments

CIC-header

It’s been quite a while since I’ve participated in the Crazy Ingredient Challenge – 4 months to be exact! The problem with squash and melon allergies is that come Fall I have to hide under a rock.

December’s ingredients though are ingredients that I can not only eat but ingredients I even like! They also happen to be ingredients we’ve seen before. Last November we paired Gingerbread Spice with Onion, when I made a very festive onion jam. This July we put Cranberries with Shallots and I made delicious Brussels sprouts.

The combination of two sweet ingredients, cranberries and gingerbread spice, wasn’t as tricky as the two challenges mentioned above. But fun all the same. I was really tempted to make gingerbread cupcakes with a cranberry cream cheese frosting, but we really didn’t need anymore sweets around right now. I thought about going the breakfast route, with cranberry syrup and gingerbread waffles. But this is a crazy ingredient challenge and I already have gingerbread waffles on the blog!

Then, thanks to my wonderful neighbors, I got the idea to do applesauce. Last week we were hit with a stomach bug and my neighbors put a little care package on our front step – soups, sodas, crackers, and applesauce. Applesauce is now my new go-to snack during the day. (It has replaced raisins, if anyone’s curious.)

This cranberry applesauce would be a great alternative to cranberry sauce on your holiday table. Using gingerbread spice instead of cinnamon gives it more of a festive flair.

Cranberry Applesauce

Ingredients:

  • 3 apples, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 C fresh cranberries
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 3/8 C water
  • 1 tsp gingerbread spice

Steps:

  1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to medium low and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mash to desired consistency and allow to cool.

*This recipe is adapted from Martha at http://www.marthastewart.com/326493/cranberry-applesauce*

cranberry apple sauce

To see the other bloggers who participated in this month’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge click on the link below.

Brown Sugar Honey Mustard Glazed Salmon

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

I have one more (at least to date) #10DaysofTailgate sponsor bonus feature for you today.

Today we’re using El Diablo Jalapeno Mustard in place of Dijon in one of Bobby Flay’s recipes. And thanks to Gourmet Garden I don’t have to grate the ginger myself!

My husband has a man crush on Bobby (yes, we’re on a first name basis over here… okay, maybe we’re not.. but we can pretend!) and this recipe looked like the perfect way to polish off the frozen salmon in my freezer. And the perfect way to use some of the wonderful Hot and Spicy Mustards from El Diablo. I imagine that the Mango flavor would work perfectly in this dish, but as I’m allergic to mango I opted for the Jalapeno flavor. It added a great bite to the salmon and complimented the ginger pretty well!

Judge all you want, but frozen fish is a great option. Especially now that we don’t live down the street from a seafood market. Or by the sea. I also love that buying frozen seafood means that it won’t go to waste. I can’t tell you how many times we’d purchased fresh fish to find that something else came up and it went bad before I cooked it up.

Brown Sugar Honey Mustard Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. In a small saucepan over medium heat melt butter into brown sugar and honey. Remove from heat and whisk in soy sauce, olive oil, mustard, and ginger.
  3. Place salmon in a baking dish and brush with the glaze. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until salmon is cooked through.

*This recipe is adapted from Bobby Flay at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/salmon-with-brown-sugar-and-mustard-glaze-recipe.html *

Brown Sugar Honey Mustard Glazed Salmon

Disclaimer: I received El Diablo Hot and Spicy Mustards and Gourmet Garden herb pastes through the #10DaysofTailgate event, however all opinions are my own.

Ginger Molasses Cookies

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

There are a lot of theories about foods to induce labor and while I don’t believe in any of them I’ve still used them as a nice excuse to indulge in hot wings.

And cookies.

A google search led me to a recipe for “labor inducing cookies” which are really gingersnaps with some cayenne. Except that I forgot to add the cayenne. I mean, really!? But, now I have a post perfect for National Gingersnap Day.

Quick question: Why is gingersnap day in July? Are we trying to go with the “Christmas in July” feel? The batter smelled like Thanksgiving to me!

These cookies are rich with molasses and spicy with ginger. (If you want to try to put someone into labor add the 1/2 tsp of cayenne I forgot about.)

Ginger Molasses Cookies

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick butter
  • 1/2 C sugar, plus extra for rolling cookies
  • 1 C brown sugar
  • 1/3 C molasses
  • 2 egg whites
  • 2 1/2 C flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Steps:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat butter and sugars. When combined add the molasses. Add the egg whites.
  3. In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt.
  4. Add dry ingredients to the butter and molasses mixture in two installments.
  5. Roll dough into 1″ balls. Roll balls in sugar. Place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet.

*This recipe is adapted from http://www.justmommies.com/pregnancy/labor-and-childbirth/labor-inducing-cookie-recipe*

Ginger Molasses Cookies

P.S. – They didn’t work. Neither did spicy foods. Or pineapple.

 

CIC: Gingerbread Spice & Onion

~ lk529 ~ 16 Comments

CIC-header

This month Jutta challenged us with combining gingerbread spice and onion into one dish.

Gingerbread Spice & Onion

I found myself more stumped than I thought I’d be. I considered going in a sweet direction by caramelizing the onions and putting them in a muffin. But I wasn’t sure how the texture would work out. I considered making a warm and hearty soup or stew. And then I decided on a savory bread pudding and mixing in the spice with the custard. But I was really hesitant – I’ve never had bread pudding before and for some reason I fear I won’t like the texture. Maybe I’ll get over this someday and give it a try. So, bread pudding without the eggy custard is essentially a dressing (or stuffing). That would be a perfect fit with Thanksgiving fast approaching.

I procrastinated on making my dish for weeks, blaming allergies that turned into a head cold that turned into a cough. (Which also explains the lack of posts lately) Turns out procrastination isn’t all bad. I was then handed a beautiful, perfect solution to November’s Crazy Ingredient Challenge.

Red Onion Jam Grilled Cheese

Sunday morning after church I turned on Food Network and caught the end of Southern at Heart, Food Network’s newest star Damaris Phillips’ beautiful show. She was making an onion jam with ginger and coriander. Perfect! I substituted the spices for Gingerbread Spice and used red onion instead of Vidalia to add a beautiful holiday color. This jam is perfectly sweet and an excellent accompaniment to your holiday cheese platter. You could even add it to a grilled cheese sandwich or any sandwich for that matter!

Red Onion Jam

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 tbsp butter
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 1/4 C brown sugar, divided
  • 1/4 tsp gingerbread spice

Steps:

  1. Saute onions in butter with salt and lemon zest until onions are translucent. Stir in gingerbread spice. Add 1/8 C brown sugar and lemon juice. Cook 10 minutes until liquid has evaporated. Stirring occasionally.
  2. Add a little less than 1/4 C water to onions and cook another 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
  3. Repeat step 2 three more times. (A total of 40 minutes)
  4. Stir in remaining 1/8 C brown sugar until melted.

Red Onion Jam

To see the other blogs that participated in this month’s challenge click the link below:

Spiced Apple Popsicles

~ lk529 ~ 1 Comment

I found these popsicle molds at Walmart at the beginning of summer for $1. I’d been wanting to use them, but I never got around to it. Before I knew it summer was over! But hey, I live in Florida, it’s still hot out, so therefore I can still enjoy homemade popsicles!

Evan couldn't get enough!
Evan couldn’t get enough!

This recipe is actually a perfect way to end the summer and start the fall – they taste like the Motts cinnamon applesauce from when I was a kid. Stuart said they reminded him of an apple cobbler.  These fall flavors are wrapped in a summer treat! I’ve made them twice already and earned the seal of approval from a 17-month-old. Evan actually ran around the table after finishing his popsicle to try and steal the one Stuart hadn’t yet finished!

Spiced Apple Popsicles

Ingredients:

  • 2 C Simply Apple Juice
  • 1/4 C brown sugar
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 whole allspice berries
  • 1/2″ piece of ginger root, peeled
  • pinch of kosher salt

Steps:

  1. Combine ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil. Turn off the heat and bring down to room temperature.
  2. Strain popsicle mixture into a measuring cup and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze.
  3. Run the popsicle mold under cold water to make popsicle removal easier.

*This recipe is adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/sweet-apple-pops-recipe/index.html*

Spiced Apple Popsicles 1 Spiced Apple Popsicles 2