Friday, August 14, 2009

My Ginger Boy...

i just HAD to show you this piece of ginger... it's sitting in my colander of veggies and caught my eye... a face and torso.. complete with bellybutton!!! Anyways.. the ginger will become a delicious jar of pickled ginger..



using my mandolin slicer, thin slices of ginger packed with flavourful goodness.. this is my own recipe... daughter and i were craving pickled ginger and it's a fortune to buy... i didn't have the rice vinegar so 'made do', my ingredients are approximate, subject to change depending on what i have on hand... it's not 'traditional' pickled sushi ginger, but very tasty...

Pickled Ginger and Cranberries

Slice thinly

1/2 lb. fresh ginger ( good 'hunk' of ginger will do)

in a small saucepan heat until simmering

1/3 of a cup of white vinegar
1/3 of a cup of cider vinegar
1/3 of a cup of red wine vinegar
1/4 c. sugar (or to taste) (i used Agave syrup)
kosher or sea salt to taste

a 'DASH' of Chili (could be a few thin slices of Chili pepper or a few seeds or even dried chili)
Dried Cranberries (enough to satisfy your cranberry needs) (i used approx 1/3 of a cup)

put ginger and cranberries into the saucepan, let the vinegar mixture infuse with the ginger and cranberries until cooled... pour into sterilized jar... refrigerate...
the pickled ginger cranberry will be tangy.. but my daughter who is a pickled ginger 'holic' loves it... it's a sweet pickled punch!!
I found this article on growing Ginger, my climate isn't for growing it, but perhaps someone else's is and it's just an interesting read if nothing else... Growing Ginger Root
Zingiber Officinale (True Ginger)

Next to the ginger boy (in photo) is one of my 2 eggplants i've gotten... yummy yummy... but i do wonder if it was all worth it, for only 2... just for the satisfaction of saying i could grow them, and the satisfaction of taking a bite and KNOWING that i grew it myself, on the coast where the weather is usually not conducive to growing eggplants outdoors....

Now for something i'm truly excited about..the first Elephant garlic bulb that i've dug up this year... MMMMM i can't wait to use it... this particular one has a knobby on it.. its a baby!!! YAY... there was another one, but had already separated and fell off when i went to clean the bulb...


I found this treasure at my local thrift store.. will 'donate' it to my littlest granddaughter who LOVES bugs... encouraging a love for insects is a good thing.. perhaps a budding entomologist is in the works... working towards a harmonious world where insects and humans co-exist?? whew such a dream huh!!!




an update on my disasterous Bread... it made a not to bad 'toast', but un'sliceable', it must be 'cut' (no sawing) and flakes off.. the other loaf that i couldn't salvage is now a pile of crumbs... the flavour is actually very good, the texture, not so good... just my cooking i'm sure... will attempt it again sometime in the future...